LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Rider University men's soccer team fell to Marist on Saturday afternoon by a score of 3-2. With the result, the Broncs move to an overall record of 7-4-3 while moving to a Metro record of 3-3-2. Marist moves to a record of 3-2-2 in the Metro.
After both sides registered shots on goal and saves through the first five minutes,
Chiemeka Azurunwa had a chance to score, registering a shot on goal in the 23
rd minute, having his shot saved by the Marist goalkeeper. The Red Foxes took the lead later in the 27
th minute only for the Broncs to tie it a minute later, with
Patryk Rojek converting on a penalty kick in the 28
th minute.
Marist scored again in the 30
th minute to take a 2-1 lead. The Broncs defended well for the rest of the first half, with
Marius Helias completing three saves in 15 minutes to send Rider into the halftime break down a goal.
Axel Lucas came close to getting the first goal of the second half, having his shot saved before Rider went on the attack again. Streaming forward, Azurunwa played a pass to
Drew Heil, who played a give-and-go through the Marist back line to Azurunwa who chipped the goalkeeper to tie the game at 2-2.
The Red Foxes took the lead again in the 66
th minute to make it 3-2, with Helias making two more saves in the 67
th and 68
th minutes to keep out anymore scores. Possession bounced back and forth for the remainder of the game, with the Broncs recording three shots on goal in the last 25 minutes to round out the game.
QUOTES & NOTES
"We came up a bit short today against a strong Marist side. They capitalized when they had opportunities. I'm happy with the guys' fight to get back in the game. I'm proud of how we came out in the second half and responded with a goal. I felt the third goal was coming for us, unfortunately, we just ran out of time. It's all about how we respond. We have two massive games left that we need to get points from."
– Head Coach Chad Duernberger
- The Broncs were outshot 22-17 by the Red Foxes, with Marist also besting Rider 13-10 in shots on goal.
- Both Rojek and Azurunwa notched their third goals of the year in the match, with Heil being credited with his seventh assist of 2026 during the game as well.
- Helias made eight saves in the game while making five in the second half alone to raise his season total to 56.
- Louis Demarest was shown a yellow card in the 69th minute while being shown a second yellow and then a red card in the 81st minute. Lucas was shown a yellow card in the 55th minute.
UP NEXT
The Broncs travel to Fairfield, Connecticut next, facing off against Sacred Heart on Saturday, October 31 at 12:00 p.m.
