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Jose Aguinaga
Peter G. Borg (Rider University)
2
Winner Rider RID (10-2-0, 5-0-0 MAAC)
1
Niagara NIAM (2-9-2, 1-3-1 MAAC)
Winner
Rider RID
(10-2-0, 5-0-0 MAAC)
2
Final
1
Niagara NIAM
(2-9-2, 1-3-1 MAAC)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 OT 2 F
Rider RID 1 0 0 1 2
Niagara NIAM 0 1 0 0 1

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Men's Soccer Earns Last-Second Victory Over Niagara in Double Overtime

Aguinaga scores golden goal with six seconds remaining

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY – Senior Jose Aguinaga (Madrid, Spain) scored off a free kick with six seconds remaining in the second overtime to send the nationally-ranked No. 25 Rider University men's soccer team past Niagara, 2-1, Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Broncs remain unbeaten in league play at 10-2-0 (5-0-0 MAAC), while the Purple Eagles are now 2-9-2 (1-3-1 MAAC).
 
The Broncs opened the scoring in the 17th minute, again off an Aguinaga free kick. This time, the senior connected with freshman Sylvain Coco (Nimes, France/University of Montpellier) for a header at the far post.
 
Rider led for the next 58 minutes before Bautista Pedezert finished off an assist from Danilo Pekovic in the 75th minute to send the game to overtime. With Niagara committing a foul just outside the box and standing over the ball to prevent a restart in the waning seconds of the second overtime, the referee stopped the clock, allowing Rider time to organize. Aguinaga then delivered the dramatic golden goal.

Quotes and Notes
"We looked tired, but we were sharp for the first 30 minutes and probably should've had at least three in the first 30 minutes. At about the 30th minute, we hit a wall. Having said that, we missed a zillion easy chances today. Just maybe signs of fatigue. Maybe that we weren't totally sharp today. We missed Mathis (Catanzaro), but (Andrew Crawford) filled in admirably. It was a win on the road and we'll take it and regroup and get ready to go on the road again."

"We got a foul awarded right outside the box, I believe (Clement Bourret) was tripped. The clock was ticking down. They were standing in front of the ball, which was the smart play. The referee let quite a few seconds tick off and then stopped the clock. Jose hit it, it was a low ball, it looked like the goalkeeper was screened and it just went in. That's about the only thing their goalkeeper didn't save. He was off-the-charts good today." – Rider Head Coach Charlie Inverso
 
- The Broncs are now an unbeaten 7-0-6 in their last 13 overtime contests dating back to the 2014 season. Rider is 4-0-0 in overtime contests this year with a Sept. 1 victory at Temple, a Sept. 16 win against LIU Brooklyn and victories in each of their last two over Manhattan and Niagara in the 109th and 110th minutes, respectively. The last time Rider lost in overtime was the 2013 season finale against Quinnipiac.
- Over the Broncs' seven-game winning streak, they've outscored the opposition, 16-3.
- Rider is now 11-7-3 all-time against Niagara, wins in each of the last four.
- The Broncs went 2-0 this week after entering the national rankings at No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll and No. 30 in the College Soccer News National Poll.
 
Broncs By The Numbers
- Aguinaga's goal was his second of the year, while his assist pulled him into a three-way tie for the MAAC lead with teammate Clement Bourret (Orleans, France/Lycee Jean Giraudoux) and Bjarki Benediktsson of Canisius with eight assists on the year.
- Coco's goal was his second of the season, with both coming off set pieces.
- Senior goalkeeper David Pastuna (Robbinsville, NJ/Robbinsville) made four saves to earn the victory.
- Rider took a 25-15 edge in shots and a 14-5 advantage in shots on goal.  
- Both teams took six corner kicks.
- Niagara goalkeeper Steve Casey made nine saves, while other Purple Eagles defenders cleared three shots off the goal line.
 
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