LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Rider University field hockey team clinched a berth in the NEC Tournament and moved into first place in the NEC standings with a 2-0 win over Wagner on Senior Day at Ben Cohen Field. The Broncs can clinch the regular season title with a win Friday over Merrimack. The Broncs improve to 11-5 overall and 5-1 in league play. The Seahawks fall to 10-6 on the year and an equal 5-1 in league play.
 
Early in the second, Wagner had its best scoring opportunity of the game. Off a rebound, Julia Pastorino, Wagner's leading scorer, fired a shot that got behind Rider goalie Kaitlyn Tomas (Campbellville, Ontario/Appleby College), but Maeve Riehman (Norristown, PA/Archbishop Carroll) was there for the defensive save to keep the game scoreless.
 
The Broncs finally opened the scoring late in the second quarter. Valeria Perales (Madrid, Spain/IES Mirasierra) made the insert on the corner to Sierra Giuliano (Franklinville, NJ/Delsea Regional), who passed to Indy Zoontjens (Hilversum, Netherlands/Alberdingk Thijm College). Zoontjens fired a shot that was deflected in by Kiera Guckavan (Middletown, PA/Middletown Area).
 
Late in the fourth, the Broncs got the key insurance goal. Abby Hartwell (Monroeville, NJ/Delsea Regional) played a long pass into the circle and onto the stick of Zoontjens. Zoontjens turned around the goalie and fired into the cage to put Rider up 2-0 and produce the final score.

Quotes & Notes
"It's really tough. Wagner's a really talented team and they play hard and are very skilled and we knew that we had to play our best game."
 
"Senior leadership has been key, especially in games like this and our senior stepped up and played in the critical moments of the game. We had some big time plays not only from Maeve and Kaitlyn, but also from Kiki, Amanda, and Sierra and in the midfield. Everybody contributed in this win and everybody came up big when we needed them."
 
"Tournament time is very different. On any given day, any team can beat anybody. So we have to be ready for whoever we face. Any team that we're going to face is going to be hard to beat." – Head Coach Lori Hussong
 
"I think we worked great together to get to the corners. We could have been better on them, but the corner we scored on we really needed it. And the second goal just took the stress down a little bit."
 
"It's senior day, so we just wanted a great day. What a great win. And if we didn't win this game, we may also not make playoffs. So it was really important even for not just our seniors." – Freshman Midfielder Indy Zoontjens
 
"It's a good feeling to know that there's a lot of people behind you who support you. Especially going through a division one program and all the things that COVID and everything else in my past four years, it was a really wholesome feeling and it just reassured than my friends and my coaches have my back."
 
"I saw I had a good position on the ball. I saw her lift it. I put my stick out in front and I wasn't letting it go behind me."
 
"We knew the stakes coming into this game and senior day just added a whole lot more emotion. We didn't let it scare us. We didn't let us intimidate us. We took it head on and we did it with excitement." – Senior Midfielder Maeve Riehman
 
"I didn't think I was gonna be emotional today, we still have the rest of season left. But once I walked in that locker room and I saw everybody, I didn't realize how emotional today wouldn't be. I think that's what honestly made this one so much better. Because this is our last time together playing on a weekend. It's our last big home game that we needed to come out on top. And that emotion made us play better and made us play the way we did."
 
"It was amazing, and it wasn't just me, it was my defense too. Maeve had an amazing defensive save and she pulled through when I needed her. I think that just made it so much better is that, this is my senior day and there's no better way to end it than in a shutout just to show them, this is what I got and this is what I can do." – Senior Goalie Kaitlyn Tomas
 
- Rider leads the all-time series 3-1.
- Rider has won seven-straight games.
- Tomas made five saves to earn the shutout win, her third shutout of the season.
- The Broncs have five shutouts this season.
- Zoontjens has recorded a point in 11-straight games.
- Prior to the game the team honored it's eight graduating seniors, Mia Frontino (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield Memorial), Kiki van Ommeren (Amsterdam, Netherlands/Montessori Lyceum Amsterdam), Amanda Zambrana (Garwood, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson), Danielle Tyson (East Stroudsburg, PA/East Stroudsburg South), Riehman, Giuliano, Hannah Hartwell (Monroeville, NJ/Delsea Regional), and Tomas.

Broncs By The Numbers
- Rider outshot Wagner 15-13, including a 10-6 edge in shots on goal.
- Rider earned 10 corners, while the Seahawks earned 11.
- Guckavan's goal is her second of the season.
- Zoontjens goal is her ninth of the season and she also has eight assists on the year.
- Abby Hartwell has five assists this season.
 
Up Next
- The Broncs wrap up NEC play against Merrimack at home Friday. Game time is set for 4 p.m.