Box Score Men's College Soccer
Rider University 5, Niagara University 2
LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ—There is a soccer term: 'Goals follow Goals' meaning that when a goal is scored another soon follows.
For the Rider Broncs, when a goal is scored, many seem to follow.
For the third time this season the Broncs scored five goals in a game. “The only five I was worried about was getting our fifth win,” said Rider head coach Charlie Inverso. “That is the most important thing.”
Rider came into the game with the 20th ranked offense in the nation. Rider has now scored 26 goals on the season, already five more than the Broncs scored all of last year (21 in 18 games)
Sophomore Christian Flath (Bargeshagen, Germany) scored two goals to lead Rider to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory over Niagara Wednesday afternoon.
“The last few games we haven't been scoring so it was good for us to score a lot today,” said Flath, who leads the MAAC in goals (8) and points (19). “This was good for our confidence.”
The Broncs (5-5-2, 2-3 MAAC) trailed Niagara (4-8-2, 1-3-1 MAAC) for a little over two minutes before tying the score on a goal by junior Florian Valot (Monaco, France).
Flath scored on a penalty kick to give Rider the 2-1 lead just 3:39 into the second half. “Christian is always good with those,” Inverso said.
It was the third time this year and the fifth time in his Rider career that Flath has scored on a PK.
Flath gave Rider an insurance goal off of a direct kick with 25 minutes left to play for a 3-1 lead. “The third goal was key,” Inverso said. “He's a marksman.”
“Flo (Valot) asked me if he could take it (the direct kick) but I said, 'no, I'm scoring right here' and then I hit it and it was a goal. I had to score there because the last week or so I have not been showing my best on free kicks.”
Rider junior Robert Kroschwitz (Pipersville, PA/Palisades) scored for the first time since his freshman season for a 4-1 lead.
The Purple Eagles cut the lead to 4-2 with less than two minutes remaining, but Rider answered right back with a goal by junior Rory Duffy (Plainfield, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) for the final score. “It doesn't happen (goals follow goals) THAT often,” Inverso said, “but when you say that expression you sound smart. I'm glad that cliché worked for us today.”
Rider out-shot Niagara 15-14.
Rider sophomore goalkeeper David Pastuna (Robbinsville, NJ) made four saves and allowed one goal.
With the win the Broncs are now 4-1 at home this season. “It is a great advantage for us to play here,” Inverso said. "We appreciate the crowd that braved the wet weather today.”
“Obviously we win at home,” Flath said. “We are used to the field and we have great fans. It feels good to play here.”
The victory ended Rider's three-game losing skid.
The Broncs lost 2-0 at Niagara last year. The last time Rider defeated Niagara was 2009. Rider and Niagara played to a 0-0 tie in 2012. Rider and Niagara have now met 18 times with the Broncs now holding an 8-7-3 advantage in the series.
Rider travels to Manhattan Saturday for a 3pm MAAC game. “Manhattan is a tough team,” Inverso said. “We have to try to maintain this offensive firepower we have.”
“It is going to be a tough game,” Flath said. “We have to show that we can win on the road.”
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