EDISON, NJ (Nov. 13, 2024) – Postseason action resumes on Thursday, November 14 with the 2024 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s Soccer Championship semifinal round. The final four matchups will include No. 1 Iona University hosting No. 5 Marist College at 1:00 p.m. and No. 2 Rider University welcoming No. 3 Siena College at 7:00 p.m. Both semifinal contests will air live on ESPN+.
No. 1 Iona (9-4-3, 6-1-1 MAAC) vs. No. 5 Marist (7-8-2, 3-2-2 MAAC)
Mazzella Field | NEW ROCHELLE, NY | 1:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
The semifinal round will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon when No. 1 Iona hosts No. 5 Marist at Mazzella Field in New Rochelle, NY. Iona punched its third straight ticket into the semis following a convincing, 3-0 shutout win over No. 8 Mount St. Mary’s in the quarterfinals match on Sunday. The top-seeded Gaels were led offensively by the trio of Jad Benjelloun, Thiago Cagna, and Bautista Rossi, who all recorded a goal. Defensively, Loukas Georgiou made three saves in 90 minutes of work, recording his second straight clean sheet win. Marist scored a 2-1 upset win on the road over No. 4 Quinnipiac in its quarterfinals game, holding off a late comeback rally by the Bobcats. The Red Foxes took a 2-0 lead early in the second half after getting scores from Arion Ulaj in the 18
th minute and Richard Morel off a penalty kick in the 58
th minute. The win put the Red Foxes back in the semifinal round for the first time since 2021, the last time the program won the MAAC title.
Iona and Marist met in the regular season on October 23, in New Rochelle, with the Gaels winning the meeting 1-0. The Gaels are currently riding a five-match winning streak over the Red Foxes, with Marist’s last win in the series coming back in 2018.
No. 2 Rider (13-4-1, 6-1-1 MAAC) vs. No. 3 Siena (7-4-6, 4-1-3 MAAC)
Ben Cohen Field | LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ | 7:00 PM | ESPN+ | Live Stats
The second semifinal contest will be a rematch of one of last year’s semifinal games, putting No. 2 Rider against No. 3 Siena in Lawrenceville, NJ, with a 7:00 p.m. first kick. The difference in 2024 is, the seeds are flipped, and Rider will be the home team this season, compared to last year’s game which was hosted by Siena in Loudonville, NY. Defending MAAC Champion and Co-Regular Season Champion, Rider needed double overtime to defeat No. 7 Sacred Heart 1-0 on Sunday in the quarterfinal round. Cole Sotack proved to be the hero for the Broncs, netting the golden goal in the 102
nd minute to send the Broncs into the semifinals for the second consecutive year, and for the fourth time over the last five seasons dating back to 2020-21. In net, MAAC Golden Glove winner, Adam Salama, made four saves, extending his MAAC-leading win total (13) and shutout total (8). Siena used a late tally, to get past No. 6 Manhattan 2-1, in its opening postseason game. The Saints got tallies from MAAC Rookie of the Year Dren Dobruna in the 33
rd minute and the game-winning goal from Mario Navarro Perez in the 84
th minute to secure their first postseason win in eight years and their second straight semifinal appearance.
During the regular season, Rider and Siena met on October 26 in Lawrenceville, NJ, with the home Broncs edging the Saints, 1-0. Over the last decade, Rider and Siena have met four times in the postseason, with the Broncs having won all four matches. Siena’s last playoff victory over Rider dates back to the opening round of the 2007 championship.
The 2024 MAAC Men’s Soccer Championship is an eight-team, single-elimination championship taking place November 10-17, 2024. Each match during the championship will be hosted by the higher seed and all rounds of the championship will reseed. The quarterfinals will take place on Sunday, November 10, followed by the semifinals on Thursday, November 14, and concluding with the championship final on Sunday, November 17. For all information regarding the 2024 MAAC Men’s Soccer Championship, please visit
maacsports.com/msoc.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 13 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 44th year of competition during the 2024-25 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan University, Marist College, Merrimack College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Sacred Heart University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
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