LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – The La Salle field hockey team (0-1) pushed reigning NEC champion Rider (1-0) to the brink, but NEC Player and Offensive Player of the Year Julia Divorra completed her hat trick in overtime to lead the Broncs to a 3-2 win.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- La Salle got on the board first just under 14 minutes into the match, as freshman Sofia Pla scored in the opening quarter of her collegiate debut off a penalty corner insert from freshman Grace Ferriolo and sophomore Tatum Johnson to put the Explorers ahead 1-0.
- Rider answered halfway through the second, as Carly Brosious fed Divorra inside the circle for a one-time finish to level the score at 1-1 with 6:12 remaining in the half.
- Junior Casey Reilly got her stick on a loose ball in the Bronc circle and pushed it into the back of the cage just 3:53 into the third quarter as the Explorers surged back in front, 2-1.
- Sophomore Ryan Curley, making her second-career start in net for La Salle, saved three consecutive shots to close the third quarter with a 2-1 lead.
- The Broncs responded early in the fourth, as Divorra scored her second goal of the game on a penalty corner to knot the score at 2-2 with 13:17 to play in regulation.
- Rider recorded three more shots in the fourth, but Curley made two saves while her defense blocked the third to end regulation locked at 2-2.
- 6:20 into overtime, Divorra tallied her third goal of the game with a blast following a rebound to secure the win for the Broncs, 3-2.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Eight Explorers made their career debuts, including the first career starts for freshmen Sofia Pla, Grace Ferriolo, and Sophia Wasyliw.
- Curley (0-1) set a career-best in saves with 14, surpassing her previous-best total of 11.
- Rider held the edge in shots 26-8, along with a 16-3 lead in penalty corners.
- Pla led the Explorers with three shots, while Hannah Yanovich, Natalie Biliunas, Reilly, and Regan Dougherty each tallied one apiece.
- Seven of La Salle's eight shots reached goal for a shot-on-goal percentage of 0.875.
UP NEXT:
La Salle returns to Philadelphia to open their home slate on Sunday, Aug. 29 when they host Merrimack.