Conference

Adams At It Again: One week after scoring two goals in her collegiate debut and earning NEC Rookie of the Week honors as a result, Rider freshman Jackie Adams (Medford Lakes, NJ/Shawnee) was at it again. The freshman forward scored two goals in three games last week, upping her season total to four.  Adams, who has nine points (4G, 1A) leads all NEC rookies in scoring.

 

Saints March Triumphantly: Siena outlasted UC-Davis, 2-1, in a game that needed penalty strokes to determine a winner.  The nail-biting victory was Siena’s first of the season and it snapped the Saints 11-game non-conference losing streak.

 

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.

 

The Bulldogs avenged a 2008 loss to Lehigh in earning their first win of the 2009 came, 3-1.  The victory was also Bryant's home opener. Earlier in the week, Bryant fell, 3-2, at Hofstra. … Sophomore Courtney Landi (Kingston, NY/Kingston) scored a goal in each of Bryant's games, including the gamewinner against Lehigh. … Bryant got its five goals from four different players, with Landi and Aly Czerniak (Holyoke, MA/Smith Academy) scoring against Hofstra and Elise Boissoneau (Ashburnham, MA/St. Bernard's Central), Katherine Andrusin (North Andover, MA/North Andover) and Landi chipping in against Lehigh.… Goalkeeper Kundayi Mawema (Harare, Zimbabwe) made 20 saves, allowing just four goals and playing every minute on the 1-1 week.

 

Lock Haven went 1-1 last week, beginning with a 3-1 setback at No. 11 Penn State before shutting out Vermont at home. … Lock Haven looked poised to upset its local rival PSU after sophomore Kristi Shepps (Willow Street, PA/ Penn Manor) knocked home a rebound in the 20th minute to put LHU up 1-0. The Lady Lions responded with three unanswered goals to defeat the Haven. … The Haven bounced back in a big way and downed Vermont, 3-0, the 2009 home opener. The Lady Eagles got goals from three different players including Suzann Hobart (Lewisberry, PA/Red Land), who also had an assist (3 points). … Lock Haven only allowed one shot on goal in an all-out dominating performance against UVM. … The win extends LHU's home win streak to seven games dating back to last season. Penn State was the last team to beat LHU at home (Oct. 5, 2008). … Hobart, who led Lock Haven with three points last week, also leads the team in total points. The senior-forward has three goals and one assist (7 points) on the season.

 

The Hawks posted a 1-1 record this past weekend, playing a pair of overtime games. … Senior Enza Mazza (Oceanport, NJ/Shore) and freshman Michelle Pieczynski (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks West) scored goals in both games. … Junior goalie Melissa Katz (Tinton Falls, NJ/Monmouth Regional) posted a career-high 14 saves for MU in a 3-2 overtime loss to West Chester. … … Pieczynski notched her second game-winning goal of the season in overtime against Penn before notching the game-tying goal against West Chester with 1:14 remaining in regulation. … The Hawks travel to New England where they will face Brown (Sept. 12) and Boston College (Sept. 13) on back-to-back days.

 

Quinnipiac was held scoreless in their season opener, a 5-0 loss to Boston College (Sept. 4). … The Bobcats managed to hold Boston College scoreless over the second half of the game, thanks in large part to the play of Nicole Lewis in goal, who stopped four shots down the stretch. … Quinnipiac hosts Northeastern (Sept. 11) at the Quinnipiac Lacrosse & Field Hockey Turf Complex before welcoming Columbia (Sept. 13).

 

Rider enjoyed undefeated three-win week. The Broncs last started a season winning their first four games in 2004, when the team went 18-3 and won the NEC Title, advancing to the NCAA Play-In against Richmond. ... Sophomore Megan Pisani (Plainsboro, NJ/W. Windsor Plainsboro-North) scored 14 points (6G, 2A) on the week, including a hat trick in a 4-1 victory at Temple.  … Pisani tallied two goals against Central Michigan to support the shutout goaltending of senior Lyndsie Johnson (Gibbsboro, NJ/Eastern).  ...  The 3-0 win over CMU game was the 120th victory for head coach Lori Hussong at Rider, who is in her 10th season of service along with husband, and assistant coach, Dan.  … Sophomore Virginia Egusquiza (Getxo, Spain) and junior Lindsay Rajeski (New Egypt, NJ/New Egypt) each had a goal and an assist as Rider defeated Colgate, 3-1, to close out the week. ... Colgate snapped Johnson's scoreless streak of 144:29.  Seven of John's 17 career wins in net have come via shutout.  ... Rider has yet to trail in a game this season.  The Broncs have led for 235 of the 280 minutes played. ... Rider entered play on September 3 as the top-ranked team in the country in the ACR poll compiled by FieldHockeyCorner.com. The ACR takes into account score differential and won-loss record and involves several mathematical computations to rank the 65 Division I schools.

 

Robert Morris opened the 2009 campaign in Springfield, MO where it fell host Missouri State, 7-1, before dropping a 3-0 decision to Saint Louis. ... Senior Jessica Charles (Lancaster, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) scored the Colonials lone goal of the weekend. ... The Colonials play at Bellarmine (Sept. 8) before returning home for a nine-day hiatus.

 

The Pioneers remained winless, falling to Yale and Northwestern. ... SHU surrendered 12 goals on the week and received its lone tally from  Stephanie Fazio (Norwalk, CT/Brien McMahon) 1:04 into an eventual 7-1 loss at Yale. ... Sacred Heart makes a short trip across town to take on Fairfield (Sept. 11) before hosting Bucknell (Sept. 13).

 

The Red Flash were shut out by both UC Davis and La Salle to fall to 0-4 on the season. ... Senior goalkeeper Sara Dittmann (State College, PA/State College) made 13 saves and surrendered only three goals in 140 minutes of action, but received little offensive support. ...  Junior Rebecca Reiff (Wall, NJ/Wall) had three shots on goal against the Aggies.  ... Kate Rossman (Lititz, PA/Warwick) and Caitlin Brown (Hamburg, PA/Hamburg) each had three shots against the Explorers. ... The Flash next travel to Radford (Sept. 13). 

 

Siena recorded its first win of 2009 and snapped an 11-game non-conference losing streak by defeating previously unbeaten UC Davis, 2-1, on Labor Day. Senior captain Andrea Caso (Carmel, NY/Carmel) led Siena with six shots and tallied her first goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1 late in the first half. … After the teams remained tied through both overtime periods, the Saints stepped up to win on penalty strokes, 3-1. Sophomore midfielder Mackenzie Smith (New Preston, CT/Shepaug Valley), who made her first appearance since returning from injury, recorded the winning stroke in the fifth and final round. … Senior goalkeeper Renee Clavette (Danville NH/Timberlane) made 17 saves, including one on a penalty stroke during regulation. … The Saints return to open a four-game road trip at Cornell (Sept. 9).