Photo courtesy of Rider Athletics
Rider’s Tim Devine (Philadelphia, PA) made two outstanding saves in the opening minutes, and St. Joseph’s Alex Smith (Devon, PA) stopped several great scoring opportunities throughout the game to preserve a scoreless draw at Rider University’s Ben Cohen Field Tuesday night.
The regional matchup between the Broncs (3-1-1) and the Hawks (1-0-3) was closely contested physical battle between two sides looking to build some early season momentum ahead of conference play. Though both sides created numerous chances in either half, neither could manage to find the back of the net because of the excellent display of goalkeeping.
With over a week of rest since their 1-1- draw at Mount Saint Mary’s, the visitors came out on fire and nearly scorched the Broncs in the game’s first minute. Jake Ross took a cross off the short hop and volleyed the ball on frame, but Devine pushed it aside for a corner. On the ensuing corner, Ross towered above several Rider defenders to win the header, and once again Devine made another reaction save to keep the Hawks away. Minutes later, at the other end, Rider’s Chiemeka Azurunwa broke free down the right side of the box after a St. Joe’s giveaway and slipped a pass to Patrick Rojeck (King of Prussia, PA), who ripped a shot off Smith’s chest from seven yards out.
With a physical midfield battle brewing where possession changed rapidly, both teams continued to create chances as the first half progressed but couldn’t produce a final touch good enough to be beat either keeper. On the quarter-hour, Rider defender Noah Rose-Smith sent a looping cross to the back post that Rojeck headed wide, and right after St. Joe’s Charlie Undorf (West Chester, PA) found space around the right side and forced Devine to make a sprawling save on a tight angle. Rider enjoyed more of the possession midway through the half, attacking the left side. Drew Heil came close to finding Azurunwa with a through ball that split the backline, and Emmanuel Dan-Adokie caused some trouble with a few deep runs into the box, while Ross had another clean strike for the Hawks on a counter that Devine corralled.
Rider almost had the breakthrough moment in the 32nd minute when winger Axel Lucas received a ball on the wide right and cut inside to his left, curling a shot toward the top corner that Smith tipped off the bar. On the following corner, Smith beat Carter Schmitz to the ball and punched it away, and Ryan Vaubel tried to catch Smith at the near post to no avail. Three minutes later, Azurunwa set up Vaubel with a cutter at the spot, but he pushed it well wide of the frame. Gavin Faracchio had the final chance of the half when he turned toward goal after a Rider combination through the middle, but his shot from distance missed high and wide.
The second half followed a similar flow, with the Broncs pushing more into St. Joseph’s end with the ball and the Hawks relieving pressure and creating opportunities against the run of play. In the opening minutes, St. Joseph defender Declan Sullivan had a blast from distance that he pulled wide, and Unger again had a clean look that the Rider defense blocked in front of goal.
Rider began to gain longer spells of possession deeper in the Hawks’ end but again couldn’t beat Smith. Faracchio beat his mark down the right and hit Daniel Grinder at the penalty spot, but the reserve forward’s first-time attempt lacked the power to beat Smith, who made an easy save.
The Hawks nearly broke the game open once again on a corner in the 75th minute, but central defender Diego Avelar’s header missed the post by inches.
As Rider pressed the game in the latter minutes, Lucas found more joy down the right side off the dribble, causing the St. Joe’s defenders scrambling to cover. With less than fifteen minutes to play, Azurunwa came close to breaking the deadlock when his bending shot from the outside left appeared to find the far corner, but Smith made a sprawling save with his bottom hand to tip the ball wide. With minutes remaining, Rider once again had a good look from close range after Heil’s cross from the right fell to Rojeck in front. The forward had time to chest the ball down, but several defenders rushed his shot and Smith made a sliding leg stop to record his sixth save of the game, matching Devine at the other end. With only seconds to play, the game finished as it began, with Ross on the end of a St. Joe’s counter, only this time his low shot missed just wide.
“We knew this was a challenging game for us,” Rider coach Chad Duernberger said after the game. “Second half, we got a hold of the game and started pinning them back more like we like to do, but their goalkeeper did fantastic for them, came up with some world-class saves, and sometimes that’s how the game goes.”
Rider and St. Joe’s had 17 shots each, and Duernberger was pleased with how his team created chances. “I thought the ball speed and the tempo was good. Our shape caused problems because we have the ability to play around the edge of a team, break lines, go direct, so we can hurt teams in different ways.”
Coming off a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over NJIT over the weekend, scoring three different goals during the run of play, Rider picked up where they left off in terms of balanced scoring opportunities, which Duernberger feels is a positive moving forward.
“You want to make sure your team is in situations where they’re getting shots off and dangerous opportunities, and we were doing that.”
St. Joseph’s second-year head coach Tim Mulqueen also felt his team deserved a win, especially with the two opportunities at the start of the game that caught the hosts off guard. “We knew it was going to be a difficult game,” he said. “Both teams gave as good as they took, too, so I’m pleased with the result.” Mulqueen’s positive takeaway was that the Hawks have played their last three games on the road and still haven’t lost. “Defensively, we’ve given up two goals in four games, so we’re always going to be in games if we can keep doing that. Now, we just got to find goals.”
One of the main reasons for St. Joseph’s positive start defensively has been the play of their freshman keeper Smith. The YSC Academy graduate had been a part of the Philadelphia Union program for several years and most recently led the U-18s to the Dallas Cup, the third American club to win the U-19 Super Group at the prestigious youth tournament.
“I just play my game,” Smith said when asked about his top-level saves in each half. “I get set where I want to be set. I react right. Some situations aren’t as hard as they look from the outside.”
In the first four games, Smith has 19 saves, a .905 save percentage, and a 0.5 goals against average. He’s played every minute of the season and now has two clean sheets. “The team played great. We fought. We didn’t get the result we wanted but still undefeated.”
Last season, St. Joseph’s finished 6-7-4 and advanced to the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals with a 3-2-3 conference record, but Mulqueen said the defensive foundation will be integral for taking the next step in 2026.
“Every team that I was with that won a championship or did well had a great goals against average,” he said, adding that last year his team lowered their goals against total from 39 the season prior to 23, which he feels is still not low enough. “Alex has put us on his shoulders. Why we brought him in is for moments like today. He’s, for my money, the best freshman goalkeeper in the country and one of the best in the country.”
Smith and Mulqueen will have a few days to recover before hosting non-conference foes LIU and Iona. The Hawks open their Atlantic 10 schedule at home against George Mason on September 19th.
Rider will travel to LaSalle this Saturday then begin play in the Metro Conference in two weeks when they host Quinnipiac. The Broncs won the regular season in 2024 and the conference championship in 2023 and should be in contention for another deep run in conference play this season and a potential NCAA berth.
