Broncs eliminated from NEC tournament

By Kadie DiGiuseppe

After losing the Northeast Conference’s top seed to Wagner last week, Rider field hockey fell to the Fairfield Stags 2-1 on Nov. 7, eliminating the Broncs from the NEC tournament. 

To start their short-lived playoff run, the Broncs and the Stags faced off in Staten Island, New York at Wagner University, putting pressure on each other until Fairfield scored the first goal three minutes in.

The Stags’ goal only fueled the Broncs’ fire, as freshman forward Olivia Machiavelli scored her 15th of the season to tie the game. This season, Machiavelli led the Broncs in goals with 15 and was awarded NEC rookie of the year. 

After Machiavelli’s goal, Fairfield once again found the back of the cage, bringing the score to 2-1 at the end of the first quarter. 

The second quarter was a chippy one, packed with defense that awarded green cards to players on both teams.

During the second half, both teams only got one shot off, Rider’s coming from sophomore midfielder Ang Borisow. 

With time winding down, the Broncs tried anything they could to tie the game, including having Machiavelli initiate two corners at the beginning of fourth quarter, but both were unsuccessful.

As the buzzer sounded, the Broncs’ season ended after a hard-fought battle, despite being outshot by Fairfield,7-3. 

“I thought we put up a good fight. I thought from the beginning of the game to the end we were giving 100% effort and just playing together, it just didn’t work out in our favor,” senior midfielder Lyric Scott said. 

”Last season we didn’t make it to the playoffs. Just getting there was a big achievement,” Scott added. “I thought we led our team to the playoffs and I thought we did a really good job in that aspect. As a team, I thought it was great that a lot of freshmen stepped up when we needed them. I just thought overall it was really good chemistry throughout the season.”