College Field Hockey
Rider University 2, La Salle University 1 (ot)
LAWRENCEVILLE--Before a Code Cranberry crowd of over 300 fans, sophomore Megan Pisani (Plainsboro/W. Windsor Plainsboro-North) scored her team-leading 12th goal of the season off a break away, three minutes into overtime as the Rider University field hockey team won its ninth straight game on Thursday afternoon against La Salle.
"Today's game showed that on a day where we maybe didn't play our best, we still have the gumption and the know how to find a way to get the job done," said head coach Lori Hussong. "They (La Salle) scored late and had tremendous momentum and we found a way to get it done. That says a lot about the character of the team. La Salle really pressed us in the last minutes of the game."
Pisani took a give and go pass from freshman Marlaine Schneider (Feasterville, Pa./Neshaminy) that was partially deflected by the Explorer goalie who came out to defend the play. A 60-yard clearing pass by junior Lindsay Rajeski (New Egypt) setup the scoring chance. Schneider, the two-time defending Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week, has seven points in her last four games.
"Marlaine gave me an awesome setup," Pisani remembered. "It was a great feeling to score the goal."
Pisani, who has two hat tricks this season, entered play ninth in the nation, averaging 1.38 goals per game and was named the Northeast Conference Player of the Week for all games played August 31-September 6 after scoring three times against Lehigh. Pisani, who had all three shots for Rider in overtime, now has five goals in the last four games.
Rajeski got Rider (9-0) on the board 17:40 into the game off a corner play with her second goal of the season, assisted by sophomore Virginia Egusquiza (Getxo, Spain) and junior Margaret Ecke (New Egypt) and the Broncs led 1-0 at the half.
"Lindsay has played clutch all year," said Hussong. "She has been outstanding. She has a knack to know when to take chances and when not to. She is playing with a tremendous amount of confidence."
"Going into overtime, we had some butterflies but we had just had an overtime game at Radford," Rajeski said. "Possession was a key part of the game and I just looked for the open player and got the ball up the field."
Rajeski had two shots in the game for the Broncs.
The teams played even in the second half before La Salle (4-7) scored off only its second penalty corner of the game with less than six minutes left in regulation to force the overtime period.
"You have to stay calm and breathe," Pisani said about the team's reaction after La Salle tied it late. "You can't freak out and you can't let down. We stayed focused and played our game and stayed composed."
"La Salle plays very similar to us," Hussong said. "They pressure the ball and their passing game is excellent. Their new coach (Michelle Marks) is doing a great job with them and they are an up and coming team."
"La Salle was fired up scoring the late goal," Rajeski added. "We just had to stay poised and calm and we fought off the momentum swing and got the game into overtime."
Rider out-shot La Salle 15-4, including 3-0 in overtime and the Broncs held an 8-2 penalty corner advantage.
Senior goalie Lyndsie Johnson (Gibbsboro/Eastern), who entered the game fourth in the nation in goals against average (0.48), had her shutout streak snapped at 371:13. Johnson made two saves to pick up her ninth win of the year.
The Broncs still have not trailed in any game this season.
This was Rider's second overtime game of the season and the fifth for La Salle.
Rider has won 20 of the 28 games (one tie) in the series against La Salle, including a 2-1 overtime win last season that went to penalty strokes. The Explorers defeated the Broncs 2-1 in double overtime in 2007 with Rider winning a pair of 1-0 games in 2006 and 2005.
The game was the Code Cranberry date for the field hockey team. Code Cranberry is an initiative designed to express a unified show of support among varsity athletes at Rider University.
There is a slogan among Rider athletes, that there are 355 athletes, 20 sports but 1 team. Rider SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Council), SAM (Student-Athlete Mentors) and members of the Captains' Leadership Seminar took that slogan and expanded it to create Code Cranberry.
On designated Code Cranberry dates, all varsity student-athletes are asked to come out to the contest, wearing their Code Cranberry tee shirt, and cheer on their fellow student-athletes in an effort to show that while they compete in different sports, they are all part of one team, and that team is Rider Athletics.
One of only six undefeated teams in Division I entering the week, Rider opens conference play on the road at Sacred Heart October 4 at noon.
"We are taking things one game at a time," Pisani added. "We are focused on Sacred Heart and we have to bring our all every time we step on the field."
"We want to carry into conference play all of the great play that we've had," Rajeski said. "No matter our record, we want to give ourselves a chance to get to the championship and that starts on Sunday. Playing well has brought us together as a team and we need to carry that into the NEC schedule. Because we have had success, teams are going to be extra motivated to play us."
"The most important part of the season is coming up," Hussong said. "We have to stay focused and be on every game. In conference play, you have to be at the top of your game in order to make it as far as we have become accustomed to."
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