LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The fifth-seeded Rider University men's soccer team battled back from down 2-0 in the first half to tie the game and tied top-seeded Marist, 2-2, in Sunday's MAAC Championship Game. However, the Red Foxes advance to the NCAA Tournament with a 5-3 decision in penalty kicks. With the tie, the Broncs end their season at 10-7-3, while the Red Foxes (12-6-3) move on to the NCAA Tournament this week.

The Red Foxes took a 2-0 lead with goals from Justin Scharf and Kyle Galloway in the 18^th and 22^nd minutes, respectively. After a poor Marist clearance in the 28^th minute, Tyrrell Moore (Brooklyn, NY/Elisabeth Irwin [Wake Forest]) collected and beat a defender on his hip, Marist goalkeeper Sam Ilin and another Red Fox back streaking to the goal line to halve the deficit.

In the 49^th minute, Taner Bay (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) sent a cross from the goal line that was redirected by a Marist back inside the right post for an own goal, tying the game at 2-2. Broncs goalkeeper Pablo Gatinois (Madrid, Spain/Lycee Francais de Madrid [Oregon State]) did well to keep the game knotted at 2-2, making five saves in regulation.   

Both teams made their first three attempts in the penalty kick shootout, before Marist made its fourth attempt and Ilin saved Regis Dulck's (Ostwald, France/Lycee Jean Monnet Strasbourg) attempt to give the Red Foxes a 4-3 edge after four rounds. With only one round remaining, Jacob Schulman's conversion in the fifth round clinched the shootout.

Quotes & Notes
"35 years of being a Head Coach and this was one of the greatest games I've ever been involved with. And that's not rhetoric."

"The chances on goal, the goals/saves, the crowd and environment was insane. Down, 2-0, 21 minutes into the game, these guys battled back again with the seventh time we either won or tied after falling behind this season. This team dealt with so much adversity and so many setbacks. We were a pretty dysfunctional group for the first month of the season and evolved into a family."

"Losing Pablo DeCastro to a season-ending injury was devastating. He was one of the greatest goal scorers in Rider history."

"The seven seniors grew into amazing leaders. They are embedded in my heart and I am going to miss them." – Rider Head Coach Charlie Inverso

- The Broncs returned to the MAAC Championship Game for the eighth time in 26 years in the MAAC. Most recently, Rider made it to four-straight Championship Games from 2015-18, winning the league title in 2015, 2016 and 2018. 
- Rider is now 19-10-3 all-time in the MAAC Championships.
- The Broncs and Marist also met in the 2004 MAAC Championship Game, a 2-0 Red Foxes win.
- Gatinois made seven saves in the tie.
- The game featured five yellow cards – four to Rider and one to Marist.  
- Gatinois, Lenny Cidolit (Montpellier, France/Montpellier Univ.), Sergio Aguinaga (Madrid, Spain/Antonio Dominguez Ortiz), Matt Araujo (Fords, NJ/Saint Joseph), Regis Dulck (Ostwald, France/Lycee Jean Monnet Strasbourg), Taner Bay (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas), Guillaume Sarrabayrouse (Toulose, France/Pierre Paul Riquet) and Francisco Gomez Olano (Cadiz, Spain/Univ. of Cadiz) each played all 110 minutes.  
- Gatinois, Dulck and Bay were named to the MAAC All-Championship Team.

Broncs By The Numbers
- Moore scored his second goal of the year, gaining a measure of satisfaction after being sent off with a red card at Marist on Oct. 13.
- Marist outshot Rider, 17-7, including a 9-1 margin in shots on goal.
- Marist took five corner kicks to the Broncs' one.
- Sunday's game marked the third time this year Rider has battled back from a two-goal deficit to win or tie.