Women's College Soccer
Rider University 3, Delaware State University 0
DOVER, DE- As the great wise man, Yogi Berra, once said, "You can observe a lot by watching."
Last year Rider sophomore Abi Cottam (Leominster, England/Ludlow) observed a lot by watching, even with an injured eye ball, and this year is ready to establish herself as an All-Conference level player.
Cottam scored three goals to lead Rider to its first victory of the 2010 season, defeating Delaware State Wednesday night. "Abi did well," said Rider head coach Drayson Hounsome. "She had a good outing. It has been some time since a Rider player had a hat trick."
The last time a Bronc scored three goals in a game was Tami Coyle in 2003 vs. Robert Morris.
"Sitting out gave me a chance to see how I could help the team," said Cottam, who missed August and September of 2009 with an eye injury sustained on a head ball in the preseason workouts. "It helped me see how I could make the team better."
Cottam played in the final eight games of the 2009 season, beginning the very day she was medically cleared to practice and at the end of the year still shared the team lead in assists.
"It was very frustrating sitting out last year, having to watch" Cottam said. "But watching did help. I wasn't shocked at the speed and how physical the college game is (as many freshmen are) because I had seen it. Once I was fit I was ready for it."
"Not having a player like her last year hurts you," Hounsome said of the 2009 season. "When you do have a player like her, it obviously helps you. Having her here healthy this year is definitely preferable. Abi is an aggressive player who is hard working. She takes people on and is a good shooter."
All three of Cottam's shots at Delaware State were on goal.
The victory was the first of the season for Rider (1-1-2). "We're real happy about getting that first win," Hounsome said. "We played a real solid game. Del. State never stopped working."
Cottam scored 16 minutes into the game on an assist from sophomore Meghan Mohr (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem) and made it 2-0 just six minutes later on a goal assisted by freshman Bridgette Bartkowski (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) and sophomore Kaitlin Wylie (Croydon, Pa./Pennsbury).
"It is a really good feeling to play early in the season, unlike last year," said Cottam, who as a member of the Aston Villa Ladies was on the English Schools National Championship teams in 2003, 2004 and 2007.
'It was good that we were able to break them down in the first half," Hounsome said. "It was a good win, a comfortable win."
Cottam recorded the "true" hat trick (three consecutive goals) in the 32nd minute with an unassisted goal.
Rider out-shot Del State (0-7) 12-5. Rider had nine shots on goal to Del State's four.
Rider senior goalkeeper Alex Post (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks West) made three saves.
Sophomore Jenn Nichols (Stratham, N.H./Exeter) played the final 32 minutes of the game, making one save.
Rider is 4-0 against Delaware State, including a 2-0 Rider win last season in Lawrenceville.
Rider plays the first-ever night game on the Lawrenceville campus Friday, hosting FDU. The festivities begin at 7pm with speeches and ribbon-cutting on the new lighted turf field, with game-time around 7:30 pm.
"We'll enjoy the win now," Hounsome said Wednesday night after the game, "and on the way back we'll begin our focus on Friday, trying to keep this unbeaten streak (three games 1-0-2) going. We'll work on improving our performance and get another win Friday night."
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