In two road matchups last week, Niagara earned a 1-1 draw with ACC opponent Pittsburgh before returning to MAAC play and suffering a 1-0 loss at Manhattan. The Purple Eagles men's soccer team has played just one of its last six games at Niagara Field, going 0-3-3 in that stretch. With six games remaining in their regular season game, Niagara gets the home-field advantage in four of those matches, starting with Wednesday's matchup the Rider Broncs.
 
Last Time Out

• On Saturday, the Purple Eagles played a tightly-contested, defensive contest against the Manhattan Jaspers. Niagara lost the game 1-0 on a Manhattan penalty kick in the 102^nd minute.
• Although the two teams combined for 24 total shots in the game, only four made it to either goal.
• Bautista Pedezert registered two shots while Jordy Robins, Alex Dimitriu, Hector Solorio Villalpando, and Fabrizio Chiari each had one shot. The Manhattan defense made sure that none of those shots made it on net.
• Colin Hanley made three saves to bring his season total to 26. The freshman now boasts a 1.76 goals against average and .722 save percentage in six appearances this year.

 
In the MAAC

• At 0-3-1, the Purple Eagles are one of three teams looking for its first MAAC win, along with Quinnipiac and Canisius.
• Dimitriu's five goals on the season rank third in the conference.
• With a team-leading three assists on the season, Chiari ranks 11^th in the MAAC in that category.

 
Across the Pitch: Rider Broncs (7-4-1 overall, 2-2-1 MAAC)

• The Broncs have opened MAAC play with a 2-2-1 overall record, including wins over Iona and Siena.
• Last week, Rider played to a 1-1 draw with Monmouth on Wednesday before defeating Siena in double overtime by a score of 3-2.
• Niagara is 2-1-2 in their last five games against Rider.
• The Broncs defeated the Purple Eagles 5-2 last season, but that was the first time Niagara lost to Rider since October 18, 2009.

 
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