Field Hockey Defeats Rider 6-1, Earns NCAA Tournament Berth
November 7, 2000 | Field Hockey
NCAA Field Hockey Championship Web Site
BOSTON, MA (Nov. 7) - The Boston University field hockey team erupted for five second half goals en route to a 6-1 win over Rider University in an NCAA Play-In at Nickerson Field Tuesday, earning its' second consecutive berth in the NCAA Division I Tournament. Junior forward Jane Rogers (Watertown, MA) and junior back Rachael Stillings (Escondido, CA) led the attack each with two goals and an assist for the Terriers, who advance to play UMass on Saturday, November 11 at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
It is the seventh time the Terriers have qualified for the national tournament, and the first time they have qualified in back-to-back years. The team also earned berths in 1985, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, and 1999. The America East Conference champion Terriers and the Northeast Conference champion Rider were meeting in the play-in to determine who would qualify for the 16-team NCAA Tournament.
B.U. came out with jump and got on the board just 4:24 into the contest when Stillings scored on a penalty corner to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead. Kate Cusick (Allentown, PA) and Casey Holman (Bridgeton, NJ) earned assists. The lead was short-lived, however as Alison Waters (Whitehall, PA) answered on a penalty corner just four minutes later to tie the score at 1-1.
The Terriers dominated much of the half, but thanks to goalkeeper Jennifer Cushinotto (Tuckahoe, NJ), who had 10 of her 18 saves in the first half, the teams remained deadlocked at halftime.
The Terriers remained on the offensive into the second half when Stillings netted her second goal of the game six minutes in, again on a penalty corner. The Terriers would not look back from there.
Freshman Christina Strauss (Newburyport, MA) tallied with 18:58 to go to make the score 3-1 and then assisted on Rogers' first goal of the contest just over a minute later, at 17:46 to put the game out of reach.
Rogers would add another goal later in the half, as would freshman Lindsey Domers (Voorhees, NJ) who tipped a nice feed from fellow freshman Whitney Peabody (Hamilton, MA) past Cushinotto for her first collegiate goal to close out the scoring.
For the game, B.U. outshot Rider, 34-5, 15-0 in the second half. The Terriers had 18 penalty corners to Rider's three. With the win, B.U. is now 16-7, one win away from tying the school single-season mark set three times, most recently last season. Rider falls to 10-12.
NCAA Play-In
At Boston University
Rider University (10-12) 1 0 - 1
Boston University (16-7) 1 5 - 6
First Half:
(BU) Rachael Stillings (Kate Cusick, Casey Holman), 30:36
(RU) Alison Waters (Tricia Neill, Tracey Speck), 26:44.
Second Half:
(BU) Stillings 2 (Cusick, Jane Rogers), 29:19
(BU) Christina Strauss (unassisted), 18:58
(BU) Rogers (Strauss), 17:46
(BU) Rogers 2 (Stillings), 14:31
(BU) Lindsey Domers (Whitney Peabody), 11:21.
Shots: BU 34, Rider 5.
Penalty Corners: BU 18, Rider 3.
Saves: BU 0 (Susan Harrington 0), Rider 18 (Jennifer Cushinotto 18)
