Friday, August 27, 2021
Rider Broncs (0-0) vs. La Salle Explorers (0-0)
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ – Ben Cohen Field
Time: 7 p.m.
Live Video – BroncVision
Live Stats – GoBroncs.com
 
What You Need To Know
- Friday night's season opener will be broadcast live on BroncVision.
- The Broncs were picked to repeat as NEC Champions in the preseason poll of the league's coaches. Five of the eight coaches placed Rider first on their ballot.
- Rider returns four All-Conference players led by reigning NEC Player and Offensive Player of the Year Julia Divorra (Terrassa, Spain/Vedruna Vall). Joining Divorra on the First-Team All-Conference last season were NEC Championship MVP Tess van Ommeren (Amsterdam, Netharlands/Sint Nicolaas Lyceum) and Carly Brosious (Drexel Hill, PA/Monsignor Bonner/Archbishop Prendergast). Sierra Giuliano (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional) was a Second-Team All-NEC honoree during the spring.
- Divorra led the NEC in goals (8), points (21), and game-winning goals (4). She ended the 2020-21 season ranked fourth in the country in points per game (2.62) and fifth in goals per game (1.00) on her way to NFHCA First-Team All-Mid Atlantic Region Honors.
- van Ommeren was second on the team in points (9) and third on the team in goals (3) and assists (3) on the way to Second-Team All-Region honors.
- Rider Head Coach Lori Hussong and her staff earned NFHCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honors for the first time during her tenure after guiding the Broncs to the main field of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
- Rider is 26-10-1 all-time against La Salle. Most recently, the Broncs defeated the Explorers in double overtime in 2019, when Divorra deflected a van Ommeren shot by the Explorers goalie to secure the victory.   
- La Salle posted an 0-11 record in the spring, including an 0-6 conference mark.
- Rider returns nine starters from last year's team, including Brosious, who enters the year tied for 20^th on the Broncs' all-time scoring list with 58 points (22 goals, 14 assists).
- The Broncs produced shutouts in six of their eight games last season. Kaitlyn Tomas (Campbellville, Ontario/Appleby College) recorded four individual shutouts between the pipes.