WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – The second-seeded Rider University field hockey team fell to No. 3 seed Fairfield, 1-0, on Friday morning in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament Semifinals at So Sweet A Cat Field on Monmouth's campus.    

The Broncs (11-8) saw their season come to an end in the MAAC semifinals for the second year in row, while the Stags (12-8) avenged a 2-1 overtime setback to Rider in Lawrenceville in mid-October.  

Fairfield struck first as the Stags took a 1-0 advantage in the 27th minute. Off a penalty corner, Bronc sophomore goalkeeper Lena Vandam (Brasschaat, Belgium) turned aside the initial shot aside before Fairfield freshman Luzi Persiehl fired the rebound into the back of the cage.

Persiehl's marker was the lone goal in the first half as the Stags took a 1-0 edge into the break. Over the first 35 minutes, Fairfield had nine shots and five corners, while Rider had zero shots and no corners.

The Broncs had several chances in the second half, highlighted by firing a pair of shots off two separate corners. Rider was unable to breakthrough down the stretch and Persiehl's goal stood as the game-winner.

Vandam turned aside six shots in a losing effort for Rider.

NOTES & QUOTES
"I think the second half was much better for us than the first half. Fairfield is an outstanding team. Their skills on this surface today was so much better than ours. They had a good passing game and moved the ball really nicely. Our defense held up tight. We made one bad mistake in the first half which led to the corner that they scored on. We fought hard and I couldn't be prouder of our teams effort, especially in the second half." – Rider Head Coach Lori Hussong

- The Broncs are 9-6 outside of Lawrenceville this year.
- Fairfield has won three of the last four meetings between the two squads.
- The Broncs are now 4-6 in games decided by one goal this year. The team has won four of their last seven games decided by one goal.         
- Fairfield held a 15-2 advantage in shots. The Stags had eight shots on goal, while the Broncs had none.
- The Broncs had three penalty corners and Fairfield took five.

BRONCS BY THE NUMBERS
- Alison Amen had a defensive save for Rider. It was her fourth of the season. It was her second straight game with a defensive save. In her last two MAAC Tournament games she has registered three defensive saves.
- On the year, Lena Vandam ended up 11-8 with a 1.91 goals-against average, 120 saves, a .759 save percentage and four shutouts.
- Carly Brosious and Tess Coorens each had one shot in the game for the Broncs.

UP NEXT
The contest marks the end of the season for the Broncs. It was the final game in the careers of seniors of Jessica Randazzo and Alison Amen.