VILLANOVA, Pa.?David almost took out Goliath. Perennial national power Villanova needed a goal off a penalty corner with no time remaining in regulation to break a scoreless tie and defeat Rider in a non-conference game Wednesday night.

"That was Rider field hockey," said head coach Lori Hussong. "I told the team after the game that I was so proud of their effort. The final play doesn't take anything away from the game that they played. The effort was awesome."

Sophomore Dana Ramsden scored off a rebound after the Wildcats rushed down the left side of the field and were awarded the penalty corner with two seconds left on the clock.

This marked the second shutout in a row for the Wildcats and the second one-goal loss for Rider (0-2). Hofstra defeated the Broncs 2-1 in overtime on August 31.

Junior Lyndsie Johnson (Gibbsboro/Eastern), making her second career start, made four saves for Rider as the Wildcats held a 15-6 shot advantage including 8-1 in the second half.

"Lyndsie really kept us in the game," Hussong added. "She made save after save and is playing extremely confident. Villanova was hanging three players up the field so we had to play well defensively. We were able to keep them away from our goal and when they got in close, Lyndsie came up huge."

Villanova held a 9-3 penalty corner advantage including 7-0 in the second half.

"We showed that we could ?rumble' with them," said Johnson. "They may have more skill in certain areas but we wanted to show that we had more heart and I think we did that tonight. I believe we have the heart this year to be very successful."

Johnson credits All-Northeast Conference goalies (and Rider alumnus) Krysta Bearish and Jen LoCastro with showing her the ropes so that she would be ready to take on the starting role this season. "I still speak with both of them," Johnson said. "I've been able to take what has worked best for them and apply it to my game and take what they have taught me and apply it with our existing players."

This was the first meeting since 1998 between the two squads.  Villanova (2-0) now leads the all-time series 6-5 with one tie and after the effort that Rider showed tonight, the Wildcats may want to wait another 10 seasons to face the Broncs again.

"We knew that the first two games would be tough," said Hussong. "If we could have gotten at least one win out the first two, we would have been esthetic. I'm really pleased with how we played against two very talented programs. I think we showed that we could play against almost anyone in the country right now."

Although the Broncs have dropped their first two contests, Johnson feels that the team is playing better as a unit.

"The communication between defenders and the whole team has been great this year," Johnson added. "Against the type of teams that we play, you need to have solid verbal skills so the defender knows when to mark their player and when to risk going after the ball. We've done a much better job working with each other this year. We trust each other and we are working together as one unit."

The Broncs face Colgate on Sunday at 11:00am in a neutral site game hosted by Monmouth.

"We are going to learn from these games and what happened tonight is going to make us stronger," said Hussong. "It was a shame that Villanova capitalized on that last play. It's another tough loss but we'll bounce back and be ready to go on Sunday."

"If we stay strong and stay confident, I really think we can come out on top against Colgate," Johnson said. "We can give them a run for their money."

Here's hoping the Broncs will cash in with a win on Sunday.

-RU-