College Field Hockey
Rider University 3, Colgate University 1
Colgate Invitational
HAMILTON, N.Y.-The Rider University field hockey team used a balanced attack with a goal and assist from three different players to win its fourth game in a row on Sunday afternoon at the Colgate Invitational. "We were sluggish today and it was not our best game," said head coach Lori Hussong. "We played well enough to get the job done and that's what I'm most proud of. We dug down and got it going but it took awhile for that to happen."
Sophomore Virginia Egusquiza (Getxo, Spain), broke a scoreless tie 26 minutes into the game off an assist from fellow sophomore Megan Pisani (Plainsboro/W. Windsor Plainsboro-North) to give the Broncs the early lead. "Megan gave me a pass and I pushed it toward the goal, past the goalie," Egusquiza remembered.
"Virginia played outstanding in the two games this weekend," said Hussong. "It doesn't always show up in the box score but just her presence on the field is like having three players out there. She is a team leader on the field."
For Egusquiza, the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year last season, it was her third goal of the 2009 campaign and the 10th of her career.
"Both Megan and Virginia had to work extremely hard today," Hussong said. "Colgate scouted our game against Central Michigan and they knew they had to have someone on both of them bringing the ball up the field. Both were able to maneuver their way in and beat the defensive pressure."
Junior Lindsay Rajeski (New Egypt) scored her first goal since the 2007 season off a corner to give Rider (4-0) a two-goal lead nine seconds before half time. Egusquiza assisted on the goal for her 10th point of the year with junior Margaret Ecke (New Egypt) notching the other helper on the play. "The play was coming toward me so I just passed it off the corner to Lindsay and she was able to get it past the goalie," said Egusquiza."
Pisani scored her team leading seventh goal of the season eight minutes into the second half off a Rajeski assist to give the Broncs a three-goal cushion.
Pisani has 14 points this season, all coming in the three games this past week (six goals, two assists). "Playing a lot and getting game experience has been a really big help for me," Pisani said. "The team is really playing with confidence right now and we've had a great beginning. We come out strong every game and we just have to keep that effort up."
"Megan's confidence level is higher than it has ever been," Hussong added. "The more success she gets, the better off she will be. Megan worked very hard in the spring to raise the level of her game and she has also benefited from working with Virginia every day in practice."
Colgate (0-3) got on the board with eight minutes left off a loose ball rebound in front of the cage, ending the shutout streak of senior goalie Lyndsie Johnson (Gibbsboro/Eastern) at 144:29.
Johnson made three saves to pickup her 17th career win as Rider out-shot Colgate 17-8 with the Broncs holding a 6-3 penalty corner advantage.
"Lyndsie has had a great start," Hussong said. "Overall our defense has been stingy. Lyndsie has several players in front of her that have played well and she has herself, come up with some really big saves when we needed her to. Our goal is to keep the ball out of our circle and not give up corners. Our defense has really played well."
Rider has not trailed in any game this season and the 4-0 start matches the 2004 team that went 18-3 and advanced to the NCAA Play-In game against Richmond after winning the NEC Title. Overall, the Broncs have led for 235 of the 280 minutes played.
"The defense has really come together this year," said Ecke. "We have a good combination of returnees and new power on the back line. We've done a better job of communicating and have kept our opponents out of our circle. We've done well with our back pressure and intercepting the ball. It is a great feeling to get off to this kind of start."
"It is important to jump out to an early lead," said Hussong. "Once you get the lead it is hard for a team to come back."
The win over Colgate is Rider's first since the 2005 season. The Raiders defeated the Broncs 3-1 at Monmouth last season. Rider has now won six of the 18 games all-time in the series that started in 1985.
Rider travels to Hofstra on September 13 at 1:00pm.
"We are just taking one game at a time," Hussong said. "We are going to use the week of practice to get our legs back and go after Hofstra and see what happens."
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