The Stony Brook men’s soccer team was unable to ride out their hot stretch on Tuesday, Sept. 14, losing 3-1 in a one-sided matchup against the Rider Broncs to end their three-game win streak. 

Stony Brook looked to be the clear favorite coming into Tuesday night’s match with a record of 4-1, but Rider’s aggressive offense and lockdown defense proved to be too much for the Seawolves and showed that they are much scarier than their 1-3-1 record may appear.

The first half was quiet but chippy. Though both teams only each attempted one shot on goal in the first 45 minutes of play, yellow cards were flying everywhere with the Seawolves being given two and the Broncs with three. 

This gave Rider the fuel they needed for the second half. 

In the 58th minute, Broncs senior back Jeremy Peterson set up junior back Lenny Cidolit to put the ball in the lower right side of the net, past junior goalkeeper Edmond Kaiser for his first goal of the season. 

This sparked Rider’s stellar second half performance as junior forward Justin Ruffino headed in a free kick from sophomore midfielder Adel Al-Masude in the 67th minute. Only six minutes after in the 73rd minute, Ruffino would lead the breakaway and dish an assist for senior forward Zaki Alibou to score and put his team up 3-0.  

Stony Brook showed some form of life in the 87th minute when freshman forward Jordan Riley slipped one into the lower right of the net, but by then it was far too late. 

The Seawolves’ offense did not look like their usual, dominant selves by only managing to put two shots on goal in the 90 minutes of play. The defense didn’t look much better, showing fatigue in the second half due to Rider’s physical play.

Stony Brook falls to 4-2 on the season, but will keep their heads up as they turn their attention towards league play.

The Seawolves will return home as they are scheduled to play the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday, Sept. 18 where they look to continue their strong start.