College Field Hockey: University of Massachusetts 2, Rider University 1 (OT)

 AMHERST, Mass. — For the third season in a row, the Rider University field hockey season came to an end in the NCAA Play-In game with the Broncs losing at 16th ranked University of Massachusetts 2-1 in overtime on Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 6).

UMass used its second penalty corner of the overtime period to score 7:14 into the extra session after the initial shot hit the post.

Senior Marlaine Schneider (Feasterville, Pa./Neshaminy) passed the ball to junior Sandra Penas (Barcelona, Spain) who scored her team-leading 20th goal of the season with a back handed shot from the right side of the circle, giving Rider a 1-0 lead just 9:34 into the game and the Broncs led 1-0 at the half.

Penas will enter her senior season third on Rider’s all-time scoring list (54g, 25a) with 133 points and Schneider graduates with 107 points (35g, 37a), eighth best all-time at Rider.

Penas entered the game eighth in goals and ninth in points per game in the national statistics.

UMass tied the game on a tip-in off a penalty corner with 15:27 left in regulation.

Freshman Joelle Prettyman (Newark, Del./St. Mark’s) made five saves for Rider (15-6).

UMass (15-8) out-shot the Broncs 15-5.

The Minutewomen held a 7-2 penalty corner advantage.  Rider entered the contest leading the nation in penalty corners, averaging just under 15 per game.

This was Rider’s sixth NCAA Play-In game and the second year in a row that the Broncs have lost in overtime.  Rider lost at Princeton 1-0 in double overtime in 2011 and the Broncs lost at the University at Albany 2-1 in 2010 and at Richmond 1-0 in 2002.  Rider also lost at Boston U. in 2000 and at Richmond in 2004.

Rider came into the game 4-0 in overtime this season and 6-2 in one-goal games.

This season, Rider won the Northeast Conference regular season title for the fourth year in a row and seventh time overall (2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012). 

Rider also won its third NEC tournament championship in a row and sixth all-time (2000, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012).  The Broncs have appeared in 11 of the last 13 NEC championship games.

In the two other NCAA Play-In games Tuesday, Stanford (16-6) defeated Miami (Ohio) (12-10) 4-1 and Princeton (17-1) defeated Lafayette (17-2) 6-0.

The Broncs return 19 letterwinners for the 2013 season for head coach Lori Hussong who has a 184-77 record in 13 seasons at Rider.

Scoring

RID-Penas (Schneider)                  9:34
UMass-Cordero (Young)               54:23
UMass-Sabia (unassisted)            77:14