Rider suffers setback in MAAC final
FAIRFIELD, CONN. » The Rider men’s soccer team’s bid for a third straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship came up short in one of the cruelest ways possible.
Sylvain Coco diverted Diallo Simon-Ponte’s cross into his own goal in the 71st minute and the Stags defeated the Broncs, 1-0, in the MAAC title game on Sunday evening.
Rider (12-5-2) was seeking to become the first school to win three straight league titles since Loyola won eight in a row from 1989-96.
But in a match with very few chances, Fairfield (124-3) got the slice of luck it needed.
Pablo Decastro had the Broncs’ best chance when he rattled the crossbar in the first half.
Rider only managed two shots on target and rarely tested Stags goalkeeper Gordon Botterill.
Robbinsville product David Pastuna finished with four saves for the Broncs.
Fairfield earned the right to host the championship game as the top seed thanks to a 3-0 win over Rider in the regular season finale.
Rider, which has won at least 12 games in each of the last three seasons, under head coach Charlie Inverso will wait to hear if it receives an unlikely atlarge berth to the NCAA Tournament.
The Broncs had an RPI of 52 in most recent rankings and were still receiving votes in United Soccer Coaches Top-25.
The selection show is Monday afternoon.