Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024
MAAC Championship Quarterfinals
#2 Rider Broncs (12-4-1, 6-1-1 MAAC) vs. #7 Sacred Heart Pioneers (8-5-2, 3-3-2 MAAC)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Ben Cohen Field
Kickoff: 2 p.m.
Tickets: GoBroncs.com
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com
MAAC Championship Central: MAACSports.com

What You Need To Know
- The MAAC Co-Regular Season Champion Rider men's soccer team opens defense of its 2023 MAAC Tournament Championship Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. against seventh-seeded Sacred Heart. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
- Tickets are being sold by the MAAC for Sunday's match. Adult tickets are $10, while children under 12, students and seniors (65+) will be admitted for $5. Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets prior to arrival by visiting the link above. While tickets will be available at the gate, the event is CASHLESS. Only credit and debit card payments will be accepted. 
- The Broncs have now qualified for the MAAC Championships in 10 of the last 11 seasons with a one-year hiatus in 2022. Rider won MAAC Championships in 1997, 1998, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2023, while finishing as runner up in 2004 and 2017. Rider won the MAAC Championship in 2023 and played in the MAAC Championship Game in 2021, with the Broncs playing top-seeded Marist to a 2-2 draw as the No. 5 seed, before the Red Foxes advanced on PK's.
- Rider has played in the MAAC Championship Game nine times, posting a 6-2-1 record and advancing to the NCAA Tournament six times.
- Rider is 22-10-3 all-time in the MAAC Championships.
- The Broncs' six MAAC Championships are second-most in conference history and most by a current member (Loyola (Md.) – 12). Loyola had won eight-straight MAAC titles prior to the Broncs joining the league in 1997, at which point Rider snapped the Greyhounds' streak and won consecutive championships (1997, 1998). The Broncs' six titles edge Fairfield's five for most among current members.
- This season, the Broncs claimed a share of their second MAAC Regular Season Championship and their first since their inaugural season in the MAAC of 1997.
- The Broncs have gone unbeaten in their last seven matches and are 12-2-1 in their last 15. Rider earned road wins at Merrimack (Oct. 5), Fairfield (Oct. 19) and Manhattan (Oct. 30), as well as home victories over Quinnipiac (Oct. 12), Siena (Oct. 26) and Mount St. Mary's (Nov. 6) to go along with a Nov. 2 draw with Marist.
- In the regular-season finale, William Baker and Dylan Kotch scored their first goals of the year and Momo Diop added his league-leading ninth goal of the season, all in the second half, as the Broncs blanked Mount St. Mary's, 3-0.
- Rider posted four-straight victories by clean sheets from Oct. 12-30, pushing its season total to seven shutouts. An eighth shutout in the regular-season finale against Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 6 gave them a program-record eighth clean sheet. The Broncs had allowed just two goals through six league games, both on penalty kicks. Conference opposition's only goals in the run of play came in the Marist match (Nov. 2).  
- The Broncs' previous single-season record of seven shutouts was accomplished in 1997, 2015, 2018 and 2023.
- Adam Salama's seven solo shutouts matched the individual program single-season records held by Keith Richardson (1997) and Pablo Gatinois (2018).
- Momo Diop's nine goals are tied for most in the MAAC, while his 22 points stand alone atop the lead statistics.
- Bryan Akongo's five game-winning goals are tied for the most in NCAA Division I and two ahead of the MAAC field.
- Adam Salama has posted a 0.69 GAA and a .792 saves percentage through 17 games played this season.
- The Pioneers qualified for the MAAC Championships in their first year in the league. SHU is led offensively by David Garcia Gallego with five goals, while Sam McCann has added three goals and a team-high four assists. Ivan Morcillo is right behind McCann with three goals and three assists, while Aidan Borra has chipped in with two goals and three assists. Brady Poor, Matthias Dick and Javier Lopez Cayuela have added three goals apiece, while Pablo Alcoba has chipped in with two goals. Sacred Heart's 27 goals rank fourth in the MAAC, while its 1.80 goals per game rank third.
- Andrew Hammersley has seen the majority of time in goal for the Pioneers, posting a 1.54 goals-against average and a .661 saves percentage.   
- The Broncs scored twice in a span of 65 seconds to defeat Manhattan, 2-0, on Oct. 30. Bryan Akongo made a run down the left sideline, evading defenders before crossing in front to Ezra Punselie for the tap in from close range in 69'.  Akongo again started things in 70', walling off his defender atop the 18-yard box before passing to Theo Da Silva, who flicked it back to Momo Diop for the strike.
- Diop struck for his eighth goal of the year and added an assist in the Broncs' 2-2 tie with Marist on Nov. 2. For his two-goal, five-point effort in the Broncs' 1-0-1 week, Diop earned the first MAAC Offensive Player of the Week of his career.
- For his effort in shutting out Siena on five saves, Adam Salama was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 28. It was his third honor of the year and the sixth of his career.
- Rider is 6-4-0 this season on the road. The six road wins are tied for most in the country with San Diego (6-0-0) and Kansas City (6-2-2).  
- The Broncs accounted for consecutive MAAC Offensive Players of the Week on Oct. 14 and 21, with Jack McGeechan and Bryan Akongo earning the honor. McGeechan scored a goal, assisted on another and cleared two shots off the goal line for saves against Quinnipiac (Oct. 12), while Akongo scored the game-winner in a 1-0 victory at Fairfield (Oct. 19).
- After Merrimack scored first on a PK in suburban Boston on Oct. 5, Theo Da Silva and Momo Diop each scored to give the Broncs a 2-1 lead. In the 78^th minute, Merrimack was awarded another PK. But Rider keeper Adam Salama saved it to preserve the 2-1 victory.
- The Broncs extended to a six-match winning streak with a 2-0 win on Sept. 21 against Mercyhurst. Rider's first five wins in the span came at Stony Brook (1-0, Aug. 29), vs. Saint Joseph's (3-1, Sept. 2), at George Washington (4-0, Sept. 7) vs. NJIT (2-1, Sept. 14) and at La Salle (3-1, Sept. 17). It marked the second-straight season Rider has had a six-match winning streak, following the Broncs' seven-match streak to punch their ticket to the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
- Momo Diop scored at least one goal in four-straight games during the winning streak, while Bryan Akongo had at least one point in all six wins.
- Adel Al Masude scored his first goal of the year, the game-winner in the 67^th minute at La Salle. Theo Da Silva added his second of the year less than two minutes later. 
- Ezra Punselie earned MAAC Rookie of the Week on Sept. 16 after scoring the equalizer in the Broncs' 2-- Momo Diop earned Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week Honorable Mention after scoring the game-winning goal in the Broncs' 3-1 win over Saint Joseph's (Sept. 2) and adding two more goals in Rider's 4-0 win at George Washington (Sept. 7)
- The Broncs earned their first win of the season, 1-0, on Aug. 29 at Stony Brook on Bryan Akongo's game-winner in the 82^nd minute. Akongo went on to score Rider's first goal in two more wins in a row, striking in the sixth minute against Saint Joseph's (Sept. 2) and just 20 seconds into the win at George Washington (Sept. 7).
- First-year Broncs Theo Da Silva and Ezra Punselie also scored their first goals for Rider in the winning streak, with Da Silva finding the back of the net against Saint Joseph's and Punselie tacking on a goal at George Washington.
- Adam Salama made five saves to secure his first clean sheet of the season at Stony Brook after posting six a year ago. He also combined on a shutout at George Washington, making three saves in more than 83 minutes played before ceding to Diesel Fiore for the final minutes.
- The Broncs enjoyed the fourth-largest improvement in wins (+9) and sixth-largest improvement in winning percentage (+.347) among Division I programs from 2022 to 2023, Rider Head Coach Chad Duernberger's first year leading the program. Rider went from a 3-8-6 mark (.353 winning percentage) in 2022 to a 12-4-4 record (.700 winning percentage), a MAAC Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2023.
- A year after winning the MAAC while being projected eighth in the preseason poll by the league's coaches, Rider was picked to finish second this year. 2023 MAAC Regular Season Champion Iona was picked first.
- The No. 3 seed in the 2023 MAAC Tournament, Rider won three-straight matches, including two on the road, to win the sixth MAAC Championship in program history. Prior to the tournament, the Broncs had won their final four matches of the regular season to extend to a seven-match winning streak entering the NCAA Tournament.
- Junior Momo Diop returns to the Broncs after earning MAAC Championship MVP. Diop scored a goal in each of the Broncs' three wins in the tournament, was named to the All-MAAC First Team and All-Region Third Team, as well as the 2024 Preseason All-MAAC Team.
- The Broncs had a program-record eight All-MAAC selections last season, four of whom return this season. Along with Diop, fellow First-Team selection Adel Al Masude returns as a major threat on set pieces. Defenders Jack McGeechan and Martin Chladek were also Third Team selections, with McGeechan often pushing forward and Chladek providing a big target in the middle off corners.
- Left off the All-MAAC Team, returning junior goalkeeper Adam Salama saved his biggest performance for the most important moment of the year. With 18 seconds left in the MAAC Championship Game, Salama saved a penalty kick by 2023 MAAC Golden Boot winner Camil Azzam Ruiz to preserve a 2-1 lead. The shot was sent low to the right, with Salama reading it correctly and making a kick save, deflecting the ball atop the crossbar and out of bounds. The clock then expired before the Gaels could attempt a corner kick and the Broncs were crowned MAAC Champions.