October 7, 2007 - Rider 3 Siena 1
October 7, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
College Field Hockey
Rider University 3, Siena College 1
Northeast Conference Game
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y.—The Broncs improved to 3-0 in Northeast Conference action with a win at Siena Sunday afternoon. “It was a really nice win for us,” said head coach Lori Hussong. “We really started putting it together offensively and generated a lot of shots on goal.”
For Rider (6-5, 3-0 NEC), freshman Amanda Barretta (Roseland/West Essex) scored five minutes in off assists from junior Tricia Crotty (Lewistown, Pa./Indian Valley) and freshman Allison Vogel (Oceanport/Shore Regional) giving the Broncs the early lead.
“Every win in conference is important,” Hussong said. “Every win puts us one step closer to our goal of making the playoffs again. Anyone can beat anyone in conference this year so it is important that we take care of business in our conference games.”
Rider is looking for its eighth straight conference berth, all under Hussong.
Crotty factored in the scoring again at the 29 minute mark, picking up a rebound off a corner for her team-leading fifth goal of the season, giving Rider a 2-0 lead at the half.
“Crotty was unbelievable today,” said Hussong. “She was the key to the game. She used her athleticism and speed to make things happen for us. She is a hard player to control and her stick work is becoming better and better. She is becoming a natural leader by pushing the ball into the offensive end and that creates opportunities for us. Anytime she has the ball she is a dangerous threat and that opens things up for the other players.”
“The game went well,” said Crotty. “We generated more shots on goal and worked well as a team. ‘J-Lo’ [Jen LoCastro] made a lot of good saves and the defense had a lot of good clear outs. We stayed tough and played well. My goal was off a corner, I was falling to the ground and got my stick on it and it went in. The conference win is huge. We are trying to get home field advantage and any conference win, especially on the road is huge.”
Siena hit the scoring column with 28 minutes left in the game before senior Stephanie Walker (Lyman, Maine/Massabesic) scored a minute later on a fast break to bring the lead back to two goals.
“Walker’s goal was huge,” Hussong said. “A 2-0 lead in field hockey is very dangerous. If the opponent scores, they have the momentum and it is a one-goal game and you have to get it going again. And that’s hard to do because of the momentum swing. We responded only a minute later and took the wind out of their sails by extending the lead again. Walker put on a great one on one move and solidified the game for us.”
For Walker it was her fourth goal of the season and 33rd of her career, seventh best all-time at Rider. Walker is one behind Courtney Bertos who scored 34 goals from 2002-2005.
Walker’s 82 career points also moves her into eighth place all-time, one point behind Lynn Gesser (1991-1995) and Pam Costigan (1981-1984).
“We had a nice long hard week of work,” said Walker. “It was good that we got the win and it is also equally important that we saw some things that we can still improve on. Getting the two goal lead back was huge and gave us the momentum back. Being able to travel to another school and come out with a win is big. We now have two conference home games in a row coming up and we need to take advantage of playing in front of our home crowd and on our home field.”
Senior Jen LoCastro (Cherry Hill/Camden Catholic) made two saves as the Broncs out-shot Siena 19-8.
“J-Lo came up with big plays when we needed her to,” Hussong added. “She is playing more steady and with more confidence as we continue into the season.”
The Broncs saw the return of two players, freshman Allison Vogel who factored in the first goal and senior Emily Egan (Gibbsboro/Eastern). Vogal missed the last month with a groin injury with Egan missing exactly a year after her season ended at Lehigh with a stress fracture on October 8, 2006. Egan tore an ACL in the spring and missed the first 10 games this season. “Having both players back was great,” Hussong said. “Vogal is a tenacious player, intense and aggressive and that’s what we need. Egan played pretty well and almost scored. It was a big lift having Emily back in the lineup. She worked very hard to get back on the field and having another senior leader back in the mix will only make us stronger down the stretch.”
“Having both players back was big for us,” said Walker. “Emily is such a strong leader and the heart that she brings to the field is contagious. Allison’s skills and second efforts make everyone around her want to play twice as hard. Both of the players, seeing how hard they worked to battle back from their injuries really made the team work harder, in practice and in the games.”
Today’s win was the 99th in the head coaching career of Lori Hussong, who is in her eighth season at the helm of the Broncs and holds a record of 99-52.
“I think it is a great milestone, both for Lori and Rider University,” said long time assistant coach and husband Dan Hussong about Lori’s opportunity to gain win number 100 Wednesday night (October 10) at Lehigh. “The players from Lori’s first group to the team we have today get to share in something pretty special and it is reflective on how hard each team worked and the effort that they put in out hustling the other team and winning with heart and desire. In the times that we didn’t have better talent than the opponent, we could always count on out working the opposition and by doing that, you attain the number of wins that the program has. Lori will be the first one to tell you that the milestone is about the team and the work ethic over the last eight seasons.”
-RU-
