Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Rider Broncs (7-6-2, 4-3-2 MAAC) vs. Quinnipiac Bobcats (8-5-3, 6-2-1 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ - Ben Cohen Field
Kickoff: 4 p.m.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: www.GoBroncs.com

What You Need To Know
- Rider wraps up the regular season with a 4 p.m. Wednesday kickoff against Quinnipiac on ESPN+.
- The Broncs and Bobcats have both secured their spots in the MAAC Championships. Rider will be either the No. 4, 5 or 6 seed, while Quinnipiac will either be No. 2 or No. 3. Both teams need help in order to improve their seeding. If Iona wins its 7 p.m. match with Monmouth, the Bobcats would take the No. 3 seeding due to a 2-1 loss to the Gaels on Oct. 26. Rider could take the No. 4 seed with a win or tie and losses by both Manhattan and Marist. Should both Manhattan and Marist lose and Rider tie with Quinnipiac, Rider would have the greatest goal differential within the group and take the No. 4 seed. A Rider tie, Marist win and Manhattan loss would mean Rider is the No. 5 seed, while a Manhattan win, Marist loss and Rider tie would set up a tie between the Broncs and Red Foxes, with Marist taking the head-to-head tie-breaker and pushing Rider to the No. 6 seed.
- Rider leads the all-time series with Quinnipiac, 6-3. The Broncs are 2-1 against the Bobcats at home, with wins in the last two in 2015 and 2017. The lone loss on Ben Cohen Field was the first game in the series in 2013. Overall, Rider has won six of the last seven against Quinnipiac, with the lone loss coming in crushing fashion last Oct. 17 in Hamden. Rider led, 1-0, into the 84^th minute before reigning MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Eamon Whelan scored twice, including the game-winner with 26 seconds left in regulation, to give Quinnipiac the win. However, Rider got a measure of revenge with a 1-0 win in the MAAC Championship Final on Nov. 11 in Hamden.
- Rider has yet to have consecutive wins, losses or ties through 15 games this season.
- Freshman Matt Araujo was named MAAC Rookie of the Week on Nov. 4 after scoring his first collegiate goal and assisting on Aaron Gabriel's game-winner in overtime at Iona on Oct. 30. The win proved pivotal in Rider clinching its sixth-straight MAAC Championship berth prior to the season's final game, as the win over Iona is the potential tie-breaker with Fairfield, should the two teams become tied at the regular season's end.
- Quinnipiac has won its last two games against Fairfield and Siena, is 5-1-1 in its last seven, and is the only team in the league to defeat Saint Peter's this season, a 2-1 double-overtime decision in Hamden to open league play on Oct. 2.
- Whelan leads Quinnipiac with nine goals and 19 points this season. Tomas Svecula has also added five goals and four assists, while Romain Daniellou has three goals and five assists. Simon Hillinger and Oriac Vila Rotxas have scored four goals each. Brage Aasen is the team's assist leader with six, while Jordon Bennett has contributed three assists.  
- Jared Mazzola has played every minute in net for the Bobcats this season, posting a 1.36 goals-against average and a .747 saves percentage.
- The Broncs took a 1-0 road win at Siena on Oct. 23, with Pablo DeCastro scoring in his fourth-straight game off assists from Sam Carter and Clement Bourret.   
- Pablo DeCastro leads the Broncs with seven goals and 16 points so far this year. Clement Bourret has also added four goals and three assists. Bourret and DeCastro each have two game-winning goals. DeCastro now has 24 goals in his three years at Rider, while Bourret has scored 15 career goals.  
- Pablo Gatinois made one save at Siena to compile his 11th shutout with the Broncs and the 12th of his collegiate career. The 11 shutouts tie him with Ryan Baird (11) for fourth all-time at Rider, while David Pastuna (12), Keith Richardson (14) and Chip Maruca (15) follow.
- Rider earned a 3-2 overtime victory over Manhattan in heavy rain and windy conditions on Oct. 16. Coco, DeCastro and Sergio Aguinaga each scored for the Broncs.
- On Oct. 12, the Broncs played hOURglass rival Monmouth to a 2-2 tie. Pablo DeCastro and Francisco Gomez Olano each scored goals for Rider. 
- Sylvain Coco was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 7 after leading the Broncs to a scoreless tie at Fairfield and scoring twice in Rider's 3-1 win over Canisius.
- Rider dropped a heartbreaker at Saint Peter's, conceding the equalizer in the 81^st minute before a game-winning penalty kick was awarded to the Peacocks with six seconds remaining in the second overtime. 
- The Broncs opened MAAC play with a scoreless tie at Fairfield on Oct. 2 in a match-up of 2018 MAAC Tournament Champion vs. 2018 Regular Season Champion and 2019 Preseason Favorite. It was just the fourth scoreless tie in Charlie Inverso's nine years at Rider and the first since 2017.
- After distributing three assists to begin the year Mathis Catanzaro, added his first goal of the year, the game-winner in the 106^th minute at Stony Brook. DeCastro also added the equalizer on a penalty kick in the 45^th minute.
- Bourret was named MAAC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring twice in the Broncs' 2-0 win over La Salle. 
- Pablo Gatinois was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 9, after making seven saves in a shutout victory at Fordham. 
- Rider was picked third in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
- Rider advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four years a season ago, pushing eventual national runner-up Akron in a tie game through 83 minutes, before falling, 3-1, in the First Round.
- The Broncs were 5-9-1 (4-4-0 MAAC) through 15 games last season before winning their final two games in the regular season and three MAAC Championship games – all five by shutout – to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
- The Broncs have reached the MAAC Championship Game in each of the last four years, becoming just the third program in MAAC history to make four-straight MAAC Championship Game appearances. Rider joined Loyola (1989-97, no longer in MAAC) and Fairfield (1998-2002).
- Rider's seven shutouts last season tied the program single-season record, both as a team and individually for then-sophomore goalkeeper Pablo Gatinois. The 1997 and 2015 teams also had seven shutouts each. Gatinois tied Keith Richardson's individual record set in 1997 with seven clean sheets.
- Rider became the first team in MAAC Championship history to win three true road games in the tournament en route to the title last season. The tournament moved first from a four-team field held at one site to six teams in 2014 with the quarterfinals at the higher seed and the semifinals and finals at the top seed. Beginning in 2017, all games were hosted by the higher seed.