Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Rider Broncs (2-1-1) vs. Penn Quakers (1-2-0)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Ben Cohen Field
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com

What You Need To Know
- The Rider University men's soccer team plays host to Penn in its home opener Tuesday night on Ben Cohen Field.  
- The Broncs are in their first year under Head Coach Chad Duernberger. Duernberger comes to Rider following five seasons as an assistant at Dartmouth. He replaces Charlie Inverso, who retired following 12 seasons at the helm, leading the Broncs to three MAAC Championships.
- Following a season-opening 1-0 loss at Seton Hall on Aug. 24, the Broncs have come back with consecutive wins at Saint Joseph's (2-0, Aug. 28) and Sacred Heart (2-1, Sept. 5) and a 1-1 tie at NJIT (Sept. 8).  
- Ethan Shaw leads the Broncs with two goals, both coming in the 2-1 win at Sacred Heart off Saad Chaouki assists.
- Chaouki and Adel Al Masude have two assists each to pace the team, with Al Masude also scoring the a goal, the equalizer at NJIT.
- Babacar Diene and Sebastian Rojek also netted goals in the Broncs' 2-0 win over Saint Joseph's.
- First-year goalkeeper Adam Salama has posted a 0.75 goals-against average and an .813 saves percentage in playing all 360 minutes so far this season. He's made 13 saves.
- Rider also returns 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.
- Al Masude leads a group of four returning starters, along with Diene, Jack McGeechan and Tom Skrocki. Al Masude tied for the team lead with Lenny Cidolit at three goals and four assists last season. Diene also tied for the team lead with three goals last season, while McGeechan contributed three assists.
- The Broncs entered a period of transition in goal, with Ben Collins being the only returner to see action in net for Rider (three games off the bench in 2022) entering the season. Diesel Fiore was also on the roster last season, while Salama entered competition following a season at Ottawa University, an NAIA school in Arizona.
- Rider was picked eighth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
- The Broncs and Quakers met for the fourth time last season, a 2-1 Penn win in Philadelphia. Penn holds a 3-1 lead in the all-time series. The Quakers have won the last three since a Rider win in 1981.
- Following one-goal losses at Fordham (2-1) and Hofstra (1-0) to open the season, Penn erupted for a 3-0 win at nationally-ranked No. 14 Penn State on Friday. Michael Hewes scored all three goals for the Quakers. Stas Korzeniowski is second on the team with a goal, an assist and three points, while Ben Do has a pair of assists and Mateo Zazueta has one helper.
- Nick Christoffersen has played all 270 minutes in net for Penn, posting a 1.00 goals-against average and .727 saves percentage with eight saves.
- The Quakers were ranked No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll and were the Ivy League Preseason favorite.
- The Broncs qualified for the MAAC Championships in nine-straight seasons before missing the field in 2022. Rider won MAAC Championships in 1997, 1998, 2015, 2016 and 2018, while finishing as runner up in 2004, 2017 and 2021.