The Broncs snap their losing streak

By Ryan Connelly 

The field hockey team came out with a huge win Sept. 15 over Towson to snap their three-game losing streak. The final score was 4-0, and freshman goalkeeper Lena Vandam had another shutout game.

The Broncs had four saves in total, three from Vandam and one a team effort. Even though the game was a shutout, Vandam wasn’t the only one working hard on defense. While Towson was able to get seven shots off, only four of those were toward the net. Six of those shots were in the first half; in the second half, the Broncs’ defense played on another level. Rider only allowed one shot from thereon out.

Towson also deserves credit for its defense. Although they gave up four goals, they managed to record 11 saves. The problem for the Tigers was their lack of offense in the match.

Broncs’ Head Coach Lori Hussong said, “We spent a lot of time last week working on our offensive movement in the circle and did work quite a bit on our shooting skills. We also worked a lot on our defense, as we were allowing too many shots on goal on our previous games.”

The game looked like it was in Rider’s favor the entire time. The first of the four goals was obtained at 12:35 by freshman midfielder Marion Waterkeyn. This was Waterkeyn’s second goal of the season; the first was against Drexel on Sept. 5. She was assisted by senior forward Allison Baligian.

The second goal was scored by senior forward Shannon Hughes at 30:16, who was assisted by freshman defender Eline De Jong. This was Hughes’  first goal of the season, and De Jong’s first career assist.

Not even five minutes later, the Broncs scored once again. This time it was by freshman midfielder Kaitlyn Flemming. Flemming was assisted by two of her teammates: Hughes, and sophomore defender Alice Otterson. The final goal of the game was also scored by Flemming at 69:24, only this time she was assisted by senior forward Kesheal Henderson. This was both Henderson’s and Otterson’s second assist of the season.

The Broncs’ overall record is 3-3. They have yet to play a conference game, but on Sept. 29, they take on Bryant in their first MAAC game of the season. The Bulldogs will host the Broncs that day in an exciting conference matchup.

Hussong has confidence in her team and stated, “We hope to improve each time we step on the field as we move closer and closer to conference play.”

Rider will take on Hofstra in another out-of-conference battle Sept. 20. The Pride is 4-5 this season coming off a win against Sacred Heart. Game time is at 3 p.m. and live stats will be available on Hofsrta’s website.