Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Rider Broncs (7-5-2, 3-3-1 MAAC) vs. Quinnipiac Bobcats (6-6-2, 3-2-2 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Ben Cohen Field
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Live Video – BroncVision
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
 
What You Need To Know
- The Broncs take on the Bobcats Wednesday night in a key MAAC contest.
- Rider is currently in sixth place, a point behind the Bobcats for fifth in the MAAC standings with three games left on the league docket. The 2018 MAAC Championships will feature a six-team field.
- Following consecutive wins over Iona and Manhattan, the Broncs fell at Siena, 1-0, on Saturday.
- Rider owns a 3-2-1 edge in the all-time series with Quinnipiac, which began in 2013 when the Bobcats joined the MAAC. Quinnipiac defeated the Broncs in the MAAC Quarterfinals last season after the two teams tied in the regular season. Rider is 2-0-0 against the Bobcats on Ben Cohen Field.
- Quinnipiac features a balanced attack, with five players with either three or four goals scored. Madison Borowiec and Kelsey Goldring both have four goals and two assists, while Selena Salas and Lauren Triglione both have three goals and three assists each. Al Pelletier has also scored three goals. Ally Grunstein is the Bobcats' assists leader with five.   
- Olivia Myszewski has seen the majority of time in goal for the Bobcats, posting a 1.33 goals-against average and a .785 saves percentage. She's compiled four clean sheets.   
- Kourtney Cunningham scored in consecutive wins over Iona and Manhattan, giving her 19 career goals. She's now tied with former teammates Ellie Smith and Michelle Iacono for seventh in program history, one behind current Rider assistant coach Tara Ballay for sixth. She also has 52 career points, good for eighth in program history and three behind Smith and four behind Iacono for seventh and sixth, respectively. She's just the eighth Bronc in program history to compile 50 points.
- Rider earned a 3-2 road win at Iona on Oct. 3. Valeria Pascuet scored twice for the second time this year to lead the Broncs to the victory.  
- Entering the season, Pascuet had just two goals through two years, one each in 2016 and 2017. With six goals and four assists, she's tied with Kourtney Cunningham for the team lead in points with 16 and stands alone in assists.
- Rider defeated Monmouth on Sept. 16. The win over Monmouth was the Broncs' first in the regular season over the Hawks since Monmouth joined the MAAC in 2013. Monmouth entered the contest 44-3-3 over its five years in the MAAC. The Hawks had not lost a conference opener since joining the league.
- Pascuet scored her fourth goal of the year to equalize at Fairfield in the 90^th minute.
- Freshman Sarah Gellert assisted on Pascuet's game-tying goal at Fairfield for her first-career assist.
- Freshman back Niamh Cashin (Nottingham, England/All Saints Academy) was recently called up to England's U-19 National Team for UEFA Qualifying. She helped her country qualify in three games in Croatia on Oct. 1, 4 and 7.
- Rider wrapped up non-conference play with a pair of wins on the road at Columbia (2-1) and Delaware State (5-1).
- The Broncs' five goals at Delaware State were their most in a single game since a 5-0 win over FDU in 2016.
- Kourtney Cunningham registered her first-career hat trick with three goals and an assist at Delaware State on Sept. 12. It was the Broncs' first hat trick since Ellie Smith did it against Fairleigh Dickinson on Aug. 25, 2016.
- Rider earned a 2-1 win at Columbia on Sept. 9 on the strength of Valeria Pascuet's brace.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Carmen Carbonell matched her career high of 12 saves, first established in the season-opener at Drexel, on Sept. 6 against nationally-ranked No. 23 Princeton. Carbonell had at least seven stops in her first five games before departing early against Columbia with four saves through 38-plus minutes.
- At 2-0-1 through three games, the Broncs started the season undefeated through three games for the first time since 2012. The 2012 squad won its first four.
- The Broncs' first three games of the season went to overtime. The last time Rider had three-straight games go to overtime to open a season came in 2010.  
- Rider opened the year with a 1-1 tie at Drexel, with Kourtney Cunningham scoring the equalizer in the 86^th minute. Cunningham's flair for the dramatic continued in a 2-1 overtime win as she scored the golden goal in the 95^th minute off a Sam Picinich assist.
- Picinich scored the game-winner against Fairleigh Dickinson in the 99^th minute, sending what appeared to be a pass ahead toward Cunningham at the top of the 18-yard box. Cunningham chased after the pass, as did the FDU goalkeeper. The ball bounced between the two, over the keeper's head and into the net for the win.
- Emily Curteis scored the equalizer against FDU in the 90^th minute. It was her first goal as a Bronc, while Cunningham and Sofia Soares assisted on the play. The assist was Soares' first since Sept. 17, 2016 after the junior missed all of 2017 due to injury.
- Picinich equalized against Wagner on a header in the 60^th minute off a beautiful free kick into the box from Pascuet as the Broncs came from behind for a 2-1 overtime victory.
- The Broncs returned seven players who started at least 11 games last season.
- Pascuet was named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team after consecutive all-league selections.
- Cunningham is joined by graduate student Maddie Lipton and Picinich as team captains.
- Picinich came on strong late last season, finishing with two goals and two assists.
- Lipton is joined on an experienced Broncs' back line by 2017 Preseason All-MAAC selection Meghan McCabe. 
- Rider welcomed eight newcomers this season in graduate student Emily Curteis (Stoke City Ladies FC) and freshmen Nikki Arrington (Middleton, MA/Masconomet Regional), Niamh Cashin (Nottingham, England/Sheffield FC), Gabrielle Cook (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South), Sarah Gellert (Severna Park, MD/Severna Park), Ailis Martin (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac), Ellie May (Leicester City Women FC) and Teresa Richardson (Las Vegas, NV/Bishop Gorman).
- Cashin was recently called up to training camp for her native England's U-19 National Team training camp.
- Notable losses from last year's roster include 2018 All-MAAC First Team selection Michelle Iacono, who had a team-high eight goals, seven assists and 23 points a year ago, and fellow First-Team honoree Emily Schmitt, who was a stabilizing force on the back line. Ellie Smith, who scored four goals despite missing six games due to injury, and Shannon Kelly (one goal, two assists in 2017) will also be missed. 
- The 2018 MAAC Championships return to campus sites following the 2017 tournament at ESPN's Wide World of Sports. Opening round games will be contested on Oct. 28, followed by the semifinals on Nov. 1 and the championship game on Nov. 4. The higher seed will host each game.