College Field Hockey
Penas First Team All-NEC
Four Broncs Second Team All-NEC
SOMERSET--Junior Sandra Penas (Barcelona, Spain) headlines five members of the Rider University field hockey team who earned All-Northeast Conference recognition, which was announced Thursday evening.
A three-time NEC First Team honoree, Penas earned All-NEC recognition this season after leading the conference in scoring with 39 points and her 16 goals were good for second in the NEC. Penas was the 2010 NEC Offensive Player of the Year after earning the 2009 NEC Rookie of the Year.
A clutch performer, Penas had three game-winning goals and was named the NEC Player of the Week four times this season, as Rider (11-5, 6-1 NEC) won at least a share of the NEC regular season title for the fourth season in a row. Penas enters the playoffs sixth on Rider's all-time scoring list.
Named to the NEC Second Team were senior forwards Gabby Burgo (Collingswood) and Marlaine Schneider (Feasterville, Pa./Neshaminy) along with junior midfielder Alicia Govannicci (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) and freshman defender Rachel Ippolite (Woolwich Township/Kingsway).
Burgo, a senior forward, had a breakout senior season with 10 goals, including two game-winners.
Schneider was second on the team with eight goals and six assists (22 points) and enters the NEC playoffs eighth on Rider's all-time scoring list.
An All-NEC Second Team selection as a sophomore, Govannicci started all 18 games in 2012 and had two goals. As a rookie, Govannicci led Rider to the 2010 NEC championship, scoring the game-winning goal with 3:01 left, breaking a scoreless tie.
Ippolite started all 18 games as a rookie and had four goals and two assists.
Rider hosts the four-team NEC playoffs November 2-3 at Ben Cohen Field on the Lawrenceville, New Jersey campus.
The opening semifinal will feature third ranked Monmouth against second seed Saint Francis (Pa.) at 11am. Top seeded Rider will host Quinnipiac at 1:30pm with the championship game at noon on Saturday. The Bobcats gave Rider its only NEC loss of the season 3-2 on October 14.
Rider has been in 10 of the last 12 NEC title games, winning the championship in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2011.
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