College Field Hockey
Rider University 6, Georgetown University 0

LAWRENCEVILLE—For the second game in a row, the Rider University field hockey team recorded a 6-0 shutout, defeating the Hoyas of Georgetown University on Friday night.

“Overall, it was a very good effort,” said head coach Lori Hussong who has seen her squad out-score the opposition 12-0 in the last two games.  “Everyone played with 100 percent heart and toughness.”

“We are young in a lot of areas and we had a lot of veterans lead by example tonight,” Hussong said.  “I'm very happy with the performance.”

Senior Carlota Alsina (Barcelona, Spain) and freshman Daane Koch (The Netherlands) each recorded a goal and an assist to pace the Bronc offense.

“We had a really good game,” said Alsina.  “We passed well in the field and played with a calmness.  The first game of the season was rough and we've been working hard in practice to work together more and the results have shown that over the last two games.”

Rider opened the scoring just 2:19 into the game when senior Carlie Spaeder (Newtown Square, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) blasted a shot from the right side of the circle after a through pass from Koch, for her second goal of the season.

Freshman Jade Freeberg (West Deptford) rebounded a shot and scored her first collegiate goal at 18:49 of the opening half to give the Broncs a two-goal lead and Rider held that advantage at intermission.

“Georgetown played intense,” Hussong said.  “The game was closer than the score.  They are competitors and we stepped up to that challenge.”

Junior Melissa Cunningham (Oaklyn/Collingswood) took a pass from Alsina and freshman Tess Coorens (The Netherlands) during a penalty corner exchange to score her first of the season, just 1:55 into the second half to give Rider a 3-0 lead.

Koch scored her first career goal, rebounding her own shot at 58:33 and Alsina took a pass from junior Allison Baligian (Flemington/Hunterdon Central) and scored her first of the season just 44 seconds later to give the Broncs a five-goal advantage.

Junior Shannon Hughes (South Plainfield) scored her second goal of the season, as her shot deflected off a Georgetown defender for the final score at the 66:41 mark.

Freshman Voirrey Baker (Ramsey, British Isles) recorded her first collegiate shutout, making two saves as Rider (2-1) out-shot the Hoyas 33-4.

“The defense played solid in front of me and did everything I asked them to do,” said Baker.  “They kept calm under the pressure and held the pressure off.  Having quality forwards and mids, it really keeps the pressure off the back line when you can score that many goals.”

“The defense played well,” Alsina said about the back line and the goaltending.  “They kept composed and they have a lot of stick skills which allowed us to move the ball up the field.”

Rider has won five of 11 games all-time against the Hoyas, including the last four in a row.  Georgetown and Rider met last season on August 30 when the Broncs escaped Washington, DC with a 1-0 victory on a goal by Spaeder with 16 seconds remaining in the contest.  In 2013, the Broncs built a 4-0 lead in a 4-1 victory and in 2008, Rider won 2-1 in overtime.

Rider opened the season with a 2-1 loss at Lehigh on August 26 before rebounding with a 6-0 win at Towson on August 28.

The Broncs won five of six games on Ben Cohen Field last season and are 42-6 (.875) all-time on the lighted campus turf field facility that opened in the fall of 2010.

Rider travels to Rhode Island for back to back games, facing Brown on September 10 and Providence September 11.  The next home game for the Broncs is September 13 against Villanova at 4:30pm.

-RU-