Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024
Rider Broncs (3-2-0, 0-0-0 MAAC) vs. NJIT Highlanders (2-2-1, 0-0-0 America East)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Ben Cohen Field
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoBroncs.com

What You Need To Know
- Rider returns to action Saturday, when it welcomes NJIT to Ben Cohen Field for a non-conference match at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
- The Broncs have won three-straight matches – at Stony Brook (1-0, Aug. 29), vs. Saint Joseph's (3-1, Sept. 2) and at George Washington (4-0, Sept. 7).
- 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.
- Salama has posted a 1.02 GAA and a .783 saves percentage through five games this season.
- The Broncs lead the all-time series with NJIT, 4-2-5. 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.
- NJIT is coming off a 1-0 loss at one of the MAAC's newest members, Sacred Heart, on Tuesday. The Highlanders' two wins have come by 4-0 (vs. Saint Peter's, Sept. 7) and 3-0 (at La Salle, Aug. 26) margins.  
- The Highlanders are led by Andrew Araya, Sergio Martinez Cubel and Raz Amir, who've each scored twice so far this season. Asembo Augo has also added a goal and an assist, while Matt Moran and Sokol Ymeraj give NJIT six different goal scorers so far in 2024.
- Devin Armstrong has seen the majority of minutes in net for NJIT, including the full 90 minutes in the last two, while allowing just one goal in that span. For the season, he's posted a 0.63 GAA and .875 saves percentage.
- NJIT was picked fifth of eight teams in the America East Preseason Poll. The America East sent three teams to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, including at-large qualifier Vermont, which defeated the Broncs, 3-1, in the opening round.
- 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.
- 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.