Rider and Akron Face Off in First Round of NCAA Men's Soccer Championship

ider University at No. 16 University of Akron 2018 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship First Round Thursday, November 15 | 7:00 PM | FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field | Akron, OH Conference Notes ESPN3 Live Stats NCAA Bracket NCAA Release Tickets EDISON, NJ – The Rider University Broncs (10-9-1) visit No. 16 Akron Zips (10-6-2) in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship First Round. The game will be on ESPN3 Thursday at 7 p.m. This is the Broncs’ third appearance in the NCAA Championship in the past four years. Rider Notes: The Broncs are making their fifth NCAA appearance in program history. Rider is 0-4 in four prior NCAA tournament games. Rider has won its last five games, all via the shutout. The Broncs' seven total shutouts this season tie the program single-season record, both as a team and individually for sophomore goalkeeper Pablo Gatinois. Graduate student Elliott Otmani became the third Bronc in program history to reach 30 career goals and 20 assists. Akron Notes: The 16th-ranked Zips finished last season ranked third after making the NCAA College Cup. Like the Broncs, the Zips won three games in their league’s championship to earn the automatic bid this season. One of those wins came against No. 12 West Virginia in the semifinals. The Zips are winners of four straight heading into the NCAA Championship. The Zips are meeting a team from the MAAC for the second time this season and the fourth time in program history. In all, Akron is 3-0 versus teams from the MAAC, all against Canisius. MAAC and NCAA Postseason History: Rider became the first team in MAAC Championship history to win three true road games in the tournament en route to the title. The Broncs won MAAC Championships in 2015 and 2016 before losing to Virginia and Vermont in the NCAA Championship First Round. MAAC Championship Recap: Rider won the MAAC Championship as the fifth seed on Sunday with a 1-0 win over second-seeded Quinnipiac University. he lone Rider goal came from Pablo DeCastro in the 55th minute. The goal was the redshirt-sophomore’s eighth of the season, which leads the team. Clement Bourret assisted on the tally. The fifth-seeded Broncs were the lowest seed to win the MAAC Championship since Fairfield University did so as a six seed in 2014. About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference: With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 38th year of competition during the 2018-19 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.