College Field Hockey: Rider University 5, Monmouth University 2

LAWRENCEVILLE — Hurricane Sandra strikes early and often for the Broncs.

Playing under the threat of Hurricane Sandy, junior Sandra Penas (Barcelona, Spain) made sure she was a force to be reckoned with, scoring twice and adding an assist as the Rider University field hockey team clinched a share of the 2012 Northeast Conference regular season title with a 5-2 win over Monmouth University on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 28) at Ben Cohen Field.

This is Rider’s fourth NEC regular season title in a row and the Broncs will host the playoffs November 2-3 in Lawrenceville.

Penas and senior Marlaine Schneider (Feasterville, Pa./Neshaminy) teamed up on a corner play with junior Alicia Govannicci (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O’Hara) scoring 9:56 into the game to give Rider (13-5) a 1-0 lead.  For Govannicci, it was her second goal of the season.  As a rookie, Govannicci scored the game-winner as Rider defeated Monmouth 1-0 in the 2010 NEC Title game.

After Monmouth tied the game in the 21st minute, Penas scored on a corner play with freshmen Rachel Ippolite (Woolwich Twp./Kingsway Regional) and Allison Muschs (Linkebeek, Belgium) picking up the assists at the 22:20 mark of the opening half.

The Hawks again responded, tying the game 2-2, just 58 seconds later.

Muschs scored her sixth goal of the season, converting a penalty stroke at 28:41 and the Broncs took a 3-2 lead into intermission.  Muschs is now 4-4 on penalty strokes this season.

With less than eight minutes remaining in the game, Muschs passed the ball during a corner play with Ippolite scoring her fourth of the season to give Rider a two-goal lead and Penas used a rush from the midfield, converting a back handed shot just inside the right post for her team-leading 16th goal of the season for the final score with 3:12 left in the contest.

The 2011 NEC Offensive Player of the Year and 2010 NEC Rookie of the Year, Penas is sixth on Rider’s all-time scoring list with 121 points (49g, 23a).

Freshman Joelle Prettyman (Newark, Del./St. Mark’s) picked up her seventh win of the season, making two saves as Rider out-shot the Hawks 15-9.

The Broncs held a 23-5 penalty corner advantage.

Rider shares the NEC title with St. Francis (Pa.) with each team finishing 6-1 in the NEC.  The Broncs defeated the Red Flash 2-1 on October 26 to win the tie-breaker.

The Northeast Conference playoffs will be Nov. 2-3.

Rider is now 24-1 all-time at the lighted campus turf field which opened in the fall of 2010.

The Broncs are the two-time defending NEC tournament champions, having defeated Monmouth twice, 1-0 in 2010 and 2-1 for the 2011 title.

Rider and Monmouth have now played 32 times with the Broncs holding a 22-7-3 advantage in the series that began in 1977. The last time Monmouth defeated Rider was in overtime in the semifinals of the 2009 NEC Championship Tournament.

Rider will face Quinnipiac in one semifinal with St. Francis (Pa.) and Monmouth squaring off in the other semifinal.  The official schedule will be released by the Northeast Conference Monday.

The Bobcats handed Rider its only conference loss of the season, 3-2 in Connecticut on Oct. 14.

Rider has won the 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011 and now the 2012 NEC regular season titles with the Broncs winning the NEC Championship in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2011.  Rider has advanced to the NEC Title game in 10 of the last 12 seasons.

1. 9:56 RID Govannicci, Alicia (Schneider, Marlaine Penas, Sandra)

2. 20:57

MU SCHOENFELD, Amanda (6) (unassisted)

3. 22:20

RID Penas, Sandra (Muschs, Allison  Ippolite, Rachel)

4. 23:18

MU PIECZYNSKI, Michelle (17) (SCHOENFELD, Amanda) 

5. 28:41

RID Muschs, Allison Penalty stroke

6. 62:25

RID Ippolite, Rachel (Muschs, Allison)

7. 66:48

RID Penas, Sandra (unassisted)