LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – After 86 scoreless minutes, Fairfield broke the ice at 86:20 and the Rider University men's soccer team countered for a Kaelan Debbage (Queensland, Australia/Kawana Waters State H.S. [Spring Arbor Univ./Gardner Webb]) equalizer at 86:43 as the two teams played to a 1-1 draw Saturday afternoon on Ben Cohen Field. With the draw, the Broncs move to 1-7-4 (0-2-3 MAAC), while the Stags are now 4-4-3 (2-1-2 MAAC).

Following a scoreless first half, Xavi Csato (Stuart, FL/The Pine School [Stetson/UNC Greensboro]) got a good look from 12 yards out from the left post, but his attempt sailed wide of the far, right post. In the 49^th minute, after a Rider shot off a corner kick was saved, the Stags went the other way and Sean Albritton's header from eight yards out sailed high. Another dangerous chance for the Broncs came in the 62^nd minute, when Luke Kirilenko's low cross with two runners crossing in the box, went just wide of the left post.

Fairfield goalkeeper Ethan Chomow stood on his head for saves on a strong individual effort from Csato in the 75^th minute and a Debbage free kick in the 76^th.  

The Stags finally broke the ice, with Jordan Blunschi heading in a Cameron Gerber corner kick at 86:20. But just 23 seconds later, it was Csato playing the ball into the Debbage for a control dribble and left-footed finish from 10 yards out from the left post, low past Chomow's right glove and inside the left post for the equalizer. The match would end without either team getting off another shot on goal.

Quotes & Notes
"I thought it was a back-and-forth game. I was kind of waiting to see which team was going to finally find that piece, that goal, to break the game open. It kept going, kept going until basically the 87^th minute for them to find it and for us to find a way to score what felt like 30 seconds later to make it 1-1. I'm proud of the guys. Anytime a team can score with three minutes left in a match, you think the game's over because there's not much time for you to operate and find the equalizer. So, I'm really happy for the players to quickly get back on the score sheet and get another point in the league." – Rider Head Coach Chad Duernberger

- Marius Helias (Saint Florentin, France) played all 90 minutes in goal for the Broncs, making four saves.
- Since a 2018 regular-season loss to Fairfield, the Broncs have gone 6-0-3 in nine tightly-contested meetings with the Stags to trim Fairfield's lead in the all-time series to 20-14-4.  
- Helias, Max Schrader (Cherry Hill, NJ/Scholar Athletes Leadership Academy), Leo Arndt (Dusseldorf, Germany/Lore Lorentz College), Lovro Kostanjsek (Domzale, Slovenia/Gimnazija Domzale), Theo Da Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil/University of Rio Grande), Kaelan Debbage (Queensland, Australia/Kawana Waters State H.S. [Spring Arbor Univ./Gardner Webb]) and Luke Kirilenko (McKinney, TX/Impington International College [Virginia]) each played all 90 minutes.

Broncs By The Numbers
- Debbage's goal was the 10^th of his collegiate career and his first since scoring one goal for Gardner Webb in 2023. He previously scored eight goals for Division II Drury University.
- Csato's assist was his team-leading fourth of the season and the 14^th of his three-year collegiate career.
- Fairfield took a 19-8 edge in shots, while both teams put five shots on target.  
- Fairfield took eight corner kicks to the Broncs' four.   
- The Broncs were cautioned twice, while Fairfield was not shown a yellow card.   

Up Next
The Broncs return to action Wednesday, when they travel to Saint Peter's. Kickoff from Jaroschak Field is scheduled for 3 p.m.