LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Down a goal into the 44
th minute, the Rider University men's soccer team scored the next three to defeat La Salle, 3-1, and extend to a six-game unbeaten streak Tuesday evening on Ben Cohen Field. With the win, the Broncs improve to 4-1-2, and have already eclipsed their full-season win total of three from 2022. The Explorers dip to 3-3-2 with the loss.
The Explorers opened the first-half scoring with a goal off a broken play in the 34
th minute. With players on both sides playing hesitantly looking for a call on a possible foul or handball inside the 18-yard box, La Salle's Yuval Nimrodi collected and shot into the right side of the net for the 1-0 lead. 10 and a half minutes later,
Ethan Gregory (Oakton, VA/Oakton [Maryland]) sent a shot off the right post. But
Martin Chladek (Prague, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Voderadska [Montevallo]) was there for the rebound and the equalizer in the 44
th minute to send the game to the halftime break knotted at 1-1.
Rider took its first lead of the game as
Babacar Diene (Thies, Senegal/CEM Ballabey) played the ball from the left sideline toward the 18-yard box before working a give-and-go into the box with
Zaki Alibou (Meknes, Morocco/Meknes). Diene finished low, left to right, inside the right post for what proved to be the game-winner.
Justin Ruffino (Sewell, NJ/Pitman) put the exclamation on the victory in the 85
th minute, collected the rebound of
Dylan Kotch's (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) saved shot and beating La Salle keeper Filip Sabatti for the 3-1 lead.
Quotes & Notes
"It took us a little bit to get going tonight. The first half was pretty sluggish for us. But I think they responded well. We didn't talk much about tactics at halftime. It was more just about, 'are we going to come out with more grit, close the ball up, make it tighter for them and not allow them to just be able to open up and play where they wanted.' I liked our energy in the second half and I'm really pleased to find a non-conference win inbetween league games. A lot of teams will look ahead to league play on the weekend and skip these. I think mentally, we showed that we had a good second half and it paid off in a three-point result." –
Rider Head Coach Chad Duernberger
- After La Salle evened the score in the all-time series at 12-12-1 with a 4-2 win in the last meeting on Sept. 11, 2021, the Broncs grabbed the lead back, 13-12-1 with tonight's result. The Broncs have now won five of the last six against La Salle, including four meetings from 2016-19.
- Rider sophomore goalkeeper
Adam Salama (Ramle, Israel/Orthodox [Ottawa Univ.]) made two saves in the victory, while
Sebastian Rojek (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills [Stony Brook]) cleared a La Salle shot off the goal line in the 79
th minute.
- The Broncs' current six-game unbeaten streak is the programs' longest since rattling off seven-straight wins from Sept. 16-Oct. 14, 2017.
- Salama,
Jack McGeechan (Allendale, NJ/Northern Highlands Regional),
Martin Chladek (Prague, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Voderadska [Montevallo]),
David Ogbonna (Silver Spring, MD/Blake [Villanova]),
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 seventh-straight 90-minute efforts for Salama, Chladek, Rojek and Shaw to begin the season.
Broncs By The Numbers
- Chladek and Ruffino scored their first goals of the season. Chladek's was his first as a Bronc, while Ruffino tallied his second after scoring once in 2021.
- Diene scored his second of the season to move into a tie for the team lead with Shaw.
- The assists from Alibou, Gregory and Kotch were all their first of the season.
- The Broncs took a 13-6 edge in shots, including an 8-4 advantage in shots on goal.
- Both teams took eight corner kicks.
- Seven yellow cards were shown, with Rider receiving four and La Salle taking three.
Up Next
- The Broncs return to league play with a 7 p.m. home match against Fairfield on Saturday. The match will be broadcast on BroncVision.
