BUFFALO, NY – The Rider University men's soccer team scored twice and both halves and cruised to a 4-1 road win Saturday afternoon at Canisius. With the win, the Broncs improve to 7-5-2 (4-2-1 MAAC), while the Griffs slip to 1-11-2 (1-6-0 MAAC).
The Broncs took the early lead, with
Matt Araujo (Fords, NJ/Saint Joseph) scoring with the right foot off passes connected in the box by
Francisco Gomez Olano (Cadiz, Spain/Univ. of Cadiz) and
Adel Al-Masude (Brussels, Belgium) in the 21
st minute. The lead extended to 2-0 in the 35
th minute off
Sergio Aguinaga's (Madrid, Spain/Antonio Dominguez Ortiz) corner kick. The kick curled toward the six-yard box, where
Taner Bay (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) appeared to get a head on it to redirect further toward the net. The ball deflected off a Canisius back and into the net. Aguinaga was credited with the goal.
Canisius got a goal back in the 56
th minute, with Kodie Sarkodie scoring off a Jo Preci corner kick. But the Broncs pushed the lead back to 3-1 in 62' as Al-Masude's corner kick found
Lenny Cidolit's (Montpellier, France/Montpellier Univ.) right foot from point-blank range in the middle of the net. Canisius was denied a chance at again cutting the deficit to one as
Pablo Gatinois (Madrid, Spain/Lycee Francais de Madrid [Oregon State]) stopped an Atzori Alessio penalty kick in the 78
th minute. Four minutes later in the 82
nd minute,
Zaki Alibou (Meknes, Morocco/Meknes) was led down the left sideline by a Gomez Olano throw in, took it the distance into the box and sent a low shot past Griffs goalkeeper William Howard to put the game away.
Quotes & Notes
"It was a great team win. Gato's penalty kick save was huge. Guys like Fish (
Brendan Fischer) and Skrocki who hadn't been been playing were great today. Again, our team spirit was at a high level and it helped because Canisius is the hardest place to win in the MAAC." -
Rider Head Coach Charlie Inverso
- Rider pushed its lead in the all-time series with Canisius to 15-10-2, including wins in four straight an a six-game unbeaten streak (4-0-2) dating back through the 2016 season.
- Rider scored first for the first time in five games and just the fifth time this season. The Broncs are 4-1-0 this season when scoring first.
- Gatinois made his first appearance since Sept. 11 against La Salle. He made seven saves Saturday, nearly matching his previous season total of nine in four prior games.
- The win was the 21
st of Gatinois' Rider career.
- With three games remaining in league play, the Broncs improved their positioning in the MAAC standings to a tie for third place with Saint Peter's at 13 points. With an Iona win tonight at Niagara, the Gaels would make it a three-way tie. The teams trail Monmouth and Marist, which entered the day tied for first at 15 points apiece and were in action after the Broncs' game at Canisius ended.
- A game after no cautions were issued against Fairfield, 11 yellow cards were issued with eight being shown to Rider.
- Gatinois, Bay and
Brendan Fischer (Concord, NC/Hickory Ridge) each played all 90 minutes.
Broncs By The Numbers
- Rider is now 6-0-1 when scoring three goals or more and 5-0-0 when scoring four goals.
- Alibou entered the game a goal behind Iona's Camil Azzam Ruiz for the league lead. Alibou scored his 10
th goal of the year to tie Azzam Ruiz, who plays later tonight at Niagara.
- Aguinaga scored his fourth goal of the year, giving him 16 points for the year.
- The goal for Aguinaga tied him with Al-Masude, who distributed a pair of assists on the day. He how has four assists and 12 points on the year.
- Cidolit scored his third goal of the year.
- Gomez Olano distributed his first two assists of the year.
- The goal was Araujo's first of the year and third of his career with one in each of the last three seasons.
- For the game, Canisius outshot Rider, 19-18. Both teams put eight shots on target.
- Canisius took nine corner kicks to the Broncs' four.
Up Next
- The Broncs return to action Wednesday, when they welcome Iona. Kickoff from Ben Cohen Field is scheduled for 7 p.m.
