LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Sylvain Coco (Nimes, France/University of Montpellier) scored his first two goals of the season as the Rider University men's soccer team defeated Canisius, 3-1, Saturday night on Ben Cohen Field. With the win, the Broncs improve to 4-3-1 (1-0-1 MAAC), while the Griffs fall to 1-8-0 (0-2-0 MAAC).

The Broncs fell behind, 1-0, on a Matthew Spangler goal on a third-chance opportunity in the 27^th minute. The Griffs' first two shots off a free kick deep in the Rider defensive third were saved and blocked before Spangler's shot from just inside the 18-yard box found the back of the net. Rider evened the score in the 38^th minute, when a free kick of its own from Clement Bourret (Orleans, France/Lycee Jean Giraudoux) into the box was headed on twice by Juan Carlos Garcia Gomez (Madrid, Spain/Universidad de Vitoria) and finally Coco inside the right post to even the score prior to halftime.

The Broncs took the lead for good in the 70^th minute. Aaron Robinson's (Lancaster, PA/Conestoga Valley) throw in down the right sideline led Pablo DeCastro (Madrid, Spain/Universidad de Vitoria), who crossed perfectly into the box to a streaking Bourret, who knocked it past a charging Griffs goalkeeper Tom Crosbie for the 2-1 lead.

For good measure, Coco elevated to head in Bourret's corner in the 81^st minute for the final 3-1 advantage.
 
Quotes and Notes
"They're a young team. They were scrappy tonight. I've seen this happen a thousand times where you have a lot of possession, a lot of flow and you turn around and you're down, 1-0. I thought getting that one right before halftime was huge. I've got to give my staff a lot of credit. They came up with some great ideas in the second half and the adjustments that we made at halftime was the big difference." – Rider Head Coach Charlie Inverso
 
"I'm very happy to score my first two goals. I've had a lot of problems with injuries and everything. I'm happy to help the team. It was important for us to win tonight, so I'm very happy to score tonight."

"We work hard together. We have a lot of French guys in the back, so the communication is pretty easy." – Rider redshirt senior back Sylvain Coco  

- The Broncs now lead the all-time series with Canisius, 14-10-2, including wins in each of the last three and a five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2).
- Rider was not issued a caution for the first time this season.
- The Broncs return to action Saturday for their MAAC home opener against Canisius. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN3.  
 
Broncs By The Numbers
- The two assists were the first of the year with Bourret, who now leads the team with four goals and 10 points. He now has an even 15 goals and 15 assists for his career, good for 45 points.
- Coco scored his first two goals of the year after accounting for three goals in each of his first two seasons in Lawrenceville.
- DeCastro distributed his second assist of the year, while Garcia Gomez and Robinson each collected their first assists of the season.
- Pablo Gatinois (Madrid, Spain/Lycee Francais de Madrid) made six saves to earn his third win of the season.
- Rider took a 20-11 edge in shots, while both teams put seven shots on target.  
- The Broncs took four corner kicks to the Griffs' two.