Tuesday, September 19, 2023
Rider Broncs (3-1-2, 1-0-0 MAAC) vs. La Salle Explorers (3-2-2, 0-0-1 Atlantic 10)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Ben Cohen Field
Kickoff: 5 p.m.
Live Video: BroncVision
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com

What You Need To Know
- The Rider University men's soccer team plays host to La Salle in its final non-conference match of the regular season.  
- The Broncs are in the midst of a five-game unbeaten streak, winning the first two on the road at Saint Joseph's and Sacred Heart, before drawing with NJIT (1-1) and Penn (0-0). Most recently, the Broncs defeated Siena, 1-0, in their MAAC opener to extend to their first five-game unbeaten streak since a five-game winning streak to claim the 2018 MAAC Championship.    
- For his effort in consecutive clean sheets against Penn and Siena, Adam Salama was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 18.
- 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.
- 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.
- Ethan Shaw leads the Broncs with two goals, both coming in the 2-1 win at Sacred Heart off Saad Chaouki assists. For their efforts, Shaw and Chaouki were named MAAC Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively on Sept. 11.
- Chaouki and Adel Al Masude have two assists each to pace the team, with Al Masude also scoring 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 0.50 goals-against average and an .857 saves percentage in playing all 540 minutes so far this season. He's made 18 saves.
- La Salle evened the score in the all-time series at 12-12-1 with a 4-2 win on Sept. 11, 2021. The Broncs had won the prior four meetings from 2016-19.
- The Explorers opened the season with a four-game unbeaten streak, with a 3-3 tie at Stonehill, followed by shutout victories against Army West Point (1-0), at Manhattan (2-0) and against Lehigh (1-0). But La Salle has since lost consecutive games at home against Quinnipiac (3-0) and at NJIT (3-2), before most recently drawing with Saint Joseph's (1-1) on Saturday to settle in at 3-2-2 on the season.  
- Through seven matches, Americo Pereira (3 goals), Omri Ezra (2 goals) and Yuval Nimrodi (2 goals) have been the Explorers' primary offensive threats, with Drew Blackwell accounting for three of La Salle's six assists.  
- Filip Sabatti has started and played every minute of the last six games in goal for La Salle, posting a 1.17 goals-against average and a .759 saves percentage. Randy Burkhardt made one save and allowed three goals in a season-opening 3-3 tie at Stonehill, but has not played since.
- The Explorers were picked 12^th in the 14-team Atlantic 10 this preseason.
- 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 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.