Saturday, October 16, 2021
Rider Broncs (5-5-1, 2-2-0 MAAC) vs. Saint Peter's Peacocks (5-7-0, 3-2-0 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Ben Cohen Field
Kickoff: 5 p.m.
Live Video: ESPN3
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com

What You Need To Know
- The Rider University men's soccer team welcomes Garden State foe Saint Peter's to Ben Cohen Field Saturday evening.
- The Broncs are coming off a tough 4-2 loss at Marist Wednesday in which they played the final 57 minutes down a man due to a straight red card for a foul in the midfield.
- Zaki Alibou scored his eighth goal of the season in the loss, keeping him in a tie for the league lead in goals, while his 19 points are tops in the conference.
- Lenny Cidolit also had a goal and an assist at Marist.
- The Broncs are 5-5-1 (2-2-0 MAAC) so far this season, with wins over Central Connecticut, Stony Brook, Fordham, Quinnipiac and Niagara, a tie at NJIT and losses to Villanova, Saint Francis (Pa.), La Salle, Monmouth and Marist.
- The Broncs earned a 2-1 win over Niagara on Oct. 9, with Alibou scoring the equalizer early in the second half off assists from Sergio Aguinaga and Guillaume Sarrabayrouse before an own goal in the 84^th minute proved to be the difference. Aguinaga's assist was his team-leading sixth of the year.
- Alibou scored his fifth and sixth goals of the year at Quinnipiac, while Sergio Aguinaga dished out three assists. Regis Dulck and Francisco Gomez Olano also scored in the win, with Adel Al-Masude contributing an assist.
- The four-goal output was the Broncs' third of the year and their fourth game in which they've scored at least three goals. Rider has won all four of its games this year in which it's scored at least three goals.
- Following Alibou's three-goal week in wins over Quinnipiac and Niagara, he was named MAAC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 11.
- Pablo Gatinois started four of the first six games in net this season, posting a 2.20 goals-against average and a .400 saves percentage. Guillaume Veinante has since served as the Broncs' starter, posting a 1.80 GAA and .552 saves percentage in eight games played.
- Saint Peter's is 5-7-0 (3-2-0 MAAC), with league wins over Fairfield, Marist and Canisius. The Peacocks are 1-5 this season away from Jaroschak Field, with the lone win coming last time out at Canisius.
- Jaime Davis is the MAAC's leader with nine assists by a three-assist margin over Sergio Aguinaga, and is Saint Peter's points leader with 13. Matt Ellis and Matt Hoyt lead the Peacocks with four goals apiece, while Daniel Blackmore has scored three goals.
- Hermun Wulff and Guillem Badenes Mecho have both seen significant time in goal for Saint Peter's, with Wulff seeing the bulk of the recent play. Wulff has a 1.26 goals against average and a .765 saves percentage, while Badenes Mecho has compiled a 2.69 GAA and .610 saves percentage.
- Rider owns a 24-14-1 edge in the all-time series with Saint Peter's. The Peacocks have won the last two meetings, including a 2-1 double-overtime in the last meeting, Oct. 9, 2019. In the last meeting, Saint Peter's converted a PK for the golden goal with six seconds left in the second overtime.
- The Broncs opened MAAC play with a 1-0 double-overtime heartbreaker at Monmouth on Sept. 29, before bouncing back with a convincing 4-2 win at MAAC preseason favorite Quinnipiac on Wednesday. 
- Adel Al-Masude scored twice in the Broncs' 4-3 win over 2020-21 NCAA Qualifier Fordham on Sept. 22. For his effort, he was named MAAC Rookie of the Week.
- Justin Ruffino scored what proved to be the game-winning goal and added an assist in the win over Stony Brook. Lenny Cidolit and Zaki Alibou also scored in the win, while Adel Al-Masude and Jeremy Peterson also contributed assists.
- The Broncs were picked fourth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll. Rider has qualified for the MAAC Championships in each of the last eight seasons, including four MAAC title game appearances and three MAAC Championships in that span.
- Gomez Olano was named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team. He followed up a two-goal, three-assist performance in 17 games in his first season at Rider in 2019 with a three-assist effort in just five games last Spring.
- The Broncs also return graduate student forward Pablo DeCastro, who's scored 27 goals and registered 61 points over the last four seasons. A two-time All-MAAC Second Team selection, DeCastro scored the game-winning goal in the 2018 MAAC Championship Game at Quinnipiac.
- Gatinois has won 20 games in his four seasons at Rider, compiling 14 clean sheets. His next shutout would tie him for the most in program history with Chip Maruca.
- Rider returned nearly all of its scoring from a year ago, with only Guillaume Vacter's one goal not returning. Vacter transferred to the University of Connecticut.