Box Score Men's College Soccer
LIU Brooklyn 2, #22 Rider University 1
BROOKLYN, NY— The blackbird defends its territory by using a 'bow and run' threat display, which consists of a short run, the head first being raised and then bowed with the tail dipped simultaneously.
On Friday evening, the LIU Blackbirds defended LIU Field from the 22nd ranked Broncs. “Their defense was pretty solid,” said Rider head coach Charlie Inverso. “I don't think we got into a flow, attack-wise.”
The Broncs, ranked first in the Northeast Region and 22nd in the nation by NSCAA, 20th in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com, have now lost two in a row after a 4-0 start. “The rankings and the 4-0 start really don't matter,” Inverso said. “We have a good team and I want to see how good we are two months from now.”
The game was Rider's third in seven days. “I thought we were sluggish tonight,” Inverso said. “We just weren't sharp tonight.”
It was also the second straight game the Broncs were playing without All-Region junior forward Jose Aguinaga (Madrid, Spain). “We are a different team when we don't have Jose,” Inverso said. “There are a lot of things he does for us.”
LIU (3-2-1) scored in the 86th minute to take a 2-1 lead.
Rider (4-2) freshman Clement Bourret (Paris, France/Lycee Jean Giraudoux) scored in the 75th minute on an assist by junior Elliott Otmani (LaCiotat, France) to tie the score at 1-1. “It was a beautiful goal,” Inverso said. “Clement is coming through for us.”
It was the team-high third goal of the season for Bourret.
The Blackbirds took a 1-0 lead in the 66th minute off of a rebound.
Rider out-shot LIU 14-11.
Rider senior goalkeeper Ryan Baird (Plainfield, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) made three saves.
LIU is coming off a 1-1 tie with Howard.
Last season LIU advanced to the NCAA tournament by winning the Northeast Conference. In the NEC playoffs, however, LIU played to a pair of ties and advanced on PK shootouts. “They took Rutgers to penalty kicks in the NCAA tournament,” Inverso said. “They are a very good team.”
Rider defeated LIU 2-0 in Lawrenceville last year. The last time Rider visited LIU (2014) the Broncs won 5-2. The last time LIU defeated Rider was 2012 (1-0). Rider holds a 10-5 advantage in the series that began in 1933.
The Broncs travel to Buffalo, NY to take on Canisius in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game September 24. “We just have to rebound and get ready for the conference games,” Inverso said. “This is a pretty tough road trip.”
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