EMMITSBURG, MD – Babacar Diene (Thies, Senegal/CEM Ballabey) scored in the third minute and the Rider University men's soccer team earned a 1-0 road win at Mount St. Mary's Wednesday night. With the win, the Broncs (7-3-4, 4-2-2 MAAC) clinched a berth in the MAAC Championships, while the Mountaineers slip to 2-8-3 (2-4-2 MAAC).

Diene opened the scoring in the third minute as Zaki Alibou's (Meknes, Morocco/Meknes) cross found Diene in stride in front for the 1-0 lead. Saad Chaouki (Montreal, Quebec/Antoine de Saint Exupery) started the play and took the second assist.

In the 17^th minute, Mount St. Mary's was awarded a penalty kick after Adam Salama (Ramle, Israel/Orthodox [Ottawa Univ.]) committed a foul inside the 18-yard box. But Salama made a kick save on Markus Nilsen's PK low to the middle of the net to preserve the 1-0 lead, where the score remained through the remainder of the match, giving Rider its second-consecutive clean sheet and its sixth of the season.

Quotes & Notes
"So happy for the players tonight. I challenged them to score early and it turned out to be the one we needed. Road wins are difficult to get in this league. Mount St. Mary's made it tough for us all the way to the last whistle. I'm beyond thrilled this group has secured a place in the MAAC Tournament after tonight's result and I also want to say how excited I am for our women's soccer program clinching as well. It's a great night for Rider Soccer." – Rider Head Coach Chad Duernberger

- Rider cut the Mount St. Mary's lead in the all-time series to 7-5. Again conference foes after joining the MAAC for the 2022-23 academic year, Rider's last prior win over Mount St. Mary's came when the two schools were Northeast Conference foes in 1996. Mount St. Mary's had won the last four pairings in 2003, 2010, 2011 and 2022.  
- Rider returns to the MAAC Championship field following a one-year absence. The Broncs had qualified for the league playoffs in each of the nine prior seasons, including appearances in the MAAC Championship Game in five of the prior seven seasons.
- Salama made four saves in his fifth shutout and sixth win of the season.
- Salama, Jack McGeechan (Allendale, NJ/Northern Highlands Regional), Martin Chladek (Prague, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Voderadska [Montevallo]), Sebastian Rojek (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills [Stony Brook]) and Ethan Shaw (Surf City, NJ/Northern Burlington [St. John's]) each played all 90 minutes.
- It was the 14th-straight 90-minute effort for Rojek to begin the season, while Salama, McGeechan, Chladek and Shaw have played every minute in 13 of 14 matches.

Broncs By The Numbers
- The goal was Diene's team-leading sixth of the season and the ninth in his two seasons as a Bronc.
- Chaouki now has a team-high five assists.
- Alibou distributed his second assist of the season and his seventh across his four seasons at Rider.
- The Mountaineers took a 13-10 edge in shots. However, both teams put four shots on target.
- The Mount took four corner kicks to the Broncs' three.
- Rider was cautioned three times to one to Mount St. Mary's.  

Up Next
- The Broncs return to action Saturday, when they travel to Marist for a match-up of teams currently tied for fourth in the MAAC standings. Kickoff from Poughkeepsie, NY, is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.