College Field Hockey
Rider University 4, Liberty University 0
LYNCHBURG, Va.--The Rider University field hockey team won its fourth game in a row with a 4-0 win at Liberty University on Monday afternoon.
"This was tougher than the score indicated," said head coach Lori Hussong. "Liberty has some quality players and they played us tough. It was a battle and their kids fought until the end."
For Rider (4-0), senior Virginia Egusquiza (Getxo, Spain) had a goal and an assist with sophomore Sandra Penas (Barcelona, Spain) adding her fifth tally of the season.
"Virginia played hard today," said Lori Hussong. "She is the glue that holds the team together. She is at her toughest when things are tough on us. This was a hard 4-0 game, it wasn't easy and we used the leadership skills from Virginia, both verbally and physically to get through the contest. She is doing an outstanding job for us."
Junior Gabby Burgo (Collingswood) scored her second goal in as many days off a left center inter circle shot with sophomore Alicia Govannicci (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) providing her third assist of the season to give the Broncs a 1-0 lead six minutes into the contest.
"I think Gabby scoring is going to give her the confidence she needs heading into the next few games," Lori Hussong said. "She is fighting hard and improving each game. It is good to see that we don't just reply on one or two players to score goals. We have a lot of players with the ability to put the ball in the cage and there is no drop off when we utilize our bench."
Freshman Eefje Kok (Berkel Enschot, Netherlands) used a penalty corner to hit the back of the cage for the third time this season with Egusquiza and freshman Dezarae Fillmyer (Roebling/Florence) assisting to give Rider a 2-0 lead at the 16:56 mark and the Broncs led by two at intermission.
Penas took a turnover and converted it into a fast break goal with 18 minutes left in the contest to give Rider a 3-0 lead with Egusquiza converting a penalty shot with 10 minutes left for the final score.
Rider out-shot the Flames 37-2 and held an 18-1 penalty corner advantage.
"Our defense has been keying the offensive attack," Lori Hussong said. "They aren't letting the ball get down into our circle and that has given us some chances, especially early in games to get the lead. They are coming through strong."
Drawing praise on the defensive line from Hussong was senior Natasha Tukeva (Easton, Pa./Freedom), converted defender junior Jackie Adams (Medford Lakes/Shawnee) and freshman Katie Fanning (Bridgewater/Bridgewater-Raritan).
"The back line is playing with confidence," Lori Hussong said. "They are really keeping the ball out of our defensive circle. They have done an outstanding job and I'm happy for them as well as Tito that we got the shutout.
"The biggest adjustment has been changing my mindset from offense to defense," said Adams who spent the last two seasons on the front line as a forward. "You have to be more aware of everything on the field and not just putting the ball in the cage. We've been communicating more and getting stronger as a unit each game and we are looking to continue to do that each time out."
Senior Rebecca Lotito (Oceanport/Shore Regional) made two saves in compiling her second shutout of the season and lowered her goals against average to 0.27. Lotito led the nation in goals against average as a junior.
"Tito has played well," added assistant coach Dan Hussong. "Her and the whole defensive unit, especially in the last three games (one goal allowed) has been exceptional."
"We played really hard," Tukeva said. "We played really tight defense and Tito did well in the cage, communicating behind us. We've been working on communicating with each other and staying on our angles so we know when to step up and try to intercept passes."
This was the first meeting between Rider and Liberty in field hockey.
This was Rider's third game in the last four days, having defeated La Salle 2-0 Friday and Appalachian State 7-1 Sunday.
"We originally didn't have the schedule set up this way," Lori Hussong added. "With the hurricane rain out, we picked up this game while we were in Virginia to face Appalachian State. The fatigue of three games did catch up to us at times during play today."
"Getting through the three games was easy because we played together," Tukeva added. "We enjoy being on the road together and it is easier to get through the games when we are winning. That makes it fun."
Rider travels to Hempstead, New York to face Hofstra University on Sunday, September 11 at 1pm.
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