Box Score Men's College Soccer
St. Francis Brooklyn 2, Rider University 0
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY— The Broncs vs. Brooklyn was not a battle of New York City boroughs but rather the classic paradox of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.
Rider entered the game second in the nation in scoring with 17 goals in six games, while St. Francis Brooklyn came into the game having not allowed a goal in its last three games.
The Terriers entered the game on a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1), while Rider had a five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2), its longest such streak in more than a decade.
In the end, the Broncs lost for the first time since August, losing at St. Francis Brooklyn on a beautiful Saturday afternoon underneath the Brooklyn Bridge with the Manhattan skyline in the background.
“We brought a bad effort today,” said Rider head coach Charlie Inverso, “and it is only one of three or four times since I've been here that I can say that.”
St. Francis Brooklyn (4-4-1) took a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute of play, the only goal the Terriers would need.
St. Francis took a 2-0 lead with just 3:26 left in the first half on a high chip shot over junior goalkeeper Ryan Baird (Plainfield, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) and just below the crossbar off of a bicycle kick from 18 yards out. “The second goal was a calamity of errors,” Inverso said.
Rider (3-2-2) out-shot St. Francis Brooklyn 18-11, including 9-4 in the scoreless second half, and the Broncs had five corners to just one for St. Francis. “We just didn't play well,” Inverso said.
St. Francis Brooklyn has now compiled four consecutive shutouts. “They lock you down,” Inverso said of the Terriers' defense, “but this was still a game we could win.”
St. Francis won the Northeast Conference Championship last year and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Rider lost 3-1 to St. Francis Brooklyn in the last meeting in 2012. The two teams have now met 13 times since the series began in 1997, with the Terriers holding a 7-6 lead in the series. The last time Rider beat St. Francis Brooklyn was 2002.
Rider begins MAAC play Wednesday, October 1, when the Broncs host Fairfield at 7pm. “Today better serve as a wake-up call for the guys,” Inverso said. “The toughest, hungriest guys are going to play that game.”
-ru-
