Saturday, September 21, 2019
Rider Broncs (3-2-2, 0-0-0 MAAC) vs. Siena Saints (2-5-1, 0-0-0 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Ben Cohen Field
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
Live Video – BroncVision
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
 
What You Need To Know
- Rider opens MAAC play against Siena on Saturday afternoon on Ben Cohen Field. Both teams have played well of late. The Broncs scored a 6-1 win over Delaware State and a 1-1 tie against Temple in its final non-league tune-ups, while Siena tied Central Connecticut and defeated Seton Hall and Maine in its last three.
- The Broncs have posted a 5-5-1 record in league openers under Head Coach Drayson Hounsome, including a 4-1-1 mark in the last six. Last season, the Broncs handed Monmouth its only league loss of the year.
- Makenzie Rodrigues scored the equalizer in the 71^st minute against Temple en route to a 1-1 draw with the Owls. Paired with her two goals against Delaware State, Rodrigues had three goals on the week en route to MAAC Rookie of the Week honors on Sept. 16.
- After losing its first five matches of the year against some tough competition, Siena has bounced back with a 2-0-1 stretch to end non-conference play.
- Amber Alfonzo leads Siena with three goals, while Ashleigh Sarafin has scored twice. Carrie Krohn and Katrina Kurtz have also scored once each, while Emily McNelis has a team-best two assists.
- Taylor Dorado has played every minute in goal for Siena, posting a 1.70 goals-against average and a .754 saves percentage.   
- Rider and Siena are deadlocked at 10-10-4 in the all-time series. The Saints have taken the last two, both by 1-0 margins, following a seven-game unbeaten streak by Rider from 2011-16.  
- Rider scored a resounding 6-1 win over Delaware State on Sept. 12 on the strength of Sofia Soares' hat trick and seven-point game and another pair of goals from freshman Makenzie Rodrigues, the first of her career. The hat trick followed another three goals a year ago from former Bronc Kourtney Cunningham, also on Sept. 12 against the same Hornets.
- After winning their first two games against Wagner and St. Francis Brooklyn at home, the Broncs tied Fairleigh Dickinson and fell 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 for her 15^th and 16^th career assists, moving her into fifth all-time at Rider.
- 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.
- 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 2-0-0 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).