LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The defending MAAC Champion Rider University men's soccer team has announced its 2024 schedule. After a home scrimmage against Bucknell (Aug. 13) and a road preseason tilt at Maryland (Aug. 16), the Broncs open the season on Aug. 22 at Virginia, taking on the Cavaliers for the fourth time, including the second time in the last three seasons. Two more road matches at Lehigh (Aug. 26) and Stony Brook (Aug. 29) follow prior to the Broncs' home opener on Labor Day (Sept. 2) against Saint Joseph's.

The non-conference slate continues with a road match at George Washington (Sept. 7), before the Broncs return home to face NJIT on Sept. 14. A quick trip to La Salle (Sept. 17), followed by a home match vs. Mercyhurst (Sept. 21) set the stage for a Sept. 28 league-opening 2023 MAAC Championship rematch with Iona in New Rochelle. This year's MAAC men's soccer schedule will feature competition against eight of the league's remaining 12 teams.

A brief return to non-conference play for an Oct. 1 match at Army West Point is up next, before resuming league play in earnest with an Oct. 5 match-up against first-year MAAC program Merrimack in North Andover, MA. A week later, the Broncs take on Quinnipiac at home (Oct. 12), before traveling to Fairfield (Oct. 19). A Homecoming match-up with Siena is slated for Oct. 26, before the Broncs face Manhattan on the road (Oct. 30). Consecutive home matches against Marist (Nov. 2) and Mount St. Mary's (Nov. 6) close out the regular-season slate.

The eight-team MAAC Championships will commence with the quarterfinals on Nov. 10, followed by the semifinals on Nov. 14 and the Championship Game on Nov. 17.


Virginia
Thursday, Aug. 22 * Charlottesville, VA
 
Series History: Virginia leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: Virginia, 4-0 (Aug. 29, 2022; Charlottesville, VA)
2023 Record: 11-4-4 (5-2-1 ACC)
2023 Postseason: NCAA Third Round
Quickly: Virginia has won the only three meetings between the two programs, the first two coming in NCAA Tournament First Round meetings in 1998 and 2015. Most recently, the Cavaliers took a 4-0 win on Aug. 29, 2022. 


Lehigh
Monday, Aug. 26 * Bethlehem, PA
 
Series History: Lehigh leads, 18-15-4
Last Meeting: Lehigh, 1-0 (2OT) (Sept. 11, 2018; Lawrenceville, NJ)
2023 Record: 3-10-5 (2-5-2 Patriot)
2023 Postseason: N/A
Quickly: The Broncs and Mountain Hawks renew their series, which dates back to 1969. The two teams last met in 2018, when the Mountain Hawks took a 1-0 double overtime victory on Ben Cohen Field.


Stony Brook
Thursday, Aug. 29 * Stony Brook, NY
 
Series History: Rider leads, 3-2-1
Last Meeting: Rider, 3-1 (Sept. 14, 2021; Lawrenceville, NJ)
2023 Record: 6-6-5 (4-1-3 CAA)
2023 Postseason: CAA First Round
Quickly: The Broncs have won the last two in the series against Stony Brook – a 3-1 win in Lawrenceville in 2021 and a 2-1 double-overtime victory on a Mathis Catanzaro free-kick golden goal in 2019.


Saint Joseph's
Monday, Sept. 2 * Ben Cohen Field
 
Series History: Saint Joseph's leads, 20-14-6
Last Meeting: Rider, 2-0 (Aug. 28, 2023; Philadelphia, PA)
2023 Record: 4-11-2 (2-4-2 Atlantic 10)
2023 Postseason: N/A
Quickly: Rider and Saint Joseph's resumed their long rivalry last season, with Chad Duernberger earning his first victory as Broncs Head Coach. Each of the last two meetings have resulted in clean sheet victories and the Broncs would go on to win league championships each time. The Broncs and Hawks first met on the pitch in 1963.  


George Washington
Saturday, Sept. 7 * Washington, DC
 
Series History: George Washington leads, 4-2-1
Last Meeting: Rider, 2-1 (Sept. 22, 2007; Washington, DC)
2023 Record: 4-9-4 (2-5-1 Atlantic 10)
2023 Postseason: N/A
Quickly: Rider and George Washington will meet for the first time since 2007, when the Broncs took a 2-1 victory in Washington, DC. However, the Revolutionaries lead the all-time series, which began in 1989, 4-2-1.


NJIT
Saturday, Sept. 14 * Ben Cohen Field
 
Series History: Rider leads, 4-2-5
Last Meeting: Tie, 1-1 (Sept. 8, 2023; Newark, NJ)
2023 Record: 7-8-4 (3-2-2 America East)
2023 Postseason: America East Semifinals
Quickly: Rider and NJIT have played to ties in each of the last three seasons, including a 1-1 draw last Sept. 8 in Newark. All 11 meetings have come since 2007 and only once has a team won consecutive games, the Broncs' victories in 2015 and 2016. Adel Al Masude tied last year's game in the 74^th minute after the Highlanders scored their goal in the 64^th.   


La Salle
Tuesday, Sept. 17 * Philadelphia, PA
 
Series History: Rider leads, 13-12-1
Last Meeting: Rider, 3-1 (Sept. 19, 2023; Lawrenceville, NJ)
2023 Record: 5-8-4 (1-5-2 Atlantic 10)
2023 Postseason: N/A
Quickly: The Broncs had won four straight over La Salle prior to a 2021 setback to even the all-time series at 12-12-1. But a 3-1 victory last Sept. 19 put the Broncs back on top. The Broncs went down, 1-0, in the 34^th minute, before Martin Chladek scored the equalizer off an Ethan Gregory assist in the 44^th. Second-half goals from Babacar Diene and Justin Ruffino pushed the Broncs to the victory.
 

Mercyhurst
Saturday, Sept. 21 * Ben Cohen Field
 
Series History: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting
2023 Record: 14-3-1 (7-2-1 PSAC)
2023 Postseason: PSAC Quarterfinals
Quickly: Rider and Mercyhurst will meet for the first time in the two programs' histories. The Lakers are beginning the transition to Division I and the Northeast Conference this year.


Iona
Saturday, Sept. 28 * New Rochelle, NY
 
Series History: Rider leads, 16-12-2
Last Meeting: Rider, 2-1 (Nov. 12, 2023; New Rochelle, NY – MAAC Championship Game)
2023 Record: 12-4-0 (9-1-0 MAAC)
2023 Postseason: MAAC Runner Up
Quickly: Rider is 10-2-1 against Iona since 2015. One of the losses came by a 5-3 margin last Oct. 11 on Ben Cohen Field. But the Broncs got the last laugh with a 2-1 MAAC Championship Game victory in New Rochelle on Nov. 12. Babacar Diene scored the game winner in the 83^rd minute and Adam Salama stopped a Gaels penalty kick in the final seconds as the Broncs won their sixth MAAC Championship.


Army West Point
Tuesday, Oct. 1 * West Point, NY


Series History: Army leads, 13-1-0
Last Meeting: Army, 2-0 (Sept. 29, 2010; West Point, NY)
2023 Record: 3-9-4 (1-5-3 Patriot)
2023 Postseason: N/A
Quickly: The Broncs and Black Knights will meet for the first time since 2010. Army West Point has dominated the series, which dates back to 1940, by a 13-1 margin. Rider's lone win came in a 3-2 decision in 2009 on Ben Cohen Field. 
 

Merrimack
Saturday, Oct. 5 * North Andover, MA
 
Series History: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting
2023 Record: 5-7-4 (3-3-2 NEC)
2023 Postseason: NEC Quarterfinals
Quickly: Rider and Merrimack will meet for the first time in the two programs' histories. The Warriors are beginning their first year in the MAAC. Merrimack fell in the NEC Quarterfinals on PK's to Sacred Heart, which is also joining the MAAC this season.


Quinnipiac
Saturday, Oct. 12 * Ben Cohen Field
 
Series History: Rider leads, 7-5-1
Last Meeting: Tie, 1-1 (Sept. 30, 2023; Hamden, CT)
2023 Record: 3-9-5 (1-5-4 MAAC)
2023 Postseason: N/A
Quickly: The Broncs and Bobcats have had an evenly-matched series over the last seven years, with neither team able to come away with consecutive victories. Last season, the two teams played to a 1-1 draw. After the Bobcats scored in the 24^th minute, Babacar Diene scored the equalizer in the 28^th.  


Fairfield
Saturday, Oct. 19 * Fairfield, CT
 
Series History: Fairfield leads, 20-13-3
Last Meeting: Rider, 2-0 (Sept. 24, 2023; Lawrenceville, NJ)
2023 Record: 6-9-1 (3-6-1 MAAC)
2023 Postseason: N/A
Quickly: After Fairfield snapped the Broncs' back-to-back MAAC Championship run in the 2017 title game and scored three second-half goals to stun Rider on Ben Cohen Field in the 2018 regular-season match-up, the Broncs have gone 5-0-2 in seven tightly-contested matches against the Stags since. Last Sept. 24, the Broncs scored a 2-0 win over the Stags, with Ethan Shaw and Saad Chaouki finding the back of the net.


Siena
Saturday, Oct. 26 * Ben Cohen Field
 
Series History: Rider leads, 15-12-6
Last Meeting: Rider, 2-0 (Nov. 9, 2023; Loudonville, NY)
2023 Record: 8-9-0 (8-2-0 MAAC)
2023 Postseason: MAAC Semifinals
Quickly: Rider is 6-1-1 against Siena over the last eight meetings, including wins in the regular season and MAAC semifinals last year. The lone tie came in 2022 in Loudonville, while the Broncs avenged the lone defeat in 2021, earning a 1-0 win in the MAAC Quarterfinals just a week later.


Manhattan
Wednesday, Oct. 30 * Riverdale, NY
 
Series History: Rider leads, 14-8-5
Last Meeting: Manhattan, 2-0 (Oct. 7, 2023; Riverdale, NJ)
2023 Record: 7-8-3 (6-3-1 MAAC)
2023 Postseason: MAAC Semifinals
Quickly: Manhattan reached the MAAC Semifinals last season on the strength of a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Niagara as the No. 4 seed. The Jaspers took a 2-0 win over the Broncs in Riverdale on Oct. 7. The Jaspers have won four of the last five over Rider after the Broncs had gone 4-0-1 in the prior five meetings from 2013-17.    


Marist
Saturday, Nov. 2 * Ben Cohen Field


Series History: Rider leads, 18-12-3
Last Meeting: Rider, 3-1 (Nov. 5, 2023; Lawrenceville, NJ – MAAC Quarterfinals)
2023 Record: 6-8-3 (4-4-2 MAAC)
2023 Postseason: MAAC Quarterfinals
Quickly: Rider snapped a winless streak (0-2-2) to Marist since the 2019 season with a pair of wins within a week of each other late last season. The Broncs took a 2-1 win in Poughkeepsie on Oct. 28 to clinch a home meeting with the Red Foxes in the MAAC Quarterfinals a week later, which Rider also won by a 3-1 margin en route to the MAAC title.


Mount St. Mary's
Wednesday, Nov. 6 * Ben Cohen Field
 
Series History: Mount St. Mary's leads, 7-5-0
Last Meeting: Rider, 1-0 (Oct. 25, 2023; Emmitsburg, MD)
2023 Record: 2-10-3 (2-6-2 MAAC)
2023 Postseason: N/A
Quickly: Since the Mountaineers joined the MAAC for the 2022 season, the Broncs and Mount St. Mary's have split a pair of meetings. Mount St. Mary's took a 3-2 victory on Ben Cohen Field in 2022, while the Broncs got even with a 1-0 win last season in Emmitsburg.


MAAC Championships
All Games at Higher Seed
Quarterfinals: Sunday, Nov. 10
Semifinals: Thursday, Nov. 14
Championship: Sunday, Nov. 17