STATEN ISLAND, NY – The Rider University women's soccer team rounded out a narrow 1-0 win over Wagner on Thursday night. With the win, the Broncs start the season with a 1-0 record, the first time Rider has won on opening night since 2023 when the defeated the Seahawks 1-0 in Lawrenceville.
The Broncs opened the scoring in the 16
th minute as
Ella Baumgardt unleashed a shot from the outside of the box, flying into the top corner past the goalkeeper for the early 1-0 lead.
Ashley Moore came up with a big save in the 27
th minute, saving a shot on goal from Wagner's Ashley Frederick while stopping the ball from going into the goal on the ground off of the rebound.
Legitimate chances on goal halted after Moore's save, sending the Broncs into the halftime break with narrow 1-0 lead against the Seahawks.
Wagner held possession in the Broncs half of the field to start the second half, but could not find any real gap in the Broncs defense early on. The Seahawks continued the pressure later on, with Moore stopping a shot on goal from the halfway line.
Moore produced another fantastic save in the 73
rd minute, stopping a thunderous Wagner shot after a corner kick to keep the lead late on.
The pressure flipped between the Broncs and the Seahawks late in the half, with no team finding any clear break in each other's defense. Moore once again came up with a clutch save in the 86
th minute to deny Wagner late on.
Courtney Carter also came up with a big block in the 89
th minute, denying the Seahawks attack on goal during her first game back from injury.
Quotes and Notes
"Great way to start the season against a tough opponent who won their conference last year and went to the NCAA Tournament. Every year we play them it is super close, super physical, so I am really proud how the team competed. I thought our defensive unit was outstanding and
Ashley Moore was absolutely deserving of the shutout with the game winning save in the second half. It was pleasing to create so many good chances but a little disappointing that we didn't finish more of them. But the highlight was seeing
Ella Baumgardt score her first collegiate goal off a corner that we had worked on in practice." - head coach Drayson Hounsome.
- The Broncs were out shot by the Seahawks 15-6.
- In shots on goal, the Broncs were outshot 5-2, with Baumgardt's shot on goal making all of the difference.
- Ashley Moore completed five saves against the Seahawks while earning the clean sheet on the night.
- Cali Friedel made her collegiate debut on Friday night, logging 82 minutes of play against the Seahawks.
Up Next
The Broncs continue their road trip on Sunday, August 16 at 1:00 p.m., facing off against NJIT in Newark, New Jersey.
