BRONX, NY – Pablo DeCastro (Madrid, Spain/Universidad Francisco de Vitoria) and Clement Bourret (Orleans, France/Lycee Jean Giraudoux) each finished on Mathis Catanzaro (Montpellier, France/MHSC) assists and Pablo Gatinois (Madrid, Spain/Lycee Francais de Madrid) made seven saves as the Rider University men’s soccer team blanked Fordham, 2-0, on the road Saturday night. With the win, the Broncs improve to 1-1-0, while the Rams slip to 0-2-1.

Rider took a 1-0 lead in the 28^th minute, as DeCastro finished off a Catanzaro assist. Gatinois made the lead stand up in the first half with three highlight-reel saves in the period.

In the second half, another pivotal Gatinois save kept it a 1-0 Rider lead before the Broncs countered with a scoring chance that they wouldn’t squander in the 65^th minute. Catanzaro sent another perfect cross to Bourret near the top of the 18-yard box and the senior finished in stride inside the right post for a 2-0 lead.

 

Quotes and Notes

“A very good win against a very tough team. It was a very physical game and a hard place to play. Road wins are always good because they build team chemistry. Gato was outstanding in goal tonight with three game-changing saves, one in the beginning of the game that gave us momentum. Clem’s goal was huge and it came off a great ball from Mathis. Now, we get ready for Princeton.” – Rider Head Coach Charlie Inverso
 
- Rider extended its lead in the all-time series with Fordham to 7-1-0.
- The Rams have had recent success in men’s soccer, reaching the NCAA Championship Quarterfinals in 2017, advancing past St. Francis Brooklyn, #11 Virginia and #6 Duke, before falling to #3 North Carolina.
- The Broncs scored twice in spite of the Rams featuring MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List honoree Joergen Oland on its back line.
- Graduate transfer Sam Carter (Queens, NY/Archbishop Molloy [Loyola (Maryland)]) saw his first action as a Bronc, playing 56 minutes off the bench.
- A chippy game throughout, seven cards were shown, including a red card to Rider’s Sylvain Coco (Nimes, France/Univ. of Montpellier) in the 89^th minute for an action after a play that drew a yellow card on Fordham’s Johannes Pieles for a hard foul on a Rider player.  

Broncs By The Numbers
- Following one clean sheet as a freshman at Oregon State and a Rider record-tying seven more last season, Gatinois made seven saves to post his ninth career shutout.
- DeCastro scored his 18^th goal in three seasons with the Broncs. He had eight goals as a freshman in 2017, before leading the team with nine goals last season.
- Catanzaro matched his season assists total from a year ago with his two helpers on the night. He’s now collected seven assists for his Rider career.
- Fordham took a 13-8 edge in shots, including a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal. The Rams also took six corner kicks to the Broncs’ three.