LOUDONVILLE, NY – Francisco Gomez Olano (Cadiz, Spain/Univ. of Cadiz) scored in the 5^th minute and Pablo Gatinois (Madrid, Spain/Lycee Francais de Madrid [Oregon State]) posted his program-record-breaking 16^th career clean sheet as the fifth-seeded Rider University men's soccer team defeated fourth-seeded Siena on the road in the MAAC Championship Quarterfinals Sunday afternoon on Hickey Field.

With the win, the Broncs (9-7-2) move on to a Thursday semifinal home game against an opponent still to be determined. Upsets have been the story of the quarterfinals thus far, with lower seeds Rider (5), Fairfield (6) and Monmouth (7) all earning road victories. Eighth-seeded Manhattan will face top-seeded Marist tonight at 5 p.m. to close out the round.

The Broncs opened the scoring in the fifth minute, with Jeremy Peterson's (Noisy Le Grand, France/Sarbonne Paris Nord) long throw in from the right corner finding Lenny Cidolit's (Montpellier, France/Montpellier Univ.) head. Cidolit played it down to Francisco Gomez Olano's (Cadiz, Spain/Univ. of Cadiz) feet at the six-yard box and the graduate student tapped in the easy finish for the 1-0 lead. Neither team could find the back of the net the rest of the first half. Gatinois made two big saves in each half and the Broncs completed the clean sheet.

Quotes & Notes
"It was a great effort on the road. We have not defended all that well, but we did a great job today. Paco's goal so early in the game was huge. This is still a young group with six or seven starters being new players. I give the assistant coaches, especially Victor Kotynski, five stars for the scout. We dedicated the game to Pablo DeCastro and he was walking down the sideline like he was a coach. And (Athletic Trainer) Karen Vassaluzzo does a great job keeping our guys in the line-up. Guys are dropping like flies." – Rider Head Coach Charlie Inverso

- The two teams entered the game deadlocked at 12-12-5 in the all-time series. The Broncs had won three-straight against Siena prior to last weekend's loss and own an 8-2-1 record against the Saints since 2014. The lone losses in the span came in 2017 in Loudonville and this past Oct. 30 in Lawrenceville.
- The Broncs are now 3-1-1 all time against Siena in the MAAC Championships. In the tie in the 2016 semifinals, Rider advanced on PK's and has advanced past the Saints in 4-of-5 playoff opportunities.
- Rider is now 18-10-2 all-time in the MAAC Championships, and has reached the semifinals 11 times, most recently last Spring, following four-straight appearances from 2015-2018.
- Seventh-seeded Monmouth upset No. 2 Saint Peter's, 1-0, with a Julian Gomez goal with three seconds left in regulation, while sixth-seeded Fairfield defeated No. 3 Niagara, 2-0. Rider would host a semifinal game against sixth-seeded Fairfield if Marist defeats Manhattan tonight. With a Jaspers win, Rider would be the top-remaining seed in the tournament and host Manhattan Thursday.  
- Gatinois made four saves in the win. His second shutout of the year gives him 16 for his career, passing Chip Maruca (15) for the program record.
- Siena was shown three yellow cards in the game to Rider's two.
- Cidolit did not play in last weekend's 2-0 loss to Siena due to card accumulation, while fellow back Peterson also did not play due to injury.
- Gatinois, Cidolit, Dulck, Guillaume Sarrabayrouse (Toulose, France/Pierre Paul Riquet) and Adel Al-Masude (Brussels, Belgium) each played all 90 minutes.  

Broncs By The Numbers
- Gomez Olano's goal was his fourth of the season.
- Peterson now has three assists, while Cidolit has two.
- Rider outshot Siena, 14-9, including a 6-4 edge in shots on goal.   
- Both teams took four corner kicks.       
- Zaki Alibou (Meknes, Morocco) led Rider with seven shots, including three on goal.
- Al-Masude also took five shots, with two on frame.
- The final two shots and one on target accounted for Gomez Olano's game winner.