Thursday, August 22, 2024
Rider Broncs (0-0-0, 0-0-0 MAAC) vs. #13 Virginia Cavaliers (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC)
Location: Charlottesville, VA
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Live Video: ACCNX
Live Stats: VirginiaSports.com

What You Need To Know
- Rider and nationally-ranked No. 13 Virginia are meeting for the fourth time, with the Cavaliers holding a 3-0 lead in the series. The first two meetings took place in the 1998 and 2015 NCAA Tournament First Rounds, while the most recent pairing took place in the 2022 season opener. All three meetings have been contested in Charlottesville.
- 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.
- Ranked No. 13 nationally, Virginia was picked sixth in the ACC Preseason Poll. One of, if not the toughest, conferences in the nation, the team picked 12^th in the ACC Preseason Poll (No. 24 Louisville) is still ranked in the Top 25.
- Virginia junior defender Nick Dang was named a Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI Second Team selection.  
- The No. 3 seed in the 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.
- Rider goalkeepers matched the program single-season record with seven shutouts last season. Salama produced six of the clean sheets, with Diesel Fiore also shutting out Niagara in his lone appearance of the year.
- 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.
- The Broncs must replace four All-Conference selections, including First-Teamer, All-Region Third Team honoree and leading scorer Babacar Diene. Diene had a team-high 13 goals and 29 points, including the game-winning goal in the 83^rd minute of the MAAC Championship Game and Rider's tally in a 3-1 loss at Vermont in the NCAA Tournament First Round. Diene signed with the USL's Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
- Also departed is MAAC Rookie of the Year Saad Chaouki, a National All-Freshman Second Team selection by Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News, who transferred to Portland, as well as graduates Sebastian Rojek and Ethan Shaw, who were All-MAAC Second and Third Team honorees, respectively.
- Also departed is 2021 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Zaki Alibou. After a 10-goal, five-assist effort in 2021, Alibou was sidelined for all but two matches in 2022. He contributed a goal and tied for the team lead with six assists in 2023.