College Field Hockey
Rider University 3, Bryant University 0
Northeast Conference Game
WEST WINDSOR--In a game moved to Mercer County Community College due to the wet conditions, the Rider University field hockey team kept up its winning ways with a 3-0 Northeast Conference victory against Bryant University Friday afternoon.
"The players didn't know the entire behind the scenes things that were going on throughout the day," said head coach Lori Hussong. "They pretty much knew they were playing at 4:00pm and it didn't really matter to them, where the game happened. We are grateful to Mercer for allowing us the use of their facility and to all of the people at Rider and Mercer who made it happen."
For Rider (13-0, 4-0 NEC), freshman Austyn Swartz (Pitman) broke a scoreless tie with less than two minutes left before halftime, receiving a pass from sophomore Virginia Egusquiza (Getxo, Spain). Egusquiza leads the Broncs with 11 assists and has points in her last six games.
"It was a perfect pass from Virginia," Swartz remembered. "She is an amazing player. All of us just feed off each other and when things are clicking, we do very well. It felt great after the ball went in and everyone came together."
"We put Austyn in to lift the team and give us some energy," said Hussong about Swartz who played in her sixth game of the season, all off the bench. "She created things and made things happen. It was nice to see all of her hard work in practice pay off in the game."
Freshman Marlaine Schneider (Feasterville, Pa./Neshaminy) scored her sixth goal of the season off a pass from senior Erin McGinniss (Newton/Kittatinny Regional) four minutes into the second half to give Rider a two-goal lead. Schneider was the NEC Rookie of the Week last week, the third time she has been honored by the conference.
"We had early chances but our intercepting was a little off," Hussong said. "The ball was sticking to the turf a little more than we are used to. We picked up our transition game more in the second half."
"My goal was a team effort and I was just in the right spot," Schneider said. "We only had a one-goal lead and I knew we needed to score and I hit it as hard as I could."
Schneider notched her fourth assist of the year, with a pass that was deflected in by freshman Jackie Adams (Medford Lakes/Shawnee) for the final score with 13 minutes left. Adams now has five goals on the season for the Broncs.
Senior goalie Lyndsie Johnson (Gibbsboro/Eastern) played the first 63:20 for her 13th win of the season, making one save. Sophomore Rebecca Lotito (Oceanport/Shore Regional) and Johnson shared the shutout, Rider's eighth of the season. Johnson entered the game third in the nation in goals against average and fourth in save percentage.
The Broncs out-shot Bryant 22-2 and held a 13-2 penalty corner advantage.
Bryant sophomore goalie Jennifer Gullotti made three saves in the first half with senior goalie Kundayi Mawema making five saves in the second half.
Senior Tia Pydynkowski had both shots for the Bulldogs.
Rider won 2-1 over Bryant in Rhode Island last season and the Broncs are now 2-0 all-time against the Bulldogs. Bryant is in its first season as a member of the Northeast Conference and is in the process of moving up to NCAA Division I in all sports.
Rider remains one of three undefeated teams in field hockey with Maryland (15-0) and North Carolina (13-0). The Terrapins defeated 20th ranked Old Dominion 6-3 on Friday.
"There isn't any team in the country not trying to refine things and get better this late in the season," Hussong said. "We are no exception. We are successful because we are finding a way to get the job done and we will look at the tape and use this experience to get better for Saturday. We had some nice runs down the field and just didn't finish all of the plays that we needed to."
The Broncs travel to Rutgers for a non-conference game Saturday afternoon. "We just have to keep working hard and playing together," Swartz added.
"Being undefeated is an amazing feeling," Schneider added. "We are really working hard. This doesn't come to us easy. We've been working hard in practice and in the games to keep things going."
And if it means going to Mercer County Community College to get a win, these Broncs don't mind at all.
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