Thursday, November 16, 2023
NCAA Tournament First Round
Rider Broncs (12-3-4, 6-2-2 MAAC) vs. Vermont Catamounts (11-5-2, 4-3-0 America East)
Location: Burlington, VT – Virtue Field
Kickoff: 6 p.m.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: NCAA.com

What You Need To Know
- Rider and Vermont are meeting for the second time in the two programs' histories. Thursday's match will mark the second time in the last seven years that the two teams will meet in Burlington for the NCAA Tournament First Round. Vermont took a 4-1 win on Nov. 17, 2016.  
- Through the regular season, Rider has the third-largest improvement in wins from 2022 (3) to 2023 (12) and fourth-largest improvement in winning percentage (.353 to .737, improvement of .384) in NCAA Division I this season. Bryant's improvement of 13 wins and an increase of .645 in winning percentage leads the nation.
- The Broncs enter the tournament one of the hottest teams in the nation. Only SIUE's nine-game winning streak and Western Michigan's eight-game streak currently rank longer than Rider's seven-game winning streak entering tournament play.
- Rider is making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance all time, with all six appearances coming since 1997. The Broncs have never won a tournament game.
- The Broncs' six MAAC Championships are second-most in conference history and most by a current member (Loyola (Md.) – 12). Loyola had won eight-straight MAAC titles prior to the Broncs joining the league in 1997, at which point Rider snapped the Greyhounds' streak and won consecutive championships (1997, 1998). The Broncs' six titles edge Fairfield's five for most among current members.
- Rider was playing in the MAAC Championship Game for the ninth time and moved to 6-2-1 and advancing to the NCAA Tournament six times.
- The Broncs earned a dramatic 2-1 win over MAAC Regular Season Champion Iona in the MAAC Championship Game on Nov. 12 in New Rochelle, NY. Tied at 1-1 into the 83^rd minute, Babacar Diene scored his team-leading 12^th goal of the year, deflecting the ball low off a Gaels' defender and into the net. With 16 seconds left in regulation, Iona was awarded a penalty kick. But Broncs sophomore goalkeeper Adam Salama made the stop on 2023 MAAC Golden Boot recipient Camil Azzam Ruiz to secure the title.
- Momo Diop was named MAAC Championship MVP after scoring a goal in all three matches. He was joined on the All-Championship Team by Diene, Salama and Sebastian Rojek.
- Rider had a program-record eight different All-MAAC honorees this season, with Saad Chaouki, the MAAC Rookie of the Year, being joined on the First Team by Babacar Diene, Momo Diop and Adel Al Masude. Sebastian Rojek took Second Team, while Ethan Shaw, Jack McGeechan and Martin Chladek were selected to the Third Team. Rider had seven different honorees in 2017. 
- Chaouki became Rider's fourth MAAC Rookie of the Year, joining Bob Francis (1998), Christian Flath (2013) and Florian Valot (2014).
- The Broncs are playing some of their best soccer of the season, riding a season-long seven-game winning streak. During that time, the Broncs have outscored the opposition, 15-4. Babacar Diene has scored seven of the goals, assisted on two more and started the play that resulted in another.
- Two of the four goals scored by the opposition in the winning streak have come off of late penalty kicks, with the third coming 30 seconds after Salama had stopped a penalty kick on Oct. 28 at Marist. Iona scored the remaining goal in the run of play on Nov. 12.
- The 2023 season has seen its ebbs and flows for the Broncs. Following a season-opening setback at Seton Hall, the Broncs reeled off eight-straight games unbeaten, posting a 5-0-3 mark. Rider went winless in its next three, including losses to Manhattan and Iona, before turning it back around with a tie, followed by seven-straight wins over Niagara, Mount St. Mary's, Marist, Saint Peter's, Marist again, Siena and Iona for the Broncs' second eight-game unbeaten streak of the year.
- The Broncs are in their first year under Head Coach Chad Duernberger. Duernberger came to Rider following five seasons as an assistant at Dartmouth. He replaced Charlie Inverso, who retired following 12 seasons at the helm, leading the Broncs to three MAAC Championships. Just seven matches into Duernberger's first year, the Broncs eclipsed their win total from 2022. Rider's 12 wins this season are the most since winning 12 matches in 2017. The last time the Broncs won more than 12 matches came in a 13-win season in 2016.
- Diene now has a team-high 12 goals and 27 points. The 12 goals and 27 points eclipsed Alibou's 25 points from 2021 (10 goals, 5 assists) for most by a Bronc since Craig Wicken had 45 points in 1998 (18 goals, 9 assists).
- First-year Rider goalkeeper Adam Salama has posted a 1.00 goals-against average and a .766 saves percentage in playing all but one match so far this season. He's made 59 saves. He earned MAAC Defensive Player of the Week three times, the latest coming on Oct. 30, after allowing just one goal in a pair of wins at Mount St. Mary's and Marist. Salama has stopped three penalty kicks in eight chances this season, including three of his last five opportunities.
- Vermont matched Rider's eight All-Conference selections, while also having one of its players named Rookie of the Year. First Team selections Yaniv Bazini and Zach Barrett led the group, with Second Teamers Carter Johnson, Adrian Schulze Solano and Jake Ashford and All-Rookie Team selections Nick Lockermann, Andrew Millar and Sydney Wathuta also making strong contributions. Lockermann was later named America East Rookie of the Year.
- Bazini led the Catamounts with eight goals and 19 points this season. Johnson was next with five goals and 14 points, while Lockermann led Vermont with seven assists. Max Murray (3 goals, 1 assist), Ashford (2 goals, 2 assists) and Schulze Solano (1 goal, 3 assists) also made strong offensive contributions.
- The Catamounts hung their hats on defense, limiting the opposition to 0.72 goals per game, a total of 13 goals over 18 games played.  
- Owen Jack, a transfer after five years at Stetson, started all 18 matches for the Catamounts this season, posting a 0.72 goals-against average and a .783 saves percentage. He had eight clean sheets.
- The Broncs' lone contest against an America East side this season was against NJIT, a 1-1 tie on Sept. 8. The Catamounts fell twice to the Highlanders – a 1-0 setback in Newark on Oct. 7 and a 2-1 loss in Burlington in the America East Quarterfinals on Nov. 4.
- The only other common opponent between the two teams this season was Siena. The Broncs earned a pair of victories over the Saints (1-0 on Sept. 16, 2-0 in MAAC Semifinals on Nov. 9), while the Catamounts earned a 1-0 win over Siena on Sept. 19, three days after the Broncs' 1-0 win over the Saints.   
- Rider has enjoyed unique success on Iona's Mazzella Field in recent years, going 5-1-1 since 2015. Included in the run was a win in the 2018 MAAC Quarterfinals to snap an eight-game unbeaten streak for the Gaels in New Rochelle. The Gaels entered the 2023 MAAC Championship Game on a 10-game winning streak on Mazzella Field dating back to last season and were 12-0-2 in New Rochelle over the last two seasons. Iona's last non-win at home prior to Rider's title victory was a scoreless draw against the Broncs on Oct. 5, 2022.
- The Broncs advanced to the MAAC Championship Game with a 2-0 win at second-seeded Siena on Nov. 9. Rider scored twice in a span of 50 seconds late in the first half, with Zaki Alibou scoring on a rocket off a Siena turnover at 36:21 before assisting on Momo Diop's goal at 37:11.
- The shutout at Siena matched the Broncs' single-season record with seven shutouts. Six of them have come from Adam Salama, with the other being secured by Diesel Fiore. Salama's six shutouts trail only Keith Richardson (1997) and Pablo Gatinois (2018) for the program single-season record.
- Diesel Fiore earned the shutout victory in his Rider debut on Oct. 21, making two saves to maintain the clean sheet against Niagara.
- Diene scored a highlight-reel goal, rocketing a shot from the corner of the 18-yard box into the opposite upper 90 in the 15^th minute to put Rider up 1-0 in the MAAC Quarterfinals vs. Marist. Diop and Kirilenko would score later in the 3-1 win.
- Diene had a hat trick and added an assist in the Broncs' 4-1 win over Saint Peter's in the regular-season finale. It was the Broncs' first hat trick in more than nine years. The last Bronc to achieve the feat was Zach Bond on Oct. 22, 2014, also against Saint Peter's. The last time a Bronc had as many as seven points in a single game came exactly 21 years prior, when Sandro DeCristofaro had a hat trick and an assist at Iona on Nov. 1, 2002.
- Ethan Shaw scored his third goal of the year in a 2-0 win over Fairfield on Sept. 24.
- Babacar Diene scored in a 1-1 tie at Quinnipiac on Sept. 30 for his third goal of the year to tie him with Shaw for the team lead. Diene went on to score twice in a 5-3 loss to Iona to take the team lead with five goals, extended his total to seven with goals against Mount St. Mary's and Marist and ended the regular season with a hat trick against Saint Peter's to get to double digits.
- Adel Al Masude pulled into a tie for second on the team with Shaw with his third goal of the season in a 2-2 tie at Canisius. He then took over sole possession of second with the game winner against Niagara on Oct. 21. Luke Kirilenko also scored his second goal of the season against the Griffs.
- Saad Chaouki scored his first goal as a Bronc on Sept. 24 against Fairfield. Adam Salama's punt found Diene's head in the midfield and Diene played in to Chaouki in stride for a 1-v-1 opportunity. He added his second goal of the year in the regular-season finale against Saint Peter's.
- Chaouki earned his team-leading fourth assist of the season at Canisius, playing David Ogbonna wide before Ogbonna's cross found Al Masude in front. The assist was the first of Ogbonna's collegiate career. Chaouki later pushed his assist total to five, helping set up Diene's game winner at Mount St. Mary's, and made it six with a give-and-go with Diop in the MAAC Quarterfinal win over Marist.
- For his effort in consecutive clean sheets against Penn and Siena, Adam Salama was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 18. Salama made it consecutive honors on Sept. 25 following a 3-1 win over La Salle on Sept. 19 and a 2-0 win over Fairfield on Sept. 24.
- Six different Broncs figured in the scoring in Rider's 3-1 win over La Salle. Martin Chladek, Babacar Diene and Justin Ruffino scored goals off assists from Ethan Gregory, Zaki Alibou and Dylan Kotch as the Broncs battled back from down, 1-0, and a 1-1 tie at the half to earn the 3-1 win.
- Luke Kirilenko scored his first collegiate goal, the game-winner, in the 64^th minute of a 1-0 win over Siena on Sept. 16. Jack McGeechan and Momo Diop assisted on the play.
- Both of Ethan Shaw's goals in the 2-1 win at Sacred Heart came off Saad Chaouki assists. For their efforts, Shaw and Chaouki were named MAAC Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively on Sept. 11.
- Adel Al Masude scored the equalizer at NJIT.
- Diene and Sebastian Rojek also netted goals in the Broncs' 2-0 win over Saint Joseph's.
- Rider returned 2021 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Zaki Alibou following an injury-riddled 2022 campaign that saw him play just 87 minutes in two games due to injury. In 2021, he led the Broncs with 10 goals and five assists, helping Rider to the MAAC Final.
- Rider was picked eighth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll.