College Field Hockey
Rider University 3, Sacred Heart University 1
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Game

LAWRENCEVILLE—On senior day, a freshman led them.

Freshman Christine van Egmond (The Netherlands) had a goal and an assist, leading the Rider University field hockey team to a 3-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference win on Sunday afternoon at Ben Cohen Field.

“I'm proud of the effort,” head coach Lori Hussong said.  “After the loss Friday (3-2 in overtime to Quinnipiac), I think we showed a lot of character and a lot of strength in finding a way to get the job done.”

“We were disappointed in how we played the last two games,” said van Egmond.  “We knew we had to play better today and we needed a great start.  Everyone worked together as a team.”

On a penalty corner just four minutes into the game, van Egmond took a short pass from sophomore Shannon Hughes (South Plainfield) and converted her first career goal to give the Broncs a 1-0 lead.

Sacred Heart used a penalty corner of its own to tie the score just 1:46 later.

Junior Carlota Alsina (Barcelona, Spain) scored her sixth goal of the season, taking a pass from red-shirt sophomore Melissa Cunningham (Oaklyn/Collingswood) who received the insert on the penalty corner from van Egmond in the eighth minute to give Rider a 2-1 lead.

In the 22nd minute, sophomore Allison Baligian (Flemington/Hunterdon Central) stole a pass at midfield and converted the breakaway for her team-leading 13th goal of the season to give Rider a two-goal lead at intermission.

“Our offense played well,” Hussong said.  “And the defense held strong.”

Sacred Heart held a 9-8 shot advantage in the second half but couldn't solve senior goalie Joelle Prettyman (Newark, Del./St. Mark's) in the final 35 minutes as the Broncs held on for the 3-1 win.

Prettyman made nine saves in the game to pick up career win number 40.

Rider (10-6, 2-2 MAAC) held a 24-19 advantage in shots and the Broncs won the penalty corner battle 11-8.

Mary Altepeter made 15 saves for Sacred Heart (2-13, 0-5 MAAC).

This was the final home game in the careers of Prettyman, Melyssa Alonso (Toms River/Toms River HS North) and Rachel Ippolite (Woolwich Twp./Kingsway Regional) with all three honored prior to the game.  This group has amassed 49 wins so far including a 24-6 record on Ben Cohen Field.

“It feels great to pick up a win, especially on senior day,” Prettyman said.

“The seniors played well,” Hussong added.

“We played well as a team, as a whole and not individually,” van Egmond added.  “Everyone knew their task and everyone focused on that.”

Rider leads the all-time series over Sacred Heart 20-7.

Sacred Heart defeated Rider in Connecticut 2-1 in 2014, snapping a nine game losing streak to the Broncs. 

The Broncs won 4-0 over the Pioneers in 2013 on Ben Cohen Field.  Rider and Sacred Heart met in Connecticut in 2012 with the Broncs pulling out a 1-0, double overtime victory. 

Rider defeated Sacred Heart 4-0 in 2011 in Lawrenceville.  Rider defeated Sacred Heart 2-0 in Connecticut in 2010 and 3-0 on the road in 2009.  In 2008, Rider defeated the Pioneers 3-1 in Lawrenceville and 2-0 in the 2008 Northeast Conference semifinals at Lock Haven.

Rider is currently in fourth place in the MAAC with the top four teams advancing to the conference playoffs November 6-8.  Rider has qualified for the playoffs in 15 straight seasons.

Rider travels to Bryant University on October 30 for a MAAC game before completing the regular season at conference-rival Siena College on November 1.

“We are focusing on one game at a time and thinking about Bryant,” Hussong said.  The MAAC is wide open and any team can be beaten on any given day and we have to come out prepared and ready to play.”

-RU-