Broncs clinch consecutive wins before NEC games

By Lauren Clay

The field hockey team added a third win to its streak last week in a 2-1 victory over La Salle in double overtime.

Junior goalkeeper Lyndsie Johnson was very happy with her team’s solidarity during the close game.

“The recent game against La Salle definitely stands out in my mind,” Johnson said. “The only way a team can win an extremely close game like that is to act as a unit and trust one another to do their jobs effectively. It came down to sudden death strokes, which involves having faith in your goalie. My team believed in me and that helped me come through for them. We worked hard and we deserved to win.”

Senior Caitlin Mebs scored on the fifth penalty stroke while Johnson made the final save in the best-of-five set that led Rider to its defeat over La Salle. Freshman Virginia Egusquiza, from Getxo, Spain, scored the second penalty stroke that put the Broncs in the lead.

“Virginia has been a wonderful addition to our team,” said Head Coach Lori Hussong. “We could not be happier that she joined us. She has helped raise the level of our play and is a lot of fun to have around.”

Egusquiza also helped Rider secure the win against Georgetown on Sept. 30 when she scored an unassisted goal 5:07 into overtime. The Northeast Conference awards named her Rookie of the Week for the Sept. 29 through Oct. 5 period. Egusquiza was not the only Bronc honored — Johnson was named Player of the Week. She was also named co-Goalie of the Week by the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Womensfieldhockey.com added sophomore Amanda Barretta to the Player of the Week honor roll for all games played Sept. 29 through Oct. 5.
The team’s current record of 6-5 is not a good indicator of how hard the girls are working. Out of their five losses, four have been by only one goal.

“One-goal losses are tough to handle, especially if we played well enough to win,” Hussong said. “In these situations, our team has to learn how to find a way to put the ball in the cage and win.”

When the team loses, the coaching staff analyzes why the team was unsuccessful. Hussong says that the biggest thing is learning from their mistakes.
The team starts their conference schedule this week when they play Sacred Heart at home.

“The conference is going to be tough,” Hussong said. “We open up with a very tough weekend of play in Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac. If we play our game and stay with the plan, we will have a better chance of having success.”

The Broncs head to Connecticut to face Quinnipiac on Oct. 12 before returning to play at home on Oct. 17 against Saint Francis (PA).