College Field Hockey
Rider University 3, Monmouth University 2
WEST LONG BRANCH-In the battle for first place in the Northeast Conference the Broncs defeated intra-state rival Monmouth University Thursday afternoon. "This is the game we've been preparing for all season long," said Rider head coach Lori Hussong. "I'm just glad the kids were able to get the job done."
In a re-match of the 2010 conference title game, Monmouth (12-5, 4-1) tied the score at 1-1 with 11:36 remaining in the first half, but the Broncs took a 2-1 lead just 1:31 later on the seventh goal of the season by freshman Eefje Kok (Berkel Enschot, Netherlands).
"I think we played well," Hussong said. "Monmouth is very good. It was a great win for us."
Rider (14-1, 5-0 NEC) took a 1-0 lead mid-way through the first half on the NEC-high 16th goal of the season by sophomore Sandra Penas (Barcelona, Spain). Penas is eighth in the nation in goals per game.
Senior Virginia Egusquiza (Getxo, Spain), the two-time NEC Player of the Year, scored the insurance goal off of a corner with 3:09 left before intermission to give the Broncs a 3-1 lead. It was her 14th goal of the season and the 42nd of her career.
Already the Rider career assist leader (58), Egusquiza now has 142 career points, just two shy of the Rider record. Egusquiza entered Thursday's game eighth in the nation in points per game.
Rider junior Marlaine Schneider (Feasterville, Pa./Neshaminy) assisted on the second and third goals, giving her a team-high 15 on the season. Schneider entered the game ninth in the nation in assists per game.
Rider out-shot Monmouth 13-11, but the Hawks had eight shots on goal to Rider's seven. "They have two very special players on their attack," Hussong said. "That is certainly something we were aware of and it was still hard to contain them for 70 minutes on the field. Any time they are capable of putting the ball in the cage."
Rider senior goalie Rebecca Lotito (Oceanport/Shore Regional) made six saves, many spectacular that drew raves from the fans of both teams. "I got tested a lot today," Lotito said. "It was fun. I do like to showcase a little bit. I don't get that many opportunities with the great defense we have in front of me."
Tito came up with some big saves for us when she had to," Hussong said "She doesn't make as many saves as some goalies, because of the defense we have, but the saves she makes are sometime incredible, like the ones she had today. When she comes up big like that, one-on-one situations, that is inspiring for the team. She's a vocal leader on the field and she leads by her outstanding play. That is something we needed to get us going."
"How big was today's game?" asked Lotito. "Oh my gosh! Us beating Monmouth is a huge victory. We feel on top right now. That's a good feeling."
The Broncs were held to just four penalty corners the entire game, including one in the second half. Rider leads the nation in corners with 13.14 per game.
Monmouth cut the lead to 3-2 with 14 minutes left but that was as close as the Hawks could get. "Our defense played well when it had to," Hussong said.
The victory was the tenth in a row for Rider and the 21st consecutive NEC regular season victory. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Monmouth. The last time Rider lost was September 11 at Hofstra. The last time Rider lost an NEC game was October 26, 2008, a 1-0 loss at Lock Haven..
Rider and Monmouth have now played 30 times with the Broncs holding a 20-7-3 advantage in the series that began in 1977. The last time Monmouth defeated Rider was in overtime in the semifinals of the 2009 NEC Championship Tournament.
"This is such a great rivalry right now," Hussong said, "with both programs at the top of their game, playing at their highest level. On any given day either team can win."
Scoring three times, the Broncs set a Rider record for goals in a season (71), passing the 68 tallies in 2010. The Rider points record is also now owned by the 2011 squad with 189, surpassing the 187 points (67 goals, 53 assists) in 2010.
Rider hosts Robert Morris Sunday for an NEC contest beginning at 12 noon. A victory in either of Rider's two remaining NEC games and the Broncs will clinch the regular season title, their sixth in11 years and third in a row, and will host the four-team NEC Championship tournament November 4-5.
"That's very important for us at this point," Hussong said. "To have home field advantage would be huge for us. We know our work is not done with this win. We need to win out and play the best we can to prepare for our tournament."
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