College Field Hockey
Rider University 3, Lock Haven University 2
LOCK HAVEN, Pa.--Trailing 2-1, the Rider University field hockey team scored twice, late in the first half to defeat Lock Haven University on Sunday afternoon in a non-conference game.
"Anytime we play Lock Haven, I know it will be one of the hardest games of the season and today was no exception," said head coach Lori Hussong. "They played hard and never quit and it was a very good test for our team. We dug down deep and gutted out the win."
For Rider (7-1), junior Marlaine Schneider (Feasterville, Pa./Neshaminy) had a goal and an assist to pace the offense.
Sophomore Sandra Penas (Barcelona, Spain) scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season 7:20 into the game by dribbling through the middle and beating the Lock Haven goalie at the far post.
Lock Haven (5-6) responded and tied the game at one four minutes later on a rebound and the Lady Eagles took a 2-1 lead in the 27th minute.
Schneider re-tied the game in the 30th minute with her fifth goal of the year, putting home a rebound.
"When we got down, we didn't quit," Hussong said. "We stepped up our game and got the job done."
Senior Virginia Egusquiza (Getxo, Spain) scored her seventh goal of the season and fourth game-winner off a penalty corner from Schneider 29 seconds before the end of the half and Rider took a 3-2 lead into intermission.
"The game-winning goal feels great," said Egusquiza, the two-time reigning NEC Player of the Year. "But it was really a team effort that put me in position to score. We were upset when we got down 2-1. We knew we could play better and that we weren't playing as hard as Lock Haven was."
"Virginia's goal was a great energy booster for us heading into the half," said Hussong. "Scoring right before the half really brings you momentum and it was big to take the lead when we did."
Egusquiza is currently fifth on Rider's all-time scoring list with 119 points (35g, 49a) behind Julie Hicks (125 points) who had 53 goals and 19 assists from 1989-1992.
This is the second game in a row that Rider has scored right before the half after taking a 2-0 lead at Bucknell on Saturday two minutes before intermission.
The Bronc defense held Lock Haven without a penalty corner in the second half to preserve the one-goal win, Rider's third in a row. Each team had nine penalty corners in the contest.
"We really controlled the game in the second half," said Hussong. "Lock Haven likes to pop the ball out and use their speed to get fast breaks. They did have three chances on breakaways that 'Tito' stopped and 'Tash' (senior Natasha Tukeva (Easton, Pa./Freedom) made a couple of nice defensive plays as well."
Rider out-shot Lock Haven 14-12 with Bronc goalie, senior Rebecca Lotito (Oceanport/Shore Regional) making five saves. Lotito improved to 20-3 in her Rider career.
"It was a tough game," Tukeva said. "When Lock Haven took the lead, we knew we had to dig down and keep them off the board so the offense could come back and score. It was really a team effort to make the win happen. We cleaned up the defense in the second half especially and played a lot smarter. The forwards and mids also dropped back on defense and it was a collective 11 player effort in the final 35 minutes."
Former Northeast Conference rivals, this marks only the third time in 10 games that Rider has defeated Lock Haven but the second time in a row. The teams last met on November 1, 2009 when the Broncs won the NEC regular season title with a 1-0 double overtime win over Lock Haven in Princeton.
The Broncs travel to Villanova on Wednesday for a non-conference game at 7pm.
"I expect the same type of game as today," Hussong said about facing Villanova. "They always fight hard until the end and it will be good for our players to see this type of competition as we head into conference play."
"Villanova has a really good program," Tukeva added. "We are going to be focused on how aggressive they are and use the momentum of our last three wins to keep us going."
Rider has won three straight including a 2-0 weekend after playing at Bucknell and Lock Haven. "I'm happy with the wins this weekend," Hussong said. "I'm even more happy with the fact that we are improving each time we step on the field. We're near where we want to be at this point of the season."
"The two road wins feel great," Egusquiza added. "We worked hard in both games, with intensity and toughness and we just have to continue that effort."
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