General Notes:
Back In Action: Seven of the Northeast Conference’s nine field hockey programs began their 2009 campaign this past weekend (Aug. 28-30). Both defending NEC champion Lock Haven and Monmouth went 2-0 while 2008 runner-up Rider won its lone game. Quinnipiac and Robert Morris were the lone two teams not to compete. The Bobcats open their season at Boston College (Sept. 4)and the Colonials start up at Missouri State (Sept. 5).
Lock Haven's Remarkable Run: Riding an unprecedented run of success during its short time as a Northeast Conference member, Lock Haven has lost to a NEC opponent only twice in five seasons. The defending NEC champion Lady Eagles, who opened their 2009 season with victories over Georgetown and Longwood, own a 23-match NEC win streak (17 regular season, 6 tournament) dating back to October of the 2006 campaign. LHU's last league loss came at the hands of Quinnipiac in a regular season affair. The last NEC team to beat Lock Haven will be the Lady Eagles' first conference opponent of the season when they open league play on October 2.
Virginia is for Goal Scorers: Only weeks after winning a spot of the Spanish U21 National Team, Rider sophomore Virginia Egusquiza (Gexto, Spain) opened her second collegiate season by scoring a pair of goals and assisting of two others in an 8-2 victory over Lehigh. The 2008 Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year tallied a league-high six points in the Broncs' lone game of the weekend. Egusquiza, who made 20 starts and tallied 19 points as a freshman, has nine career goals.
NEC Preseason Prognostication: Lock Haven stands as the unanimous favorite to capture a fourth consecutive Northeast Conference field hockey crown. The Lady Eagles garnered eight first-place votes to finish atop the NEC's preseason coaches' poll for the fifth year in a row. After coming up one victory shy of the NEC Tournament title each of the previous two seasons, Rider garnered the lone remaining first-place vote and finished second in the annual survey of the league's nine head coaches. Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart, who along with Lock Haven and Rider comprised last season's NEC Championship field, finished third and fourth, respectively, in the voting. Saint Francis (PA) claimed fifth place followed by Monmouth in sixth and Robert Morris in seventh. Poised for its inaugural season of NEC competition, Bryant was tabbed for eighth place while Siena rounded out the preseason prognostication in ninth. The team picked first in the poll has gone onto win the past four NEC crowns. The 2004 Quinnipiac Bobcats were the last preseason favorite to walk away empty-handed. Lock Haven, picked third, finished atop the regular season standings that season, and Rider, selected second, won the tournament.
Team-By-Team Notes:
Bryant (0-1, 0-0 NEC)
Bryant, in its first season as a NEC member, dropped the 2009 opener to Maine (Aug. 30), 4-0. The game was played in Hempstead, NY where the Bulldogs remain to next take on Hofstra (Aug. 31).
Lock Haven (2-0, 0-0 NEC)
Lock Haven, whose last regular season loss came at Penn State on October 5, 2008, started the 2009 campaign by notching a pair of victories in Virginia. The three-time defending NEC Champion Lady Eagles defeated Georgetown (Aug. 29), 4-3, and host Longwood (Aug. 30), 2-1. … Neither victory would have been possible without the late-game heroics of sophomore forward Kristi Shepps (Willow Street, PA/Penn Manor). The second-year Lady Eagle scored the game-winner in the final four minutes of regulation against Georgetown before producing the equalizer and assisting on the game-winner in the final 2:30 against Longwood. … Lock Haven is back in action on September 4 when it travels a short distance to take on rival Penn State. The No. 11 Nittany Lions were the last team to defeat The Haven in regular season play.
Monmouth (2-0, 0-0 NEC)
Monmouth opened up the season with two consecutive victories for the first time in program history. The Hawks defeated LaSalle (Aug. 28) at home and Colagte (Aug. 30) on the road, both by 2-1 counts. … Surrendering only two goals in two games, junior goalie Melissa Katz (Tinton Falls, NJ/Monmouth Regional) earned both wins. … In addition to solidifying the back line in front of Katz, all-NEC defender Sarah Keppel (Northampton, PA/Northampton) scored the game-winning goal in the season opener against LaSalle. She broke a 1-1 tie by deflecting a shot into the cage in the 53rd minute. … Senior midfielder Enza Mazza (Oceanport, NJ/Shore) assisted on each of Monmouth's two game-winning goals. She also scored a goal of her own on the way to a team-high eight shots (six on goal) in two games. … The Hawks shoot for a 3-0 start when they next host Penn (Sept. 4).
Quinnipiac (0-0, 0-0 NEC)
The Bobcats will see their first action of the 2009 season on September 4 when they travel to Chestnut Hill, MA to take on Boston College in a non-conference contest. ... Following the opener, Quinnipiac will idle for a week before hosting Northeastern (Sept. 11) at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Turf Complex on the Mt. Carmel Campus of Quinnipiac University.
Rider (1-0, 0-0 NEC)
Rider had its highest offensive output in four seasons with a resounding 8-2 win over Lehigh (Aug. 29) in what was the Broncs' season opener. ... Sophomore Virginia Egusquiza (Getxo, Spain) notched two goals and two assists as the Broncs jumped out to a 4-0 lead 20 minutes into the game. ... Freshman Jackie Adams (Medford Lakes, NJ/Shawnee) and junior Margaret Ecke (New Egypt, NJ/New Egypt) also scored twice for Rider. Adams' first career collegiate tally made the score 2-0 in favor of Rider in the game's 16th minute. The rookie's second goal extended the Broncs' advantage to 5-0 in the 33rd minute. ... Senior goalie Lyndsie Johnson (Gibbsboro, NJ/Eastern) made five saves as the Broncs out-shot Lehigh 26-10. ... Rider travels to Philadelphia to face Temple (Sept. 1) at Drexel's Buckley Field. The Owls, recently received votes in the top 25 coaches' poll. Following the date in Philly, the Broncs travel to Hamilton, NY to face Central Michigan (Sept. 5) before facing the host Red Raiders of Colgate (Sept. 6).
Robert Morris (0-0, 0-0 NEC)
Coming off a program-record five wins last year, Robert Morris is set to open the 2009 campaign in Springfield, MO. There, the Colonials face host Missouri State (Sept.5) before squaring off against Saint Louis (Sept.6).
Saint Francis (PA) (0-2, 0-0 NEC)
The Red Flash dropped their season opener, an 8-1 decision to West Chester (Aug. 28) of the Patriot League. … Julia Moore (Jarrettsville, MD/North Harford) put the Flash on the board in the 28th minute against WCU, cutting the deficit to 2-1 … Saint Francis attempted to bounce back against Temple, but the Owls jumped out to a 4-0 lead before hanging on for a 4-1 win. Kate Rossman's (Lititz, PA/Warwick) first career goal accounted for the Red Flash's scoring. … Saint Francis returns home to play the first of two games in three days at DeGol Field. First up for the Flash is UC-Davis (Sept. 4).
Sacred Heart (0-2, 0-0 NEC)
The Pioneers opened the 2009 season with two games in North Carolina. ... In the opener, SHU dropped a 3-2 decision to Appalachian State (Aug. 29) at Davidson University. Sophomore Chelsea Carlson (Peterborough, NH/Contoocook) gave the Pioneers a 2-0 haltime lead by scoring a pair of goals. The first came at 5:41, and the second just over six minutes before the intermission. Appalachian State tied the game four minutes before the end of regulation and won it just 3:01 into the overtime period. Junior Kim Stow (Norwalk, CT/Norwalk) made six saves in the game for the Pioneers. ... SHU finished the trip to NC with a 1-0 loss to Davidson (Aug. 30). The Wildcats scored the only goal of the game three minutes before halftime. The Pioneers had 17 shots in the game, but just three on goal. ... The Pioneers are off until the end of the week when they face Yale (Sept. 4) and Northwestern (Sept. 6). Both games will be played on Yale’s campus in New Haven, CT.
Siena (0-2, 0-0 NEC)
The Saints dropped their first two games of the season at home, falling, 2-0, to Radford (Aug. 29) before dropping a 6-1 decision at the hands of Bucknell (Aug. 30). ... Goalie Renee Clavette (Danville, NH/Timberlane) was strong on the weekend, registering 20 total saves and a .733 save percentage. ... On Sunday against the Bison, junior forward Lisa Heimerle (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West) tallied the Saints' first goal of the season to tie the game at one, but Bucknell erupted for five late second half scores to put the game away. ... The Saints are off this week, but return to action on Labor Day when they conclude their season-opening three-game homestand against UC-Davis (Sept. 7).