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Men's College Soccer
Loyola University 3, Rider University 0

BALTIMORE, MD-Decisions, decisions. Sometimes, 90 percent of the game is half mental.

The Broncs began the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference portion of their schedule with a loss at Loyola Saturday. "We played well in spurts," said Rider head coach Russ Fager. "We felt we could play with them and at times we did, but there were other spurts when we did not make good decisions."

Jamie Darvill scored all three goals for the Greyhounds, giving him a team-high six on the season.

Loyola (4-6-1, 1-0 MAAC) scored just 2:40 into the game on a free kick from 40 yards out. "He launched the ball from almost midfield into the box and we didn't make a real good decision on it and the ball went into the back of the net," Fager said, "so we were down a goal before we had a chance to blink."

The Greyhounds made it 2-0 2:23 into the second half after a long goal kick. "The keeper sent the ball to the center of the field and they took it right in and scored," Fager said.

Loyola took a 3-0 lead with 25 minutes left with a goal from 10 yards out.  "The third goal was a quality goal," Fager said.

Loyola out-shot Rider 16-9. Five of Rider's nine shots were on goal. Rider senior Nico Tramontana (Vineland, N.J./Sacred Heart) had two of Rider's shots. "Nico had a pretty good game today," Fager said. "He was the one who got most involved today he did some nice things up front and in the middle of the field."

Both teams had four corner kicks. "We had some shots, had some nice serves," Fager said.

Rider (3-6, 0-1 MAAC) sophomore Christopher Pimentel (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) made six saves. Bronc freshman goalkeeper Matt Perrella (North Brunswick, N.J./N. Brunswick) played the last 27 minutes and made two saves.

The Greyhounds lost four in a row, all one-goal games, before entering MAAC play. "They are still a good side, regardless of their record," Fager said. "They have some 'big-time' players."

Rider won three in a row before losing to George Washington and has now lost two in a row. "We came into this game thinking we had a good chance," Fager said.

Loyola was the MAAC regular season champion last year (9-0) but lost in the MAAC Championship Game before losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Loyola defeated Rider in the regular season finale last year. Rider and Loyola have now met 25 times since the series began in 1946, with Rider winning six, including 2004. Rider defeated Loyola in the 1997 MAAC Championship Game. The two teams tied in 1981.

Rider returns home to host Canisius in a MAAC game Friday at 4pm. "Over the next few days we have to work on playing faster, playing harder, defending better," Fager said, "and making better decisions."

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