Box Score Men's College Soccer NCAA Tournament
University of Virginia 2, Rider University 0
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—The Rider University men's soccer season came to an end Thursday night with a hard fought loss to Virginia in the First Round of the NCAA Championship Tournament.
“I thought we played right with the defending national champs,” said Rider head coach Charlie Inverso. “I was extremely happy with the way we played. I am very proud of them. I thought we played them even up and they did too. Their coaches were really complementary of our group. We fought hard and played skillful. We followed the game plan.”
Virginia (10-4-3), the defending National Champion, took a 1-0 lead in the 68th minute of play. “They had stretches where they were definitely better,” Inverso said, “but I couldn't be prouder of our guys.”
With Rider (14-6-1) pushing forward, the Cavaliers scored again with less than three minutes left for the final score. “We pushed a lot of people forward to try to tie it up and they caught us on a counter attack,” Inverso said.
UVA will now play the tenth seed, the University of Maryland November 22 in the Second Round. “This isn't just any ordinary team,” Inverso said of UVA. “This is a legendary team that has won seven national championships that we just played on their home field. In the end, the difference is they can bring high school all-Americans in off the bench.”
Virginia out-shot Rider 18-10, including 9-5 in shots on goal. “We put together plenty of opportunities,” Inverso said. “The game was still in question up until the last minute and a half. A little break here and there and the game could have been different. We wanted to make them earn it and we did.”
Rider senior goalkeeper Ryan Baird (Plainfield, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) made seven saves, including a penalty kick. “We defended well,” Inverso said.
Rider entered the NCAA Tournament on a four-game winning streak and was 9-1-1 in its last 11 games. “After starting 0-2 in the conference these guys put together an unbelievable run,” Inverso said. “I think we've only lost twice in the last 49 days.”
The 14 wins this season is the second most ever in program history and the most since the 1997 team, ranked 15th in the nation, won 15 games. “I am proud of this team and I am proud of the program,” Inverso said.
Rider advanced to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship Tournament.
This marked the second consecutive year that Rider sent a soccer team to the NCAA tournament. The Rider women won the MAAC Championship Tournament in 2014 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, losing 1-0 to the University of Washington.
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