Men's College Soccer

Rider University 1, Seton Hall University 0

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ— In the 1500s, Spain amassed great wealth during the period of exploration but many of the Spanish ships fell victim to the pirates of the Caribbean.

On Tuesday night a pair of Spaniards got their revenge against the Pirates of Seton Hall.

In front of an overflowing crowd, Rider defeated Seton Hall. “They are a very good team from the Big East Conference,” said Rider head coach Charlie Inverso.  “They've been playing teams like (#14) Creighton, St. John's. I have a ton of respect for them. This was a good win.”

First-year senior Fernando Pina (Madrid, Spain) scored the lone goal of the game on an assist from junior Jose Aguinaga (Madrid, Spain) to give Rider a victory over Seton Hall Tuesday night. “That was a beautiful goal,” Inverso said.

Pina took a pass from junior Elliott Otmani (LaCiotat, France), who received a cross from Aguinaga, and scored his first collegiate goal.

“It was good action,” Pina said with his thick, Spanish accent.  “Jose took the ball and passed it to Elliot and I was trying to stay on side. Elliot passed it to me and it was real easy to score the goal because of the good pass.”

“Fernando is working his way in,” Inverso said. “With a goal like that it will be hard to keep him out of the lineup. He is new to us, he's only been here a month, but he is a seasoned player who has played at a high level. He brings a lot to the table.”

It was just the fourth game for Pina, who arrived at Rider four games into the season, just as the fall semester was starting. “Things have been difficult only being here a short time,” Pina said.  “Here everything is different but I think I am adapting.”

Seton Hall (2-6-1) out-shot Rider (5-2-1) 15-9, including 9-3 in the second half.

Rider senior goalkeeper Ryan Baird (Plainfield, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) made five saves for the shutout, his fourth of the season. “Baird was solid,” Inverso said.

Rider won 2-1 at Seton Hall last year.

Rider and Seton Hall have now met 26 times since the series began in 1939, with the Broncs holding a 15-9-2 advantage in the series. Rider won at Seton Hall in 2011, Coach Charlie Inverso's first-ever game at Rider, but the Pirates won the next two, both in overtime.

Rider hosts Niagara in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game Saturday at 1pm. “They just beat Quinnipiac on the road so they are going to be tough,” Inverso said. “It is Alumni Day so we have to rise above it.”

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