College Field Hockey
Rider University 1, Saint Francis-Pa. 0
Hussong - 100th Coaching Win
LAWRENCEVILLE?Senior Stephanie Walker (Lyman, Maine/Massabesic) scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season seven minutes into the game to lead the Broncs to a 1-0 Northeast Conference win on Sunday, giving head coach Lori Hussong the 100th victory of her career. “We needed this win to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot,” said Hussong. “Each game is that much more important because you are facing teams that are either tied with you or one game from where you are in the standings.”
The breakaway goal was the 35th of Walker's career, sixth best on the all-time scoring list. “Walk had a great game today,” Hussong said. “She had a lot of chances to score and capitalized on that one opportunity. As a team we had a lot of chances to score and we didn't take advantage of them as we needed to and that is something we have to work on in the next couple of days.”
“I tried to pass the ball to Michaela [Franey] but it was deflected,” Walker remembered. “I picked it back up and was able to get behind the goalie and score. It was a huge win for us. We have to win out, there is no leniency. We have to make it happen in every conference game from here on out. It was hard to comprehend that it was senior day. The season has happened so quickly and I was thinking I can't be a senior yet. I realized that we have only one more game on our home field and you want to end on a good note.”
Hussong is now 100-54 in eight seasons, all at Rider. “The 100th win is a shared accomplishment,” Hussong said. “My assistant coaches, especially Dan [Hussong] have been key to the successes that all of our teams have had in the last eight seasons. Every team and every player have sacrificed to make the program successful and I am really proud to have worked with all of the players and coaches who have contributed to it. The 100th really wasn't on my mind today. I was concentrating on this being a conference game that we really needed to win.”
“I am very proud of her,” said Walker about Hussong's 100th win. “I am very proud to be part of the team that got win number 100. We all felt that we should have gotten it a few games sooner so it had extra meaning to do this today, during senior day, in a conference game on our home field in front of our home crowd. It is a huge compliment to the program and the coaching staff. Both Lori and Dan have a great coaching philosophy that preaches hard work and dedication not only to the sport but to the university as well and it says a lot about them and their character to gain this milestone.”
“The kids saw the urgency of playing the second place team in the conference,” Hussong said of Saint Francis. They came out with the tenacity to get the job done. We went back to our pesky style of 'pressure and stealing' and our forward line looked better than ever.”
Rider (7-7, 4-1 NEC) senior goalie Jen LoCastro (Camden Catholic/Cherry Hill) picked up her seventh win of the season and the second shutout in her career. LoCastro made four saves as the Broncs out-shot the Red Flash 12-6. LoCastro is currently 12th in the nation averaging 7.64 saves per game and is 13th in save percentage (.793). Her 1.93 goals against average is 40th.
“'J-Lo' [LoCastro] has worked so hard this season,” Hussong said. “The shutout was huge for her. She deserved to get the shutout, especially on senior day. She is an outstanding leader who we can always rely on to spear head the defense and encourage them. We will miss her next year. She has been a great leader for the team this year.”
“'J-Lo' was awesome today,” said Walker. “I am so proud of her and her effort this year. She had such big shoes to fill after being behind All-NEC goalie Krysta Bearish for three seasons. She has done an amazing job, making great saves for us. She is very vocal and keeps everyone positive and is the first one to shoulder the blame. She takes full responsibility when a goal is scored even if she didn't make the mistake. She is the first one cheering when we score and she is the first one yelling encouragement when one is given up. She gets us riled up and ready to go.”
Prior to the game, Rider honored the field hockey 2007 senior class who played their final weekend home game. Walker, LoCastro and Emily Egan (Gibbsboro/Eastern) were honored prior to the game.
“The seniors have been a great group,” Hussong added. “They are three really talented and team-orientated players who have given a lot to our program.”
The Broncs travel to Lafayette for a non-conference game Wednesday night before traveling to Monmouth for an NEC game Friday afternoon. “The Monmouth game is huge,” Walker said. “We know that if want to have the opportunity for a playoff spot and stay in second place, we need to come out with a great effort.”
-RU
