WEST HARTFORD, CT – Nationally-ranked No. 26 Connecticut’s Jordan Hall scored twice as the Rider University men’s soccer team fell in its season opener to the Huskies, 2-0, at Al-Marzook Field. With the loss, the Broncs slip to 0-1, while the Huskies are now 1-0.

Hall broke the scoreless deadlock in the final seconds of the 20^th minute, finishing off assists from Moussa Wade and Dayonn Harris. Still 1-0 at the half, Hall was back at it in the 55^th minute, again finishing off a Harris assist, this time on a header. Felix Metzler was also credited with an assist on the play. Rider outshot UConn on the night, 12-9, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Quotes and Notes

“We played one of the best programs in college soccer and stayed with them for the whole game. They are an excellent team and Hall is one of the best forwards in the country. You never want to lose, but this was a real good showing for us. We represented Rider in front of the UConn fans.” – Rider Head Coach Charlie Inverso
 
- The meeting was the first-ever vs. Connecticut.
- The Huskies entered the game ranked No. 26 nationally in the College Soccer News Preseason Poll.
- Maxwell Aunger (Tewksbury, NJ/Gill St. Bernard’s [Boston University]) and Juan Carlos Garcia Gomez (Madrid, Spain/Universidad Francisco De Vitoria) made their Rider debuts in the starting line-up, while Francisco Gomez Olano (Cadiz, Spain/University of Cadiz), Matt Araujo (Fords, NJ/Saint Joseph) and Zach Peterson (Mantua, NJ/West Deptford [LIU]) also made their debuts in the Cranberry & White off the bench.

Broncs By The Numbers
- The Broncs took a 12-9 edge in shots in the game. However, the Huskies put five of their nine shots on target, while Rider had just three shots on goal.
- Pablo DeCastro (Madrid, Spain/Universidad Francisco de Vitoria) led the Broncs with four shots, while Gomez Olano had two.
- Pablo Gatinois (Madrid, Spain/Lycee Francais de Madrid) started in goal for the Broncs and made three saves.  
- The Broncs took a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.   

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