College Field Hockey
Rider University 1, Siena College 0
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Game
Rider Clinches 16th Straight Playoff Berth

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y.—Junior Carlie Spaeder (Newtown Square, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) scored her 10th goal of the season, 2:48 into the second half to give the Rider University field hockey team a 1-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference win at Siena College on Sunday afternoon.

“Making the playoffs this season was really hard to do,” said head coach Lori Hussong, who along with husband Dan have led Rider (12-6, 4-2 MAAC) to its 16th straight season in the playoffs.  “We knew what we had to do to make the playoffs and everyone dug down deep and got the job done, especially defensively.”

Spaeder, a 58-game veteran, scored off an assist from sophomore Shannon Hughes (South Plainfield), recording her third game-winner of the season and fifth of her career.

“Shannon did all the work getting the ball down from the midfield,” Spaeder remembered.  “I was lucky to be there to sweep it in.  We had the mindset that we knew this wouldn't be our last game and worked together to finally get the goal.”

“Siena has one of the best goalies in the league and Carlie's goal was clutch,” Hussong said.  “Shannon gave her a beautiful pass to set up the play.”

Rider held a 10-2 shot advantage and the Broncs had a 7-3 advantage in penalty corners.

Senior goalie Joelle Prettyman (Newark, Del./St. Mark's) made one save while recording her fourth shutout of the season and second in a row.  Prettyman has 42 career wins, including 10 this season.

“The defense was awesome,” said Prettyman.  “Friday (1-0 win at Bryant), I didn't have to touch the ball and today, I barely had to touch the ball.”

“We barely let the ball into the circle,” Hussong added.  “To come away with back to back shutouts is a testament to the defensive effort.  Every MAAC game this season has been tough and Siena is a much improved program that was fighting for a playoff spot as well.  They were very competitive and played their hearts out and so did we.”

Rider leads the all-time series with Siena 25-4, having won the last 14 of the last 15 meetings.  The Saints upset the Broncs in 2014 by a 2-0 score on senior day in Lawrenceville.

“Rachel (Ippolite), Joelle (Prettyman) and Melyssa (Alonso), the seniors had one of their best games of the year,” Hussong added.  “They provided leadership in a critical moment and demanded that excellence from their teammates.”

“We are really happy to carry on the Rider tradition of making the playoffs,” Spaeder added.  “We wanted the opportunity to complete for a championship and also carry on the legacy that our alumni and coach Lori and coach Dan have established.”

“We knew we had to win,” Ippolite said.  “Siena came out really tough against us and we just wanted to come out and prove we were worthy to qualify for the playoffs.  We entered the weekend with the goal of keeping the Rider tradition of making the conference playoffs going and we dug deep and made that happen.”

The conference playoffs with Monmouth (5-1 MAAC), Quinnipiac (5-1 MAAC), Rider (4-2 MAAC) and Fairfield (3-3 MAAC) will be November 6 & 8 at Monmouth University with the Broncs playing second seed Quinnipiac at a time to be determined.

Rider held a 2-0 lead against the Bobcats before being tied in the final 4:44 of regulation, eventually losing 3-2 in overtime.

-RU-