Senior Lauren Zimniski’s second career goal was not enough for the Quinnipiac field hockey team as they were beaten by Rider in the NEC Tournament semi-final game on Friday at Ben Cohen Field in Lawrenceville, N.J.

Rider, the nation’s leader in penalty corners, scored twice by that very way. Its first goal came just fifteen minutes in when Gabby Burgo sent a shot past Bobcat goalkeeper Nicole Lewis to give Rider the early advantage. Sandra Penas and Marlaine Schneider were credited with an assist each.

With nine minutes to play in the first half Burgo scored another goal by way of the corner. Allison Muschs fired a shot towards Lewis and Burgo redirected the shot into the back of the net giving the Broncs a 2-0 lead.

The lone goal for Quinnipiac was from midfielder Zimniski in the opening minutes of the second half. After Rider’s Schneider was called for a green card, giving Quinnipiac the player advantage, Zimniski chipped the ball over goalkeeper Joelle Prettyman off of a corner to cut the lead to only one point. Last week Zimniski was awarded with her second All-NEC honor of her career.

That was as close as the Bobcats got, however, as Muschs and Penas each scored a goal of their own late in the contest to propel Rider to the NEC Tournament Championship.

For Quinnipiac, Lewis made 13 saves on the afternoon including numerous diving and rebound stops. She recently won NEC Goalkeeper of the Year.

For the third season in a row Rider will meet with Monmouth in the NEC Tournament finals. With the win, Rider has now appeared in 10 of the last 12 NEC Championship games.