LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – The Rider University women's lacrosse team was topped in a tight game by Mount St. Mary's, 17-15, Wednesday evening. The Broncs fall to 4-7 on the season and 0-3 in MAAC games, while the Mountaineers improve to 7-4 on the year and remain unbeaten at 3-0 in league play.
 
Down 2-0 early, Rider scored five-straight goals with Toni Gismondi (West Deptford, NJ/West Deptford[VCU]), Elena Bontatibus (Simsbury, CT/Simsbury), Selena Carrington (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North [Rutgers]), Katie Walsh (Marlton, NJ/Camden Catholic[FDU-Florham]), and Elizabeth Shean (Seal Beach, CA/Los Alamitos) all finding the back of the net. Rider would lead 6-3 after the opening quarter.
 
The Mount would fire back in the second, going on a 6-1 run to pull ahead 9-7 before Carrington would score to trim the deficit to 9-8 at the half.
 
After the Mountaineers pulled ahead 13-9 midway through the third, Bontatibus scored three-straight goals to bring Rider back to within 13-12 entering the fourth.
 
The Mount would have the answer scoring twice before goals from Carrington and Anna Devlin (Marmora, NJ/Ocean City[TCNJ]) would once again make it a one-goal game. The Mountaineers would again score two straight before Carrington would score with 3:35 to play. Rider would get a chance with just over 90 seconds to play, but Bontatibus' shot was saved and the Mountaineers were able run out the majority of the remaining time.
 
Quotes & Notes
"We don't like the result. In conference, every game matters, but what's interesting is the opportunities we have coming up can still put us in a position to be successful. This was the best lacrosse we played over this four-game stretch. From the things we worked on during the week, both offensively and defensively, we were successful in a lot of the areas we focused on."
 
"They put their top defender on Katie, but you saw today, Liz had the hat trick, Elena stepped up and had four goals, Sel scored four. We're having a lot more people contribute, and when they start producing, that's when we can put up the type of offense we did today." – Head Coach Evan Mager
 
"We've been moving in more spots than we have before. We know that we're all capable of doing everything and today, it all just clicked. We know that anybody can beat anybody. Teams that we beat are beating teams that beat us, so it all just depends on who shows up, and with that mindset we know we're going to come out on top." – Senior Attack Selena Carrington
 
"We've had a huge focus on movement and creating new options. Now we're focusing on the next game, chipping away at that one, and then whatever the next game is, that is our focus. We just played Fairfield, then on Monday all of our focus came to this game, and now our focus goes to Niagara." – Sophomore Midfielder Elena Bontatibus
 
- Mount St. Mary's extends its lead in the all-time series to 2-0.
- Jamie Kubach (Philadelphia, PA/William Penn Charter[FDU-Florham]) made the start in net, and played all 60 minutes, making eight saves, taking the loss.
- Bontatibus had four goals and an assist for her third career hat trick and first of the season.
- Carrington recorded her sixth hat trick of the season, and 13^th as a Bronc with four goals.
- Shean's three goals gave her two hat tricks on the season.
 
Broncs By The Numbers
- Both teams finished with 28 shots, but the Mount held a 25-20 edge in shots on goal.
- Rider had an 11-9 edge in ground balls. Carrington, Marybeth Smith (Macungie, PA/Emmaus [La Salle]), and Shean each had a pair to lead the Broncs.
- Both teams finished with 17 draw controls. Walsh and Devlin each had seven to led Rider.
 
Up Next
Rider hits the road for an important contest at Niagara Saturday. Game time is 11 a.m.