LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Kourtney Cunningham (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) scored in the 18^th minute and Ellie Smith (Norwich, England/Norwich City) added goals in the 40^th and 63^rd minutes as the Rider University women's soccer team defeated hOURglass rival Saint Peter's, 3-0, Wednesday night on Ben Cohen Field. With the win, the Broncs improve to 1-7-0 (1-1-0 MAAC), while the Peacocks slip to 2-6-0 (0-2-0 MAAC).
 
Cunningham received a beautiful pass over the top of the Saint Peter's defense inside the 18-yard box from Michelle Iacono (Merrick, NY/Calhoun) and finished inside the left post to stake Rider to a 1-0 lead in the 18^th minute. Later in the first half, the Broncs again scored off Iacono's service, this time taking a Valeria Pascuet (Banuel, Navarra, Spain/San Fermin Ikastola) down the right sideline and crossing to Smith for the header inside the six-yard box.
 
The Broncs would tack on a third goal in the 63^rd minute, with Smith and Pascuet executing a give-and-go into the box before Smith finished inside the right post.
 
Quotes & Notes
"It's been a challenge to get us to this point. But we've been playing well and getting better every game. So we feel really happy for the team. They've worked really hard. Working hard doesn't always give you the result, but today we were able to get the result."
 
"Overall, just a fantastic team effort. The energy on the bench was great. Sometimes it's easy to slip in those games and give up a goal, so I thought our defensive unit was strong. Our midfielders won balls and obviously our attackers scored some good goals."
 
"When you haven't won that first win, there's a weight on you. Hopefully that weight then gets lifted. We know we can win. There's no curse on us, we're not hitting crossbars twice and penalties not being given in games. We can get wins. So for a lot of them, especially our freshmen, this is their first college win. So they experienced that and hopefully can feed off that now and get another three points on Saturday."  – Rider Head Coach Drayson Hounsome
 
"It's a great feeling. It's been a long six weeks without a win, but finally it's all worth it."
 
"Our positivity for what's been happening has been brilliant and now it's just going to be even higher, so that's what's going to maintain us. The bench is just incredible. Some of them aren't stepping on the field yet, but they're the loudest in here. It's great." – Senior forward Ellie Smith
 
- A game after making eight saves as the tough-luck losing goalkeeper, Rider freshman goalkeeper Carmen Carbonell (Valencia, Spain/Guadalaviar School) did not have to make a save in securing her first collegiate victory and clean sheet.  
- The shutout was the Broncs' first since last Oct. 8, a 1-0 victory over Siena.

Broncs By The Numbers
- The two goals for Smith pulled her into a tie with Cunningham for the team lead with three goals apiece. Smith now has 18 career goals, while Cunningham had 10.
- Iacono dished out her 13^th and 14^th career assists.
- Pascuet registered her first two assists of the season and now has five for her career.
- Rider enjoyed a 23-3 edge in shots and an 8-0 advantage in shots on goal.
- Rider took six corner kicks, while the Peacocks did not take a corner.