Box Score Women's College Soccer
Rider University 2, Wagner College 1
STATEN ISLAND, NY—The Broncs won for the second straight time, defeating Wagner on the road in a come-from-behind victory. “It was very hot but we were able to use the entire squad and get through it,” said Rider head coach Drayson Hounsome.
Junior Ellie Smith (Norwich, England/Norwich City) stole the ball and scored to give Rider a 2-1 lead in the 66th minute of play. “The goal was similar to the one she had the other night, when she robbed the player of the ball and was able to go in and score,” Hounsome said.
Smith scored three goals on Thursday.
Smith now has 11 career goals, including four game-winners.
Rider (2-1) tied the score 3:25 into the scored half on a goal by sophomore Kourtney Cunningham (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall), assisted by freshman Sofia Soares (Sao Paulo, Brazil/St. Nicholas).
“It was good to see Kourtney score,” Hounsome said. “She was very dangerous the whole game.” Cunningham had eight of Rider's 22 shots.
It was Cunningham's first goal of the season, along with two assists this year, and sixth career goal. Cunningham now has 19 career points in 21 games.
Wagner (1-3) scored on a penalty kick 8:36 into the game to take a 1-0 lead. “They called a dubious penalty which allowed Wagner to score but the team showed good character to respond to that adversity,” Hounsome said. “That was a tough blow to give up that goal but we showed good character.”
Rider and Wagner were both coming off of 5-0 victories on Thursday. Rider defeated defending NEC Champion FDU while Wagner defeated St. Peter's of the MAAC.
Rider out-shot Wagner 22-13, including 8-5 in shots on goal. “We had loads of chances,” Hounsome said.
Rider senior goalkeeper Bethany-May Howard (Glastonbury, England/Bridgwater College) made four saves. “Beth made a world class save when we were leading 2-1,” Hounsome said.
The Broncs won 4-1 here on Staten Island during the 2014 season. The two teams did not meet last year.
Rider leads the all-time series with Wagner 5-3.
Rider returns home to host Temple Thursday at 6pm. “We've lost to Temple the last few years so it will be a challenging game,” Hounsome said.
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