College Field Hockey
Rider University 5, Quinnipiac University 1
Northeast Conference Game
LAWRENCEVILLE--On the strength of a hat trick from junior Marlaine Schneider (Feasterville, Pa./Neshaminy) the Rider University field hockey team won its ninth game in a row with a come from behind Northeast Conference victory against Quinnipiac Sunday afternoon at Ben Cohen Field.
"Anytime we play Quinnipiac, we know it will be a tough game," said head coach Lori Hussong who is now 163-70 including 78-18 in the NEC in 12 seasons at Rider. "They were extremely physical and very competitive and at any moment, they have the ability to flash the ball down the field and put it in the cage."
The Bobcats took a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute of play before freshman Stacey Dileo (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde) tied the score with her fourth goal of the season, deflecting a pass from senior Virginia Egusquiza (Getxo, Spain) at 19:29.
"Bouncing back that quickly shows us a lot about the character of the team," said Hussong. "We never worry if we get down a goal early in the game. Our offense has been doing very well this season and it was a good response. You don't want to give up a goal but we were happy with our reaction when we did today."
"Getting the game tied was really important," Schneider said. "We couldn't let Quinnipiac keep up the momentum. We knew this was going to be a tough game and that they would give us their best shot in the first 10-20 minutes and we had to work hard to withstand that. We knew this was going to be a very tough game."
Rider (13-1, 4-0 NEC) took a 2-1 lead just after halftime (36:44) when Schneider passed to sophomore Sandra Penas (Barcelona, Spain) for her team-leading 15th goal of the season hitting the net from five yards out. Penas had 14 of Rider's 26 shots and is now tied for 13th on Rider's all-time scoring list.
Six minutes later, Schneider tipped in a pass from Egusquiza to give Rider a two-goal lead. Already the career assist leader at Rider with 58, Egusquiza now has 140 career points, four behind Christina Ang who had 66 goals and 12 assists from 2001-2004.
Schneider and senior Megan Pisani (Plainsboro/West Windsor-Plainsboro North) teamed up on a give and go to give Rider a 4-1 lead at 50:29 and Schneider completed the natural hat trick (three goals in a row) on a crossing pass from Penas for the final score. Schneider now has career-high 11 goals on the season and 22 goals in her Bronc career and her 69 points are 15th best on the Bronc scoring list. This was the first hat trick in her career and Schneider also set a career-high with seven points surpassing a six-point effort (two goals, two assists) against Appalachian State on September 4.
"Everyone offensively and defensively played really well," Schneider said. "Just because I scored three goals, it was really the whole team got the job done. I just benefited from some good passing and was able to score. My teammates put me in great position to score."
"When Marlaine is on the field, we know we have a chance to make something happen," Hussong said about her junior forward who was the NEC Rookie of the Year in 2009. "She has a winning spirit and is one of the catalysts of the team. When things aren't going right for the team, we can depend on her to get things heading in the right direction."
Senior goalie Rebecca Lotito (Oceanport/Shore Regional) made two saves for her 26th career win with Bobcat goalie Nicole Lewis making 13 saves.
The Broncs held an 11-3 penalty corner advantage and out-shot Quinnipiac 26-5.
"Quinnipiac is deadly on their corner plays," Hussong said. "Our goal was to limit their play in our end as much as possible. We did a good job defensively. Defense is the key to our success. It gets overlooked but they put forth a pretty 'lock down' effort today. We are still learning and gelling as a unit and that is good to see as we head toward the playoffs."
"The defense was tremendous," Schneider added. "I knew that they wouldn't allow another goal and that allowed the offense to concentrate on battling back and we were able to do that because of the defensive effort."
Rider defeated the Bobcats 1-0 in overtime in Connecticut during the 2010 regular season and won over Quinnipiac 4-2 in the NEC semifinals in Lawrenceville enroute to the 2010 NEC title. The Broncs have won 15 of the 25 games all-time over Quinnipiac.
The Bobcats entered the weekend undefeated in NEC play before losing at Monmouth Friday afternoon.
Dating back to 2008, this is Rider's 20th straight NEC win and the Broncs are now 13-0 on the newly named Ben Cohen Field. The lighted turf field at the back of the Lawrenceville campus opened in the fall of 2010.
Over 300 fans were in attendance as both teams wore pink shoes laces and raised donations in support of the Susan G. Komen Foundation with the Play 4 The Cure effort in the fight against breast cancer.
"This is an important cause for all women and obviously those affected by breast cancer," Hussong said. "This disease has hit really close to home, with team mentor (Rider Director of Publications) Cathy Carter-Romero diagnosed for the second time and the mother of assistant coach Kelly Crist (Susan Gallagher) also recently diagnosed. We are trying to do our small part in helping researchers find a cure as soon as possible."
"Today's victory was for Cathy and Sue and how much they do for us," Schneider said about the Play 4 The Cure effort. "We played as hard as we could today because of them and the fight that they are both going through."
In a rematch of the 2010 NEC championship game (won by the Broncs 1-0), Rider travels to West Long Branch to face Monmouth at 4pm Thursday. The Hawks, along with Rider are the only undefeated teams left in conference play after Monmouth edged Sacred Heart 1-0 on Sunday.
"We know Thursday is important," Hussong added about facing the Hawks. "We need to win out in the conference to host the tournament and everything we have worked for this season is riding on this game. We are going to prepare, do the best job we can and hopefully come out on top."
"Monmouth will be a tough game," Schneider said. "They always do their best to beat us and we always work hard to make sure that doesn't happen."
The regular season champion will host the four-team conference playoffs November 4-5.
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