Rider captures third MAAC title since 2015
The Rider men’s soccer team is headed back to the NCAA Tournament.
Pablo DeCastro broke a scoreless deadlock in the 55th minute, Pablo Gatinois made 10 saves and the fifth-seeded Broncs knocked off second-seeded Quinnipiac, 1-0, to win their third MAAC championship in the last four years on Sunday afternoon in Hamden, Conn.
“It means a lot, but now we’d like to get a game or two in the NCAA (Tournament),” coach Charlie Inverso said. “We still want to bring more respect for the program. It’s been a really great four years. This was one of the craziest turnarounds.”
Rider (10-9-1) won its fifth straight game and fourth in a row on the road. Inverso’s side needed to win its final two regular-season games just to make the conference tournament.
Once they got in, the Broncs collected away victories over fourthseeded Iona (2-0), topseeded Fairfield (2-0) and Quinnipiac. All five wins during this streak have been shutouts.
“I don’t think Sigmund Freud could figure this team out,” Inverso said. “More than anything they went back to the time honored basics that will never go out of style. We lost four overtime games and three others right at the end, so I have to give credit to a ton of guys on the team for stepping up and being tougher and mentally more disciplined.”
Rider also captured the MAAC title in 2015 and 2016 and lost the final in 2017.
DeCastro scored his eighth of the season with a first-time finish after Clement Bourret cut the ball back into space.
Gatinois made his two best saves in the final 10 minutes when he denied Eamon Whelan from close range and then held on to a Rashawn Dally effort in the 87th minute.
“We were bending and holding on,” Inverso said. “I did see that mental toughness. If we hadn’t lost some of those tough games ... the game we lost at Quinnipiac two and half weeks ago was one of the most mentally broken teams I’ve seen. I think that was a great lesson that you have to play all the way through.”
The NCAA selection show is at 1 p.m. on Monday and will have a distinct local flavor with Ivy League champion Princeton joining Rider in the bracket.