Women's College Soccer
Rider University 0, Siena College 0 (2ot)
LAWRENCEVILLE-The Broncs played the defending champions to a scoreless tie in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game Sunday afternoon on Ben Cohen Field. "It was a tough game," said Rider head coach Drayson Hounsome. "It was a close game."
Rider (9-4-3, 2-2-1 MAAC) out-shot Siena (7-6-1, 2-3-1 MAAC) 17-16, but the Saints had seven shots on goal to Rider's six.
"I thought we had the better of the chances," Hounsome said. "We hit the cross bar and hit the post. We had a good chance at the end."
Siena had seven corner kicks to Rider's five.
Rider freshman goalkeeper Danielle Singson (Deer Park, NY/St. Anthony's) made seven saves for her first shutout. "Danielle has been playing great," Hounsome said. "It is fantastic that she got her first shutout. She's had quite a few 45-minute games where she was not scored upon so she could have had more. She had another strong game today."
"It was tough today," Singson said. "I felt we could have beaten them, but it was a good game."
The shutout was the seventh of the season for Rider, which leads the MAAC and ranks 65th in the nation (of 330). "The defense is playing really well in front of me," Singson said.
Singson is third in the MAAC in goals against average and has started every game this season but a goalie has to play the full 90 minutes, or in today's case 110 minutes, to be credited with a shutout. "It feels great to be playing the full game," Singson said.
The last time Rider beat Siena was 2006."They (Siena) are well organized, well coached," Hounsome said.
Rider lost 4-1 to Siena in Loudonville last year and lost 3-0 to Siena in Lawrenceville in 2009. "This shows where we are," Hounsome said. "It shows how far we've come. The players are disappointed that they didn't get the win they worked so hard for. That's a good sign. We're playing the defending champs, a team we have not beaten in a long time, and they are disappointed in a tie. Our expectations are high."
The Saints hold an 8-5-3 advantage in the series with Rider that began in 1997.
Rider travels to Iona Friday and Fairfield Sunday. "It is going to be tough," Hounsome said. "The conference is pretty close at the moment. We've got four games left so we control our own destiny. I'm sure it will be a fun weekend."
"We play well on the road," Singson said. "We're ready."
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