Sunday, September 24, 2023
Rider Broncs (4-1-2, 1-0-0 MAAC) vs. Fairfield Stags (3-4-0, 0-1-0 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Ben Cohen Field
Kickoff: 3 p.m.
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com

What You Need To Know
- The Rider University men's soccer team resumes MAAC play Sunday when it plays host to Fairfield. The match has been moved to Sunday due to heavy rain and high winds in the forecast for Saturday night.   
- The Broncs are in the midst of a six-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 on Sept. 16 before taking down La Salle on Sept. 19 to extend to their first six-game unbeaten streak since 2017.     
- 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.
- 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. Just seven matches into Duernberger's first year, the Broncs eclipsed their win total from 2022.
- 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.
- Ethan Shaw and Diene lead the Broncs with two goals each. Both of Shaw's goals came 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.
- 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 0.57 goals-against average and an .833 saves percentage in playing all 630 minutes so far this season. He's made 20 saves.
- Rider cut Fairfield's lead in the all-time series to 20-12-3 with a 3-2 win last season in Connecticut and is unbeaten in its last six against the Stags (4-0-2). Two of the wins in the span came in the MAAC Semifinals, including a 2-1 double-overtime victory on Nov. 11, 2021. 
- The Stags are 3-4-0 (0-1-0 MAAC) so far this season, with consecutive losses to Fairleigh Dickinson and Bryant to open the season and losses to Mount St. Mary's and Harvard in their last two sandwiched around a three-game winning streak against Brown, Colgate and LIU.
- William Pierce is the Stags' offensive leader with four goals, while Kaea Rangihaeata (2 goals, 1 assist) and Tyler Reavis (2 goals) also contributed multiple tallies. Raz Amir and Juan Pablo Leano have also contributed two assists apiece.
- James Anderson started the season's first four matches in goal for Fairfield, before giving way to Victor Nikolov for the last three. Anderson has a 1.00 goals-against average and an .800 saves percentage, while Nikolov owns a 2.33 GAA and a .500 saves percentage.
- The Stags were picked fifth in the MAAC Preseason Poll.
- 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.