Takin’ Care of Business

By Eric Malave

The soccer teams were on a roll this week as both Rider soccer teams pulled out victories over their opponents on Tuesday.

The men’s team (4-4) defeated the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) (1-6) by a score of 3-1, while the women’s team (3-2-3) pulled an upset over St. Joseph, as they came back to win the game 3-2.
The Broncs began strong against the Highlanders in Newark as sophomore Nico Tramontana scored the first goal 6:14 into the first half.

“I felt just a rush of adrenaline and also like a weight was lifted a bit,” Tramontana said. “I thought it was just another shot that needed to go in so we could win.”

It was his second goal of the season. Assisting on the goal was freshman Jim Bradley.
Also scoring for the Broncs was sophomore Kevin Juska, who scored his third goal of the season on a corner kick assisted by senior Lee Tomasso.

The score put the Broncs up 2-0 seven minutes before the first half ended.

Tomasso said that Juska’s goal gave the Broncs a nice cushion as they entered the second half of the game.
Unfortunately, the Highlanders scored a penalty kick in the second half, cutting the Rider lead to 2-1.

But further into the game, freshman Andy Cotes sealed the deal for the Broncs, as he scored his first collegiate goal with an assist from junior Anthony Gilbert, who hustled down the field to pass the ball.

Another teammate who contributed to Rider’s win was junior goalkeeper Randall Zapolski, who made five saves for the Broncs.

“As a team we have come a long way from last season, and we are making huge steps toward becoming a very good and ranked team,” Tramontana said. “We should not stop working to make ourselves the best we can be together and individually.”

Last Saturday, the Broncs went to Washington, D.C. and beat the George Washington Colonials (3-3) 2-1.
The Colonials struck first with a goal by sophomore Andy Stadler only 13 seconds into the game.

The Broncs then rallied with two first-half goals by junior Colin Jennings and freshman Tom Antonucci.
Jennings scored his first goal of the season at the 14:04 mark. Antonucci scored his first collegiate goal at 39:27 with an assist by Tomasso, a shot that turned out to be the game winning effort.

The Broncs were able to pull out the victory despite being out-shot by the Colonials 18-4.

Also playing Tuesday night was the Rider women’s soccer team, which played the Saint Joseph University Hawks (2-6) at home.

The Bronc defense gave up two goals within the first 20 minutes of the first half to put the team in an early hole.
“It was unfortunate because both (St. Joseph) goals were the result of breakdowns on our part,” junior defender Erin Mahar told Rider Sports Information.

Luckily, the second half was much different for the team, as a change of events took place.
Mahar scored the first goal for Rider eight minutes into the second half. She was given a pass by sophomore Kate Murphy, and then kicked the ball into the goal to close the gap to 2-1.
“I just took a shot and hoped for the best,” Mahar said.

Scoring five minutes later was junior Michelle Matricardi, who earned her first goal of the season tying the game at two goals apiece. Her goal was assisted by freshman Kimberly Reichel.

The Broncs took the lead when freshman Lauren Musumeci took a pass from sophomore Alison Brody and was able to tally another goal for the Broncs.

Last Friday, the Broncs lost a tough 1-0 decision to the Monmouth Hawks (3-2-3).
The game was scoreless until Monmouth senior Amy Hoyer scored at 82:58 in the second half. Hoyer had five shots on goal for the game.

When the Broncs tried to clear the ball out of their zone, Hoyer picked off the pass and was able to score an easy goal.

Freshman goalie Alex Post had 11 saves for the Broncs as they were outshot by a whopping 14-2 margin.
The men’s next game is at home against LaSalle tomorrow. The women will play their next game at home against the University of Pennsylvania on Sunday.