Broncs fall to Wagner in battle for top seed 

By Kadie DiGiuseppe

First place in the Northeast Conference was on the line on Nov. 1 in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, as Rider field hockey faced the Wagner Seahawks. Wagner left Ben Cohen Field with a 2-1 victory over the Broncs, giving Rider the second seed in the NEC tournament. 

‘We played hard’

In the last game of the regular season, Rider attacked early, outshooting Wagner 8-1 by the end of the first quarter, with junior forward Valeria Perales contributing more than half of those shots.

The Broncs’ aggression continued into the second quarter, but they struggled to get by the 6-foot Wagner goalkeeper. 

Rider had five more shots in the second quarter from freshman forward Olivia Machiavelli, junior back Megan Normile and freshman back Anna Finn. 

“We got a lot of offensive opportunities, but they were just falling short. We had a lot of chances that were going off the post and just missing the cage. We just couldn’t get that momentum because we couldn’t put it in the cage,” said graduate student forward Katie Wuerstle. 

The intensity heightened in the second half as Wagner’s offense picked up, getting four shots off in the first two minutes, all saved by freshman goalkeeper Jade Regnart. 

Before the Broncs could stop them, the Seahawks pushed past to score the first goal of the game off a rebound. 

Multiple players were given cards as their aggression increased, but that only fueled Perales’ fire as she scored the game-tying goal, her 10th of the season. 

Afterward, Perales initiated another corner, which gave Normile an unsuccessful shot opportunity. The Wagner offense scored yet again off a loose ball reverse chip, making it 2-1. 

The fourth quarter was all or nothing for the Broncs, but they could not find a single shot or offensive corner to try and tie the game. 

“We played hard during the whole game, but we just missed our opportunities when shooting,” said Perales. 

Rider lost the hard fought battle 2-1, ending its regular season with a 10-8 record. 

Playoff time

Rider took second place in the NEC behind the first seed, Wagner, following the loss. The Broncs play the third seeded Fairfield Stags in Staten Island, New York, on Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. 

Perales said, “We’re going to try and score more goals to secure the victory, but, other than that, we are going to keep things the same. We’re going to keep working together and keep defending all together and giving our best.”

The last time the Broncs and the Stags faced off earlier this season, the Broncs walked away with the close 1-0 victory. 

Senior midfielder Lyric Scott said, “My confidence hasn’t shifted with my team at all. Just because we are the No. 2 seed doesn’t really matter. We’ve never been afraid to be the underdog, so we’re going into the playoffs completely confident in ourselves, trusting the program, trusting our coaches and trusting our abilities to perform.”