Sunday, November 10, 2019 * MAAC CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS
#6 Rider Broncs (7-7-2) vs. #3 Iona Gaels (11-5-1)
Location: New Rochelle, NY – Mazzella Field
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: ICGaels.com
Championship Program: MAACSports.com

What You Need To Know
- Rider enters MAAC Championship play with its sixth-straight tournament berth and in search of its fifth-straight MAAC title game appearance and fourth championship in five years.
- Sunday's game is a rematch of last year's MAAC Quarterfinals, also played on Mazzella Field, with the then-fifth-seeded Broncs defeated the No. 4 Gaels, 2-0. Sylvain Coco and Pablo DeCastro each scored second-half goals as the Broncs advanced.
- Rider has had unique success on Mazzella Field, where the Broncs have won four-straight, dating back to the 2015 season. Iona is 12-2-2 at home over its last 16 games at home in the last two years, with the only two losses coming to the Broncs in last year's quarterfinals and a double-overtime Rider victory this past Oct. 30. Moving into 2017, the Gaels' last three losses to MAAC competition on Mazzella Field have come against Rider, with Iona posting a 9-3-3 record against league foes in that time and the Broncs taking a 2-1 win on Oct. 25, 2017.  
- Together with the four-straight wins at Mazzella Field, the Broncs have also won games on Ben Cohen Field in 2016 and 2018 for six-straight wins over Iona. The winning streak pushed Rider to a 12-10-1 advantage in the all-time series with Iona.
- Both teams fell on the final day of the league schedule, with the Broncs falling to Quinnipiac, 3-1, and Iona taking a 2-1 overtime defeat at Monmouth.
- Pablo DeCastro scored his team-leading eighth goal in defeat to Quinnipiac on Nov. 6. The goal gives him 18 points this season, following 19-point performances in each of his first two seasons with the Broncs. For his Rider career, he's scored 25 goals. He's scored in five of his last six games played, while sitting out the Oct. 30 game at Iona due to card accumulation.   
- Mauro Bravo leads Iona with nine goals and 23 points, while Lenworth Lopez has added seven goals and two assists. Najim Romero has contributed four goals and five assists, while Esad Mackic has scored three goals and distributed a team-best seven assists. Josh Plimpton (3 goals, 3 assists) and Eimantas Lotuzys (2 goals, 4 assists) have also made significant offensive contributions for the Gaels.
- Giuliano Santucci has seen the majority of time in goal for Iona, posting a 1.28 goals-against average and a .709 saves percentage. Gabriel Cinanni has also seen action in six games, five in MAAC play, posting a 1.36 GAA and .667 saves percentage.
- Rider has yet to have consecutive wins, losses or ties through 16 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.
- 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.  
- Bourret has also added four goals and three assists this season, with two going for game winners. 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. 
- 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.