Men's College Soccer
Rider University 0, Niagara University 0 (2 ot)
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY-The Broncs completed their trip to Western New York with four points, collecting a win on Friday and now a tie against undefeated Niagara. "Both of these teams were mentioned in the national rankings," Rider head coach Charlie Inverso said of Canisius and Niagara. "To come away with four points, we can't be too disappointed."
The Broncs tied Niagara 0-0 in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Sunday afternoon.
Rider senior goalkeeper Matt Perrella (North Brunswick, N.J./N. Brunswick), making his first start in a month after suffering an ankle injury, made eight saves for the shutout, the sixth of his career.
"Matt was very good today," Inverso said. "He was steady. We defended well today and we had to. They were in our end a lot. We weathered the storm."
Niagara (7-0-4, 1-0-1 MAAC) out-shot Rider (2-8-1, 1-0-1 MAAC) 24-7, including 8-3 in shots on goal. "Niagara had the better of the play today," Inverso said. "I felt the first 20 minutes was all us and I was thinking we might be able to get out of here with two wins. But we couldn't get anything going offensively."
Rider lost 3-0 to Niagara last year in Lawrenceville. The Broncs tied Niagara 1-1 the last time Rider made this trip, in 2010. The Broncs defeated Niagara 3-1 in 2009.
These two teams have now met 16 times with Rider holding a 7-6-3 advantage in the series that began in 1997.
The Broncs host Siena Friday night at 7pm on the Ben Cohen Field. "It's exciting to come home with four points," Inverso said. "I hope we can get some people out to support us Friday night. After this trip we're starting to give people a reason to pay attention to what we are doing."
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