Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Rider Broncs (5-5-2, 2-2-1 MAAC) vs. Fairfield Stags (4-6-2, 3-2-1 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Ben Cohen Field
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com

What You Need To Know
- The Rider University men's soccer team plays host to Fairfield Wednesday night on ESPN+.
- The Broncs are coming off a wild 3-3 tie with Saint Peter's in rainy conditions Saturday night on Ben Cohen Field. Rider went down 2-0 early in the first half before battling back with goals in the 40^th and 51^st minutes. After Saint Peter's retook the lead 43 seconds after Rider equalized, the Broncs again knotted the game in the 57^th minute to earn a point.
- The Broncs not only contended with the weather, but the injury bug in Saturday's tie. With two of their starting backs departing with injuries in the first half, the Broncs got strong contributions from Tom Skrocki, who not only played a solid defensive game, but scored his first goal as a Bronc while seeing his first significant minutes.
- Sergio Aguinaga added a goal and an assist in the tie with Saint Peter's, while Adel Al-Masude contributed a goal and Zaki Alibou and Kevin Peprah also assisted on Aguinaga's equalizer.
- Zaki Alibou scored his eighth goal of the season in an Oct. 13 loss at Marist, keeping him in a tie for the league lead in goals, while his 20 points are tops in the conference.
- Lenny Cidolit also had a goal and an assist at Marist.
- The Broncs are 5-5-2 (2-2-1 MAAC) so far this season, with wins over Central Connecticut, Stony Brook, Fordham, Quinnipiac and Niagara, ties at NJIT and vs. Saint Peter's and losses to Villanova, Saint Francis (Pa.), La Salle, Monmouth and Marist.
- 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 1.89 GAA and .543 saves percentage in nine games played.
- Fairfield is 4-6-2 (3-2-1 MAAC), with league wins over Niagara, Manhattan and Iona, including wins consecutive home wins over the Jaspers and Gaels entering Wednesday night's game. However, the Stags have considerable home/road splits, with a 4-1-1 record at home and an 0-5-1 mark on the road.
- Jonathan Felipe leads the Stags with five goals and three assists, while Thomas Drillen is right behind him with four goals and three assists. Rasmus Sorensen Rejnhold is also tied with Felipe for the team lead with five goals. No other Stag has more than one goal or two assists.
- Will Marment and James Anderson have both seen significant time in goal for Fairfield, with Marment starting the last five games. For the season, he's posted a 1.52 goals-against average and a .694 saves percentage. Anderson has contributed a 1.85 GAA and .500 saves percentage in five games played.  
- Fairfield owns a 20-9-3 edge in the all-time series with the Broncs. However, the Broncs are unbeaten in the last three – a 2-0 win to knock off the top-seeded Stags in the 2018 MAAC Semifinals and a pair of scoreless draws the last two seasons.
- 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.
- 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.