College Field Hockey
Rider University 5, Siena College 0
Northeast Conference Game
Egusquiza Rider Record for Career Assists
LAWRENCEVILLE--The Rider University field hockey team ran its winning streak to nine games and clinched a Northeast Conference playoff berth for the 11th year in a row with a 5-0 win against Siena on Sunday afternoon.
"I'm really happy for our players," said head coach Lori Hussong about clinching the playoff berth. "Getting into the playoffs is an important step and it is also important to continue that tradition every year. It is one of our main goals and then you see what you can do when you reach the playoffs."
For Rider (12-3, 5-0 NEC), junior Virginia Egusquiza (Getxo, Spain) had two goals and an assist to lead the offense.
Egusquiza opened the scoring two minutes into the game on a penalty stroke to give the Broncs a 1-0 lead.
Sophomore Amber Evans (Brentwood, N.H./Exeter) took a pass from Egusquiza and scored her second of the season from five yards out to give Rider a two-goal lead in the 22nd minute.
For Egusquiza, it was her 17th assist of the season, tying her own Rider single season record set in 2009 and it was also the 39th assist of Egusquiza's career, breaking the Rider record of 38 set by Kellie Fisher from 1989-1992.
"I'm glad I was able to set the record but it is all about the team and not about me," Egusquiza said. "I don't get the assists if my teammates don't put the ball in the cage."
"When Virginia is on, our team is on," said Hussong. "She is thinking more offensively and that is helping the team out immensely."
Junior Natasha Tukeva (Easton, Pa./Freedom) scored her first of the season in the 23rd minute off a rebound to give Rider a 3-0 lead at the half.
"I think we got off to a pretty good start going up three goals in the first half," said Hussong. "We do need to sharpen up our passing; that was a little off today but that did get a little better in the second half."
Egusquiza notched her 10th goal of the season one minute into the second half on a penalty stroke to put the Broncs ahead by four and less than three minutes later, senior Margaret Ecke (New Egypt) converted a pass from sophomore Jackie Adams (Medford Lakes/Shawnee) into Rider's fifth goal for the final score.
For Ecke it was her first of the season with Adams notching her first assist.
"We didn't come out as strong as we should have in the first half," Egusquiza said. "In the second half, we started playing more like Rider field hockey can. We weren't going as hard to the circle as we could have and we picked that up in the second half."
Junior goalie Rebecca Lotito (Oceanport/Shore Regional) played almost 55 minutes to pick up her ninth win of the season, extending her shutout streak to 342:14.
Freshman Rachel Yacovett (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville Area) finished the final 15 minutes for the combined shutout. Neither goalie had to make a save as Rider out-shot the Saints 40-1 and held a 21-2 penalty corner advantage.
Rider has not allowed a goal in five conference games and overall, the Broncs have eight shutouts this season.
"Our defense is really strong," Egusquiza said. "We need them to continue their efforts."
"Our defense is playing at a championship level," said Hussong. "We are keeping the ball out of our end of the field as much as possible."
Beth Meyers made 17 saves for Siena before being relieved by Alison Baillargeon who made seven saves for the Saints.
Rider defeated Siena 5-0 last season and 3-0 in 2008 in Loudonville and the Broncs have won 21 of the 24 games all-time against the Saints including the last 11 in a row.
The game was Rider's participation in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Score 4 the Cure. Donations were accepted during the game with several hundred dollars raised.
"We were proud to honor and encourage those who have been affected by breast cancer by Playing 4 the Cure," said team captain, senior Lindsay Rajeski (New Egypt). "We showed our support by wearing pink shirts and shoe laces and had our fans do the same by making monetary donations during the game. Our team looked to show support for our team mentor Cathy Carter-Romero who is Rider's Director of Publications and is battling breast cancer for the second time."
In a battle for first place, Rider will host Monmouth (5-0 NEC) on Friday at 4pm. The Hawks defeated Bryant 1-0 in double overtime Sunday afternoon.
"The game Friday is going to be intense," Hussong added. "Who ever wants it more is probably going to win it. We are looking to do our best."
The Broncs won at
Monmouth 3-1 during the 2009 regular season before the Hawks knocked the
NEC regular season champion Broncs out of the playoffs with a 2-1
semifinal win in overtime.
Rider is undefeated on its new turf field (5-0) with two home games left on the regular season schedule.
The 2010 NEC regular season champions will host the four-team playoffs November 5-6.
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