In the blink of an eye, the postseason has come and gone for the Rowan field hockey team.
The Profs got into the New Jersey Athletic Conference Tournament by defeating Stockton University, 5-1, on Oct. 29.
“We were very happy, we played well,” head coach Michelle Andre said. “We scored five goals and transitioned the ball well. It was one of those things where we knew what we had to do and we did it.”
“We just really started playing like ourselves again,” sophomore midfielder Jacqui Rosati said. “We kind of lost ourselves mid-season, so it feels good to be playing like the team people saw in the beginning of the season.”
For the fifth consecutive year, the brown and gold would have to face off against The College of New Jersey in the conference tournament.
Just like the last three meetings, the brown and gold were defeated by the Lions, this time by the score of 3-1.
Before the game, Andre said that the game was a good match-up for the team. Based off of the previous results, most people would agree. Earlier this year, the Lions beat Rowan in Glassboro, 3-2, but it was not until the final minutes that TCNJ took control.
In this chapter of the matchup, it didn’t take that long.
After 12 minutes of play, the Lions scored the first goal of the game. Just 15 minutes later, they added another.
Sophomore midfielder Rachel Galante cut the lead to 2-1 at the 40 minute mark, but TCNJ sealed the game with a third and final goal with nine minutes left in the game.
TCNJ had ended the Profs’ season the past three years. This time it wasn’t any different.
It wasn’t for a lack of confidence and effort however.
“We were up for almost the whole game [last time,]” sophomore defender Skyler Pino said before the game. “I think we know that we can beat that, and that’s what going to drive us to beat them.”
Statistically, the Profs were right there with the Lions.
In terms of shots, Rowan managed 12 compared to its opponent’s 15. They had 11 corners, three more than TCNJ had.
Had the brown and gold been able to pull out the victory, it would have been the first time in seven meetings that they would have won against TCNJ.
Now at 12-7, all the team can do is sit, wait and hope that they put together a good enough resume to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. However, without having any marquee wins on the year, the chances are slim.
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