LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – After more than 101 scoreless minutes, Cole Sotack (Doylestown, PA /Central Bucks East [Rutgers]) scored the golden goal to send the second-seeded Rider University men's soccer team past seventh-seeded Sacred Heart, 1-0, in Sunday's MAAC Championship Quarterfinal. With the win, the Broncs' program-record ninth clean sheet of the year, Rider advances to play host to third-seeded Siena Thursday night at 7 p.m. on Ben Cohen Field.

Sacred Heart had the better of the chances in the opening 45 minutes, but the Broncs managed to keep the Pioneers off the board, with Adam Salama (Ramle, Israel/Orthodox [Ottawa Univ.]) making a pair of big saves in the 15^th and 23^rd minutes, the latter coming on a full-extension dive to stop an Alejo Woelper strike from 25 yards out.

Arguably Rider's best chance in regulation came on a second ball following a Broncs free kick in the 66^th minute. Bryan Akongo (London, England/Harris Academy Orpington [Georgia State/Robert Morris]) collected the ball inside the box and shot from eight yards out, but Sacred Heart keeper Andrew Hammersley was there for the kick save.

Another pivotal Salama save came in the 75^th minute, with the Pioneers' Brady Poor getting a header inside the near, right post. But Salama, who was positioned deep of the goal line, stopped the ball from entering the net. Called no goal on the field, the call was upheld upon video review.  Akongo had another great opportunity in the 96^th minute off a Sacred Heart turnover deep in its defensive third, but his quick strike was once again saved by Hammersley for his second of two saves on the day. Sacred Heart again nearly ended it in the 99^th minute off a free kick in the Broncs defensive third along the right sideline. Salama saved Pablo Alcoba's initial header on target, taking him off his line. David Garcia Gallego's shot on the rebound was on target, past Salama, but Sotack was there at the right post to clear it off the line for a save.

In the second overtime, the Broncs first saw Ezra Punselie's (Nieuw-Vennep, Netherlands/Zaanlands Lyceum) attempt in the 101^st minute hit the crossbar, before Sotack's goal in the 102^nd. The Broncs played passes toward the 18-yard box, before a Sacred Heart defender got a toe on the ball to knock it off the foot of Momo Diop (Thies, Senegal/Prive Serigne Touba), but right to Theo Da Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil/University of Rio Grande) five yards behind him. Da Silva immediately fed Sotack into the right side of the box and the Broncs' graduate defender went low, across the mouth of goal and inside the left post to beat Hammersley for the golden goal.

Quotes & Notes
"Sacred Heart's really good. We knew it. They started the season out really well. We knew it was going to a tough test. They're not a seven seed. So, we knew it was going to be a tough game for us because they're really well-coached and very talented."

"We didn't have as much of the ball as we'd like to have and I think the guys were down at halftime. But we had to play a little bit different than we normally do and good teams are able to do that to get results." – Rider Head Coach Chad Duernberger

"Sacred Heart put up a really, really good fight. It was going to take a special moment. We needed the crowd as that 12^th man to help us get through. Proud of the turnout. It was a great environment."

"In the first overtime, we put a lot of pressure on them. I had a chance that I hit over and we had a couple half chances and, in that 10 minutes, you've got to take any chance that you get. The ball popped up to Theo, I saw the space, he played it to me. I just thought, 'I've just got to get this on target," and luckily it went in." – Rider graduate defender Cole Sotack  

- Rider leads the all-time series with Sacred Heart, 2-0-0. It was just the first meeting as league foes, with the two teams not playing this season, the Pioneers' first in the league, due to the eight-game schedule in the 13-team league. Rider won the first meeting between the two teams in a non-conference match in Fairfield last season by a 2-1 final score on Sept. 5, 2023.
- Rider is now 23-10-3 all-time in the MAAC Championships and has now reached at least the semifinals 13 times in 28 years in the league.
- Tied for the most individual shutouts in program history with Keith Richardson (1997) and Pablo Gatinois (2018) entering the match, Salama now stands alone with eight clean sheets this season after making four saves Sunday.
- Salama has contributed to nine Rider clean sheets this season, also a program record, but was subbed out in the 84^th minute of a 4-0 shutout at George Washington.
- Salama, Sotack, Jack McGeechan (Allendale, NJ/Northern Highlands Regional), Martin Chladek (Prague, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Voderadska [Montevallo]), Da Silva, Andrew Erickson (San Antonio, TX/International School of the Americas [Kentucky]) and Max Schrader (Cherry Hill, NJ/Scholar Athletes Leadership Academy) each played all 102 minutes.
- Diop briefly left the game in the first overtime and played 101 minutes.

Broncs By The Numbers
- The goal was Sotack's first as a Bronc and the second of his career after scoring for Rutgers against Michigan State on Oct. 10, 2021. Today's goal is his first game-winning goal.
- Da Silva's assist is his fifth of the year, pulling him into a tie for the team lead with Akongo.
- Rider took a 10-8 edge in shots. However, the Pioneers took a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.
- Along with Salama's four saves, Sotack was credited with a save for clearing the ball off the goal line in the 99^th minute.
- Sacred Heart took seven corner kicks. Rider did not take a single corner.
- Rider was cautioned four times, while Sacred Heart was shown three yellow cards.

Up Next
The Broncs return to action Thursday, when they play host to third-seeded Siena in a rematch of last year's MAAC Championship Semifinals in Loudonville. This time, the game will take place on Ben Cohen Field at 7 p.m. Siena earned a 2-1 win over sixth-seeded Manhattan in Loudonville today to advance to the semifinals.