Thursday, September 12, 2019
Rider Broncs (2-2-1) vs. Delaware State Hornets (0-6-0)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Ben Cohen Field
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Live Video – ESPN+
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
 
What You Need To Know
- Thursday's game will be Rider's first school-produced ESPN broadcast of the season, with the match being aired live on ESPN+. Three additional Rider women's soccer contests – Niagara (ESPN+ - Oct. 2), Saint Peter's (ESPN3 – Oct. 9) and Iona (ESPN+ - Oct. 30) – will also be broadcast live this season on the ESPN family of networks.
- After winning their first two games against Wagner and St. Francis Brooklyn at home, the Broncs have tied Fairleigh Dickinson and fallen to NJIT and Columbia. 
- Rider opened the year with a come-from-behind, 3-2 double-overtime victory over Wagner on Aug. 23. Nikki Arrington scored the first two goals of her collegiate career and Hailey Russell added the golden goal and an assist. For their efforts, Arrington and Russell were named MAAC Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively.
- Russell added her second goal of the year against St. Francis Brooklyn, while Niamh Cashin scored the game-winning goal, a game after contributing an assist against Wagner.
- Valeria Pascuet distributed a pair of assists on the Broncs' two goals against St. Francis Brooklyn.
- Camryn Dees and Makenzie Rodrigues picked up their first collegiate assists on Russell's golden goal against Wagner.  
- With consecutive shutouts against St. Francis Brooklyn and Fairleigh Dickinson, goalkeeper Carmen Carbonell was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 2.
- Delaware State is winless thus far in 2019, having fallen to Saint Peter's, Wagner, VMI, Marist, Lafayette and East Tennessee State, with the last four coming at home.
- Rider leads the all-time series with Delaware State, 8-0-1, including a 5-1 win last Sept. 12 in Dover. Kourtney Cunningham completed a hat trick in the victory.
- The Hornets have scored three goals this season – one each from Alyssa Coustenis, Savannah Ay and Geligne Franklin. Mary O'Conner has assisted on two of the goals. Franchesska Ramirez has played all but eight minutes in goal this season for the Hornets, posting a 4.23 goals-against average and a .569 saves percentage.   
- The Broncs were picked fifth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, matching their position in the 2018 standings.
- Pascuet and Cashin were named to the Preseason All-MAAC Teams. Pascuet is a three-time All-MAAC selection, earning First Team honors last year. Cashin was also named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team as a freshman last year.
- Kaitlyn Siciliano and Sofia Soares were selected captains for this season by their teammates.
- Pascuet is the Broncs' top returning scorer, having contributed six goals and a team-best seven assists a year ago. For her career, she's totaled eight goals, 14 assists and 30 points.
- Cashin was a welcome addition to the Broncs' back line last year, contributing a goal in Rider's 1-0 win over MAAC Champion Monmouth, while assisting on the game-winner against Quinnipiac. She's also seen significant time for her native England's U19 National Team.  
- The Broncs' last line of defense is Carbonell, a two-year starter entering 2019. The junior compiled a 1.17 goals-against average and an .844 saves percentage with two shutouts last year.
- Rider must replace the production of five starters lost, including four and five-year contributors Kourtney Cunningham, Maddie Lipton, Meghan McCabe and Sam Picinich. Cunningham finished among the top scorers in program history with 15 assists (5^th), 21 goals scored (6^th) and 57 points (6^th).
- Rider Head Coach Drayson Hounsome returns for his 12^th season, entering the season having compiled 90 wins in his time at the helm.  
- Rider was 5-1-2 when scoring first last season and is 1-0-0 so far this season when scoring first.  
- 11 different Broncs scored a goal in 2018.  
- Rider welcomes eight newcomers this season in graduate student Daiana Frizon David (Quilombo, Brazil/Jurema Savi Milanez (Monroe College)) and freshmen Jordan Wilson (Sayreville, NJ/Marine Academy of Science & Technology), Lindsey Maslow (Hanover, MA/Hanover), Camryn Dees (Pickerington, OH/Pickerington H.S. North), Hailey Russell (Riverside, NJ/Riverside), Makenzie Rodrigues (Seattle, WA/Forest Ridge), Karagh Tait (Derbyshire, England/Derbyshire) and Kaitlyn Wong (Walnut, CA/Walnut).