LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Julia Divorra's (Terrassa, Spain/Vedruna Vall) goal just over six minutes into the first overtime period pushed the Rider University field hockey team past La Salle, 3-2, Friday night at Ben Cohen Field. The game was the season opener for both teams.

After a lightning delay that lasted over an hour, the Explorers opened the scoring with a goal off a penalty corner with just over a minute to go in the first quarter. Carly Brosious (Drexel Hill, PA / Monsignor Bonner/Archbishop Prendergast) got behind the La Salle defense midway through the second quarter before firing a right to left pass that Divorra deflected into the cage to tie the score going into the half.
 
The Explorers struck again to open the second half, pushing a loose ball into the net after a chaotic sequence in the Rider circle. Once again, the Broncs would find the answer. After a Brosious shot was saved, Lyric Scott (Union, NJ/Union) pounced on the loose ball and fired a pass to Divorra who easily deflected in the tying goal for the second time in the game.

Quotes & Notes
"Having Julia is a luxury, and we know that. She has a will to carry a team on her back. The combination of her and Carly, even though she didn't score, she was key in the goals that we did score."
 
"Overall we're happy that we got three in the cage and won the game. We only gave up three corners, which was huge and one of our goals, to limit the amount of corners they get."

"Lyric is a special player and we're lucky to have her. She has the heart of a champion. She's dynamic, quick on her feet, and can make things happen."  – Rider Head Coach Lori Hussong

"It wasn't my play, it was teammate's play, and it was nice to be back with all of them. We all worked hard during the summer, and it showed today."
 
"We are getting to the circle. We are being aggressive. We need to do a better job of executing [our corners], but we will do that." – Julia Divorra
 
"When you first get here, you have this high-school mentality, but everyone here was a star. You're playing with a bunch of stars, so you have to look to pass. It's not an individual game, and you learn that very quickly."
 
"You have to be the first to the ball. If you out-hustle them, like we did tonight, we'll win every time."
 
"Especially as a freshman, you want trust. That's the biggest thing, you just want someone to trust you because you may not believe in yourself as much. When your coach trusts you, you really feel like you belong here and you play up to your best." – Lyric Scott

- Kaitlyn Tomas (Campbellville, Ontario/Appleby College) made five saves to earn the victory in goal.
- Scott is the first Bronc to record a point in their collegiate debut since Divorra in the 2018 season.
- Along with Tomas, Kiki van Ommeren (Amsterdam, Netherlands/Montessori Lyceum Amsterdam) and Maeve Reihman (Norristown, PA/Archbishop Carroll) played all 66 minutes.
- In addition to Scott, Abby Hartwell (Monroeville, NJ/Delsea) and Alyssa Hoffman (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley) made their collegiate debuts in the starting lineup. Emily Ready (Parkton, MD/Hereford) came off the bench in her first action for the Broncs.

Broncs By The Numbers
- The hat trick is the third of Divorra's career. She also recorded three goals against Colgate in 2019 and Merrimack during the spring.
- The five saves by Tomas tied a career-high set last season in the NCAA Tournament against UCONN.
- With their performances tonight, Divorra and Brosious each have 59 career points, tied for 19^th in program history.
- The Broncs out-shot the Explorers 26-8, including an 18-7 advantage in shots on goal.
- Rider earned 16 penalty corners to just three for La Salle.
 
Up Next
- The Broncs travel to Colgate for a meeting with the Raiders on Sunday. Game time is set for noon.