Men's College Soccer
Rider University 3, NJIT 1
LAWRENCEVILLE- Sophomore Ryan Fitzgerald (Yardville, N.J.) scored his first collegiate goal to lead Rider to its first victory of the season, defeating the New Jersey Institute of Technology Saturday afternoon.
Losing the first six games of the season can take its toll on a player, but that is nothing compared to what Fitzgerald has been going through.
An All-State player at nearby Steinert High School, Fitzgerald has been distracted by the fact that his mother, Kathleen, is suffering from lupus, a disease of the immune system. Lupus is also a disease of flares (the symptoms worsen and you feel ill) and remissions (the symptoms improve and you feel better).
"She's had it for about 14 years now," said Fitzgerald, who took a pass from senior Andrew Cotes (Selden, N.Y./Newfield) and sent a crossing pass into the box that hit the far post and went in, giving Rider (1-6) a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute of play. "About 10 years ago it flared up, and now there is another flare. She has to stay stress free. She keeps staying strong."
The recent flare has kept Fitzgerald from reaching his true potential so far this season. "It is always on my mind, as anyone would imagine," Fitzgerald said. "When I come out here I have to switch gears. For a while I was not being able to completely focus on what I need to focus on."
"Fitz was having trouble getting into his grove, like a lot of us were, but his speed and pace really help us," said sophomore goalkeeper Matt Perrella (North Brunswick, N.J./N. Brunswick), who made eight saves for the Broncs. "He finds players real well and he can beat defenders. He contributes a lot, especially today. He's definitely an asset to have on the field."
He was an asset today, giving the Broncs a 1-0 lead. "Ryan has been working his butt off for us," said Rider head coach Russ Fager. "He's been tremendous in practice, his work ethic is phenomenal, and he understands the game and plays very hard. He's a good athlete who we think is someone everybody is going to have to pay attention to."
"I've played soccer forever, this is one of my greatest passions," Fitzgerald said. "Coming out here gives me a chance to feel good for a couple of hours. After the game it is back home to take care of Mom."
Despite the recent flare 'Mom' has continued to be visible in the Rider bleachers. "She's feeling much better," Ryan said. "She made just about every game last year. I love her to death. We just hope she continues to get better. She was screaming when I scored today. It makes her happy to see me do well."
It makes the rest of the Broncs pretty happy as well.
"We played well today," Fager said. "We put a very good effort together for 90 minutes. Most of our shots were on target. They had a lot more shots but not as many quality chances. That was our objective today."
Sophomore Sam Kotowski (Cranbury, N.J./Princeton) collected a rebound and scored his second goal of the season mid-way through the first half to give Rider a 2-0 lead.
Sophomore Dan Friga (Clifton, N.J./Passaic County Tech) took a pass on a through ball from freshman Josh Wright (Telford, England) and scored his third career goal to give the Broncs a 3-0 lead with five minutes left to play in the game.
NJIT (2-5) broke the shutout with less than three minutes left. NJIT out-shot Rider 18-7 and had six corner kicks to Rider's two.
Perrella was back in the Rider net after missing last game with a shoulder injury. "It was good to get back in the goal," Perrella said. "My shoulder was bothering me a little bit but Karen (athletic trainer Karen Cote) helped me out a lot. Thanks to her."
Rider travels to West Point to take on Army Wednesday evening.
"This might be the real Rider team," Fager said. "We'll find out Wednesday. We know we can score goals if we get the opportunities, but Army is going to be a tough game."
"The first win is always the hardest," Perrella said. "Now it is time to get another one."
"It felt great today," Fitzgerald said of his first collegiate goal that was really a crossing pass. "Needed to break the ice. If that is how it has to go in, that's how it has to go in. I'll take it any way I can get it."
"The shot he took probably wasn't a shot, but we'll take it," Fager said of Fitzgerald's goal. "We've had three of those go in against us this year."
Rider and Ryan Fitzgerald have had enough go against them so far this year. Today, for a couple of hours, that was all forgotten.
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