LEWISTON, NY- Rider University Women's Soccer fell in their final road trip of the regular season, 4-0, to Niagara on Saturday afternoon. With the loss the Broncs move to 6-7-2 and 4-4-1 in the MAAC and the Purple Eagles move to 5-9-2 and 4-3-2 in the MAAC.
All the scoring came in the first half as Niagara came out of the gates swinging, finding a counter to every Rider attack. The game's first goal came from Amanda Cripps, who would find the back of the net three times in the match.
Niagara continued to apply pressure as Ellie Sciancalepore (Randolph, NJ/ Randolph) fouled a Purple Eagle inside the 18-yard box, leading to a Niagara penalty kick that Emily Hähnel would drive in to put the Purple Eagles up, 2-0, in the match's 24th minute.
Cripps would then drive a pair of goals in short fashion, scoring her second and third goals of the contest in the 29th and 30th minutes to secure the hat-trick and the 4-0 Purple Eagles victory.
QUOTES AND NOTES
- "For 20 minutes we dominated possession and then Niagara were clinical in a counter attack. For 15 games we have been a tough team for teams to score on so it is very disappointing to see 10 minutes where we conceded 4 goals in total. It's moments like this in a game where you question everything. In the 2nd half our effort was good and we played well in possession but were poor in our shooting and unable to close the gap."-
Rider Head Coach Drayson Hounsome
- The Broncs have now lost each of the last four matchups vs Niagara.
- Rider has also been outscored 7-0 in the last three meetings with the Purple Eagles.
- The Broncs enter their final regular-season match on Wednesday against Mount St. Mary's in need of a point to clinch a MAAC Championship berth, and could earn as high as the No. 4 seed with a win and a Niagara loss or tie at Canisius. With a tie, the Broncs would clinch a playoff berth as either the No. 5 or 6 seed, while Rider could still get into the tournament with a loss and a Manhattan loss to Quinnipiac in Riverdale.
BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Sciancalepore made five saves in the loss.
- Sciancalepore, Amanda Mendez and Courtney Carter played all 90 minutes.
- Rider was outshot 21-11 with a 9-5 Shots on goal differential
UP NEXT
The Broncs round out the regular season as they host Mount St Mary's on Wednesday, Oct 25 at 7 p.m.
