LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - The third-seeded Monmouth University field hockey team fell to in-state rival and top-seeded Rider, 3-2, in the Northeast Conference Championship game, Saturday afternoon at Ben Cohen Field.  The Hawks, who received goals from sophomore Amanda Schoenfeld (West Sayville, N.Y./Connetquot) and junior Alex Carroll (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional), conclude their season at 8-13, while the Broncs, who improve to 14-5 with the victory, will advance to the play the Atlantic 10 winner in Tuesday's NCAA Play-In game.

Monmouth and Rider, which have squared off in the last three NEC Title games, exchanged chances early on, each earning multiple corner opportunities in a row.  With less than 20 minutes remaining in the half, the Broncs' Rachel Ippolite ripped a shot from the right side of the circle, but junior goalkeeper Teresa Mathews (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley) pushed the shot away with her right pad to keep the game scoreless.

Rider broke the ice nearly six minutes before the break when Gabby Burgo capitalized off a corner opportunity, which allowed the Broncs to enter halftime ahead, 1-0.

The Hawks answered six minutes into the second frame on a corner opportunity.  Junior Trish O'Dwyer (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto Beaufort) sent an insert pass to graduate Tara Brown (Hatboro, Pa./Archbishop Wood) along the left side where she sent a low shot that was pushed away by defender Stacey Dileo.  The ball caromed to the opposite post where a diving Schoenfeld jammed in her sixth goal of the season to even the score at 1-1.

Monmouth captured its first lead of the afternoon in the 48th minute when O'Dwyer inserted another penalty corner, this time to Carroll, who fired a hard shot to the back of the cage, her sixth of the season to push the Blue and White ahead, 2-1.

After Rider's Allison Muschs missed wide on a penalty stroke in the 55th minute, Sandra Penas deflected a loose ball into the netting for the equalizer off a broken penalty corner play four minutes later.  Penas notched the game-winner with 7:12 left in regulation, firing a backhanded shot from the right of the circle.  The Hawks, who pulled Mathews for the final 3:55, could not get another shot on cage.

Mathews, making her second career start in a title game, turned away eight shots, while Joelle Prettyman made four saves for the Broncs.

Rider outshot the Blue and White, 18-12, while holding a 17-11 penalty corner advantage.
Seniors Michelle Pieczynski (Doylestown, Pa./Central Buck West), Nicole Manziano (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township), and Kimmy Baligian (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central) were all named to the Northeast Conference All-Tournament Team.