Thursday, Oct 30, 2014
The Nov. 1 game is just the second time Rider has served as a tournament host
The 小优视频 women鈥檚 soccer team is the fourth seed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship Tournament and will host the fifth seed, Siena, on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. on the Ben Cohen Field.
Since this is a conference tournament, ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 years old and under as well as Rider faculty and staff (with I.D.). Admission is free for Rider and Siena students with I.D.
This is the ninth time Rider has competed in the MAAC Championship Tournament in its 18 years in the conference and just the second time Rider has served as a host.
The winner of the Rider-Siena game, as well as the winner of the No. 3 Niagara-No. 6 Canisius game, will advance to the MAAC semifinals hosted by the regular season champion, Monmouth, Nov. 7 to 9. Fairfield is the No. 2 seed and along with Monmouth advances directly to the semifinals.
Rider (10-5-2, 5-3-2 MAAC) and Siena (7-6-6, 4-2-4 MAAC) played to a 0-0 tie on Oct. 25 in Loudonville, N.Y. The Broncs defeated Siena 1-0 at Rider last year. Siena leads the all-time series 8-7-4. These two teams met in the four-team 2004 MAAC Tournament, with No. 3 Rider defeating No. 2 Siena 3-1 in the semifinals.
The only other time Rider has hosted a MAAC playoff game was 2003, when the fourth place Broncs lost to the top seed and eventual champion, Loyola, 4-2 in the semifinals of the four-team tournament.
Rider competed in the 11-team MAAC Championship Tournament last year in Lake Buena Vista, Florida as the fifth seed, defeating fourth seeded Marist in the quarterfinals before losing to the top seed and eventual champion Monmouth in the semifinals.
Rider has been led by the offense of junior Tara Ballay (Delran, N.J./Delran) and sophomore Michelle Iacono (Merrick, N.Y./Calhoun) and the defense of sophomore goalkeeper Bethany-May Howard (Glastonbury, England/Bridgwater College).
Ballay continues to lead the MAAC in goals (11) and points (24), despite missing the last five games with a leg injury. Iacono leads the MAAC in shots and is 10th in the MAAC in points (13), but has also missed the last two games with a leg injury.
Howard has been named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week three times this year and leads the MAAC in save percentage (.842). Howard has five shutouts this season, including her most recent one against Siena.
Siena is 4-1-4 in its last nine games, defeating Quinnipiac 1-0 on Wednesday to move up from sixth to fifth place in the final standings.
Saturday鈥檚 playoff game will be streamed on BroncVision, the pay per view video stream of Rider Athletics. Steve Rudenstein and Greg Busch will bring you all of the action live.
GameWatcher (LiveStats) will also be available for free on the website for all home games and most away contests.
Official MAAC Tournament programs are available in digital form at .