LAWRENCEVILLE, New Jersey – The Marist men's soccer team battled to a 0-0 2OT draw at the Rider Broncs on Saturday evening.
With the tie, the Red Foxes now stand at 7-9-1 (3-5-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) and following Iona's 0-0 tie at Canisius, have been officially eliminated from the 2017 MAAC Championship tournment.
SUMMARY:
Twenty three minutes into the game, Marist had the first golden opportunity of the game with a free kick from just outside the box on the right side. Junior
Juan Parada sent a shot over the Rider defensive line and toward the near post but the Bronc's goalie knocked it away for a corner kick. Late in the half, Rider had two shots that were directed on goal but senior goalie
Mark Rajovic was there to make both saves and sent the game into the half at 0-0.
Roughly 15 minutes into the second half, senior co-captain
Kevin Kappock carried the ball down the right side and found a streaking junior
Bruce Jeter on the left post but his redirection carried just wide. Just over six minutes later, the Broncs had a chance to score but the shot bounced off the post and stayed out of the net to keep the game tied. With 10 minutes left in regulation, junior co-captain
Simon Lund Jorgensen found freshman
Allen Gavilanes on the left side but his shot careened off the post and the game remained tied.
Neither team had a shot on target and the game went into a second overtime still tied. With just over five minutes left in the game, a scrum in the Rider box gave Lund Jorgensen the ball inside the box but his shot to the right post was knocked away by the Bronc goalie. With seconds remaining in the match, Rider found an open player in the box and sent a header toward the goal but again Rajovic made the save and the game ended 0-0.
KEY STATS:
- The Red Foxes outshot the Broncs 14-10 and 4-3 in shots on goal
- Rider held a 6-5 advantage in corner kicks
- The Broncs were called offsides six times to Marist's 5
GAME NOTES:
- Rajovic finished with 3 saves on the night, giving him 298 career saves (3rd all-time).
QUOTE:
"This was the story of our year. All season we've been fighting and haven't gotten the breaks. This was two really good teams and when you hit the post that many times you think what if. I thought this was the best we've played all year for 90 minutes and it's disappointing we didn't come out with a win.I feel for the guys because they deserved more out of tonight and this season." – head coach Matt Viggiano.
UP NEXT:
Next up, the Red Foxes return home and close out the regular season against the Siena Saints at Tenney Stadium on Wednesday (7 p.m.)
