LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The second-seeded Rider University men's soccer team fell to sixth-seeded Monmouth, 2-0, in the MAAC Championship Semifinals Wednesday afternoon on Ben Cohen Field. With the loss, the Broncs conclude their season at 3-1-1, while the Hawks (4-2-1) move on to Saturday's MAAC Championship Game at top-seeded Quinnipiac.
The Hawks opened the scoring at the seven-minute mark of the first half as Julian Gomez scored off a Ben Zakowski assist. Early in the second half, Zakowski flicked a pass ahead to Sebastian Rodriguez, who finished in the 51
st minute to put the Hawks on top, 2-0. Rider managed to outshoot the Hawks, 14-13, including a 6-5 edge in shots on goal, but could not find the back of the net.
Quotes & Notes
"We weren't good today. We weren't sharp and we weren't quick to the ball and that's usually not like us. Usually that's been one of our trademarks, I think, that we're usually very passionate and play hard. But today, we just looked tired."
"Today was a bitter shocker. Having said that, we created so a lot of opportunities, but not as many good chances. What are you going to do? We'll come back and get ready for August." –
Rider Head Coach Charlie Inverso
- Rider and Monmouth were meeting for just the second time in the MAAC Championships. Rider took the first meeting in the 2015 MAAC Championship Game.
- Broncs goalkeeper
Pablo Gatinois (Madrid, Spain/Lycee Francais de Madrid [Oregon State]) made three saves in defeat.
- The Broncs took eight corner kicks to Monmouth's three.
