LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Elliott Otmani (La Ciotat, France/Bonaparte) scored a pair of first-half goals as the Rider University men's soccer team cruised to a 3-0 win over hOURglass rival Monmouth Wednesday night at Ben Cohen Field. With the win, the Broncs' third-straight, Rider improves to 6-2-0 (1-0-0 MAAC).
 
Jose Aguinaga (Madrid, Spain) won a 50-50 ball in the midfield, pushing it to Otmani with space in the 16h minute. Otmani dribbled all the way to the top of the 18-yard box without being stopped before ripping a low shot inside the left post for the score. In the 43^rd minute, Mathis Catanzaro (Montpellier, France/MHSC) passed Otmani into the midfield before the senior unleashed a rocket from 35 yards out, tucking it into the right upper 90.
 
In the 61^st minute, Pablo DeCastro (Madrid, Spain) collected a ball deflected away by the Monmouth defense at the top of the 18-yard box and shot inside the left post for the 3-0 lead.
 
Quotes and Notes
 "Our guys came to play tonight. Monmouth's a class team. They've been to five NCAA Tournaments. They're really well-coached. It was a good showing by our guys."
 
(On Otmani's goals) "The first one was pretty incredible, but the second one was off the charts. Good for him. He's coming back from an injury. He's a great guy, a great captain. We're happy for him." – Rider Head Coach Charlie Inverso
 
"In the past two seasons, we lost and tied in the first game in the conference. It's always nice to start with a win. We get confidence. We're going to go and play Saint Peter's on Saturday. It's going to be a tough game against a tough team that played very good against us last season." – Elliott Otmani
 
- Ranked as the top team in the Northeast Region to begin the week by the United Soccer Coaches, Rider has now won three straight games.
- The win was the Broncs' first in the regular season over Monmouth since 1998. Rider's starting goalkeeper that day was Rider Sports Hall of Famer Keith Richardson, who currently serves as Monmouth's Assistant Vice President of Leadership Programs.
 
Broncs By The Numbers
- Otmani scored his third and fourth goals of the year and briefly stood atop the Broncs' scoring list before DeCastro scored his fourth goal of the season.
- Aguinaga pulled into a tie with Clement Bourret (Orleans, France/Lycee Jean Giraudoux) for the team lead with his fifth assist. Already the program's all-time assists leader, Aguinaga now has 28 for his career.
- Catanzaro distributed his first assist of the year on Otmani's second goal.
- Rider took a 13-5 edge in shots and a 5-1 advantage in shots on goal.  
- Monmouth took a 7-5 edge in corner kicks.
- David Pastuna (Robbinsville, NJ/Robbinsville) made one save in securing his second shutout of the year and the eighth of his career.