Rider regains ground at Lock Haven

By Kadie DiGiuseppe

Following its victory at Georgetown, Rider field hockey continued to dominate on the road. The Broncs won 5-3 against the Lock Haven Bald Eagles on Sept. 22. 

Junior forward Valeria Perales and freshman forward Olivia Machiavelli each scored multiple goals during the game, leading the Broncs to another win as they improved to 4-3.

Locked in at Lock Haven

Rider traveled to Lock Haven University looking to improve its record before entering the Northeast Conference play. 

The Broncs were hungry for a goal. By the eighth minute of play, Rider was able to attempt three corners, all initiated by Perales. 

Rider’s offense proved it’s not a one-person game, as they got four shots off, including ones from junior back Megan Normile, sophomore midfielder Ang Borisow, sophomore forward Emma Bonshak and Machiavelli. 

Leading the team in assists, Borisow explained her strategy to keep helping her teammates. 

 “I am the transition point between the defensive side and the offensive side, coming from the midfield, passing it to the offense, either having a tip or they’re going to dribble it and do a few dodges and score,” said Borisow, “I feel like I was able to prescan and see the field and then see that they were open and on my assists.”

With help from Borisow, Perales scored the first goal of the game following two points from the Bald Eagles in the second quarter.  

Lock Haven responded just a couple minutes later by getting past freshman goalkeeper Jade Regnart to tie the game at halftime. 

‘We didn’t let up at all’

In the first 30 seconds of the second half, Machiavelli broke through all defenders, allowing Perales to score her second goal of the game. 

Not even two minutes later, Perales broke away from the Bald Eagles’ defenders once again. She marched right down the field, putting the ball in the back of the net and securing her hat trick and fifth goal of the season. 

“I was really excited to be playing back again. After halftime, I was like ‘We need to get back to the game. We need to win this game,’ so I was able to score,” said Perales. 

Lock Haven was able to pull out another goal a couple minutes later to keep the game close, but Rider’s offense did not stop. 

Machiavelli, Perales and Normile contributed to more offensive efforts, including three corners and three more shots, but none were able to get by the Bald Eagles’ goalkeeper. 

With 10 seconds left in the third quarter, Machiavelli chipped the ball over the keeper for her fifth goal of the season. 

The fourth quarter started out aggressive on both sides, but the Bald Eagles were able to come out of the fight with a goal. 

Lock Haven threatened to tie the game in the final quarter after Rider allowed three corners and four shots. Fortunately, Regnart was a brick wall in the cage. 

With three minutes left, Machiavelli initiated a corner, where freshman forward Anna Finn’s shot was saved but deflected back in Machiavelli’s direction, which gave her another chance to score. 

Machiavelli ended the game with two goals, bringing the final score to 5-3 and giving her six goals in the season, which she leads the team in. 

Head Coach Alicia Govannicci said after the win, “We played really hard and found a way to still follow the game plan. I think that they did a great job of doing that. We also focused on framing the goal.”

The Broncs finished the game with 20 shots and seven corners while Regnart finished with five saves. 

Rider will return to Lawrenceville on Sept. 27 at 4 p.m. to play Fairfield in its second NEC game of the year. The Broncs then travel to Philadelphia to play Drexel on Sept. 29 at 12 p.m.