Saturday, October 15, 2022
Rider Broncs (5-6-2, 2-4-0 MAAC) vs. Niagara Purple Eagles (7-5-1, 4-1-1 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Ben Cohen Field
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
Live Video – BroncVision
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
 
What You Need To Know
- The Rider University women's soccer team returns to action Saturday afternoon on BroncVision against Niagara.
- Prior to the game, the Broncs will honor their 10-member senior class, comprised of Nikki Arrington, Anna Barkey, Haley Benson, Camryn Dees, Gabriela Garcia, Ailis Martin, Lindsey Maslow, Makenzie Rodrigues, Hailey Russell and Karagh Tait.
- The first 100 Rider students will receive Rider branded soccer scarves.
- Following consecutive shutout victories over Saint Peter's and Manhattan, the Broncs have fallen in three-straight games to Iona, Fairfield and Quinnipiac.  
- The shutouts were Ellie Sciancalepore's fourth and fifth of the year, eclipsing her total of four combined clean sheets in 20 games played prior to this season.
- Niagara leads the all-time series with Rider, 15-10-2, including wins in four of the last five meetings.  
- The Purple Eagles are unbeaten in their last five games with a 4-0-1 record. They've defeated Manhattan, Saint Peter's, Mount St. Mary's and Siena and tied Canisius in the span. Niagara's lone conference loss this season came to league-leading Quinnipiac.
- Annie Ibey leads Niagara with five goals and 14 points, while Emma Bough is next at nine points with two goals and a team-leading five assists. Amanda Cripps has scored three goals, while Djaynaba Thiam has also scored twice.    
- Felicia Grufman and Agnes Stenlund have split time in goal for Niagara this season. Grufman has a 1.08 goals-against average and a .781 saves percentage, while Stenlund has a 1.27 goals-against average and a .714 saves percentage.
- Camryn Dees played a part in all three Rider goals in the win over Saint Peter's. She scored the game winner before tallying assists on the other two en route to MAAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Her three assists are tops on the team.
- Lindsey Maslow scored the game-winning goal for the Broncs at Manhattan. She and Makenzie Rodrigues now lead the Broncs with four goals and nine points apiece.
- Rider opened MAAC play Sept. 17, when it fell by a 2-1 score at Canisius. 
- The Broncs opened the season with three-straight road wins at Wagner, Villanova and Delaware State a year after going winless away from Ben Cohen Field. Since then, the Broncs have posted an 0-3-2 record, with ties to Temple at home and St. Francis Brooklyn on the road. The Broncs have fallen at Albany, Fairleigh Dickinson and Canisius in the span.
- The three-game winning streak was Rider's first since three-straight near the end of the Spring 2021 season (April 3-9 vs. Manhattan, Saint Peter's and Manhattan again in the MAAC Quarterfinals).
- The last time Rider won three-straight road games came in 2016.
- Included in Rodrigues' production was her first-career hat trick at Delaware State and the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win at Villanova. For her effort on the week, Rodrigues was named MAAC Offensive Player of the Week on Aug. 29.
- Sciancalepore didn't allow a goal against Villanova and Delaware State, including a seven-save performance against the Wildcats, to earn MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 29.
- For the season, Sciancalepore has posted a 1.54 goals-against average and an .802 saves percentage with five shutouts.
- Logan Racine scored the first goal of her collegiate career in the season opener at Wagner and added another tally at Delaware State to sit tied for third on the team with two goals (Dees).
- Six other Broncs have scored single goals, including Margret Fridriksson, Hailey Russell and Miranda Elmer, who've also dished out an assist.  
- Freshman Leonor Alves has dished out a pair of assists. She was recently called up to the Portugal U19 National Team.
- Freshmen Margret Fridriksson and Miranda Elmer have each contributed games with a goal and an assist so far this season. Fridrikkson did it in the season opener on Aug. 18 at Wagner en route to MAAC Rookie of the Week honors, while Elmer achieved the feat on Aug. 28 at Delaware State.
- Fellow freshman Jasmine Sims joined Elmer and Fridriksson in scoring during her collegiate debut at Delaware State, while Olivia Smith also tallied her first-career goal at St. Francis Brooklyn.
- The Broncs were picked seventh in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll after reaching the MAAC Tournament for the ninth-straight year in 2021. The Broncs received one first-place vote.
- Chloe Fisher was named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team after leading the Broncs with six goals, four assists and 16 points last season. She also earned All-MAAC Second Team honors. However, she's sat out thus far in 2022 due to injury.
- 2020-21 MAAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year Makenzie Rodrigues is also back this season. She's scored at least four goals in each of her first three seasons at Rider, including five last season. She's scored 15 goals for her career.
- Rodrigues, Camryn Dees and Karagh Tait have been named team captains this year.
- Rider Head Coach Drayson Hounsome returns for his 15^th season, having compiled 112 wins in his time at the helm.
- Rider returned nine starters from last year's team, including 88 percent of its scoring from a year ago.