By Nick Dench
The Quinnipiac Bobcats (8-5, 1-0 MAAC) defeated the Sacred Heart Pioneers (4-8, 0-1 MAAC) 4-1 in the first MAAC game for each team. While this win was a milestone for the field hockey program, it was overshadowed by the individual milestone of Jess Rusin (Garwood, N.J.)
Rusin scored her ninth goal of the season for her program record 32nd career goal, passing Heather Cady ’01 on the all-time goals list. Rusin brought the ball into the circle on the counter attack, wound up and fired the ball past the outstretched leg of goalie Mary Altepeter to put the Bobcats up 3-1. Rusin thought the goal was the record-tying goal and found out a couple minutes after scoring the goal that she had broken the record.
“It feels amazing,” Rusin said, smiling. “I’m kind of relieved.”
After the game against Yale, Rusin said breaking the record was on her mind a little more than she would have liked it to be.
The coaching staff recruited Rusin knowing that she would be a scorer. She turned out better than the coaching staff could have hoped.
“She just put herself in her own category,” head coach Becca Main said as she blinked back tears. “She put herself in her own level and she has actually fulfilled all of the dreams I had for her and I think the dreams that she wanted, so it was a wonderful thing to see.”
Rusin also moved three points closer to the all-time points record, also held by Cady, with the goal and an assist on the Bobcats’ first goal of the game. Rusin received a pass from Amanda Danziger (Smithtown, N.Y.) on one of the Bobcats’ 15 penalty corners and slipped the ball to Jennalise Taylor (Yardley, Pa.) who fired the ball into the back of the cage to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later the Pioneers answered after the ball found Stephanie Frye’s stick on a broken play at the top of the circle and she put it past a diving Megan Conaboy (Clarks Summitt, Pa.). The 1-1 scored was carried into halftime behind the strong defense and goaltending of the Pioneers.
Quinnipiac broke through in the second half on a corner with the ball being cycled around the top of the circle to Danziger, who dropped the ball off to Megan Osantisch (Harwinton, Conn.) who one-timed the pass into the far corner of the net.
The Bobcats would not look back from that goal and continued to put pressure on the Pioneers and added two more goals late in the second half including Rusin’s record breaker. Quinnipiac returns to MAAC competition on Friday against the Robert Morris Colonials.
