PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Rider University men's soccer team defeated the La Salle Explorers on Saturday night by a score of 3-2 in Philadelphia. With the win, the Broncs improve to a record of 4-1-1 while the Explorers fall to a record of 4-2-0.
Marius Helias, during his first start in two games, was called into action early, making a one on one save against the streaming Explorers forward in front of him to prevent La Salle from going ahead early.
The Broncs took their earliest lead of the year in the fourth minute, as
Sawyer Koza sent a through ball to
Drew Heil on the right side of the wing. One on one through the Explorers backline, Heil deposited the ball along the ground to the keeper's far post to take an early 1-0 lead. Koza was accredited with his first assist as a Bronc.
La Salle responded seven minutes later in the 11
th, hitting a ball from beyond the box while Helias was screened by the backline to tie the game up. Helias rectified the goal with a save in the 28
th minute while Heil nearly retook the lead with a shot from a corner that narrowly sailed over the crossbar in the 35
th minute.
The Broncs regained the lead in the 43
rd minute as
Emmanuel Dan-Adokiene put a low cross into the box, with the ball eventually coming off of a La Salle defender for an own goal. But, the Explorers struck again on the stroke of halftime to square everything back up ahead of the halftime break.
Rider started the second half quick, as a Dan-Adokiene shot was saved behind for a corner only for
Carter Schmitz to put his shot from the reentry over the bar. In the face of an overwhelming attack by the Explorers, the Rider defense smothered away a dangerous low cross into the box in the 53
rd minute to ward off another attempt.
Four minutes later, an errant kick out from the La Salle goalkeeper during open play careened off of a retreating
Axel Lucas. The ball eventually met
Ryan Kuldanek who fired the ball past the goalkeeper after the error to regain the lead. And, after a lengthy video review, the goal stood to cement the one-goal lead.
The Bronc attack had another opportunity in the 69
th minute as
Patryk Rojek forced the Explorer defense to hurriedly corral him, forcing a low shot into the hands of the keeper. Rider's defensive line once again came into their own in the 77
th, blocking away a shot before Helias made a save in front of the goal in the 80
th minute to keep the lead alive.
With a one-goal lead, the Broncs played conservatively, taking care of the ball while not playing risky shots that could lead to a La Salle attack on the transition. With less than a minute left to play, La Salle headed a dangerous ball in at goal only for the chance to go over the bar, rounding out the game and the win for the Broncs.
Quotes & Notes
"I'm really happy for the boy's effort tonight. They did so well with the ups and downs of the match. Handling adversity and moving forward. Everyone put in a huge defensive effort. Three goals will always give you a chance to win. I thought we looked good in transition tonight and we utilized a lot of players this evening to stay fresh. The guys off the bench gave a fantastic effort. There's plenty for us to clean up, but I like where this group is so far. They are together, a tight group, and it's fun to watch."
– Head Coach Chad Duernberger
- The Broncs were outshot by the Explorers 20-9, with the attempts on goal favoring La Salle 8-6.
- Helias was called in to make six saves while in goal during his first game back in two weeks.
- La Salle edged Rider 10-2 in chances from the corner kick.
- The Explorers committed 18 fouls during the match to the Broncs six fouls committed.
- Ryan Kuldanek scored his first goal as a Bronc on his first shot at Rider.
- Four yellow cards were issued during play, with Rojek, Dan-Adokiene, and Michael Holliday being shown yellows by the referee.
UP NEXT
Men's soccer returns on Saturday, September 19 at 1:00 p.m., opening their 2026 Metro Conference
season against Quinnipiac at Ben Cohen Field.
