Appalachian State put on gritty hard fought contest, but in the end it was key goals by Caroline Turnbull at 9:41 in the first half and the insurance goal by Cody Hunsicker in the 18 the minute of the second half that preserved the win for the Leopards. In addition, the Leopards showed a stout defense that State found hard to penetrate. Goalie Sarah Park was excellent in goal turning back 7 of 8 shots. For the season, Park has a 90 percent save percentage.
It was in the second half that Lafayette was most dominant. Lafayette had 13 shots to App. State’s 4, and out cornered them 9-2. For the whole game Lafayette held a 20-14 shot advantage, and 10-8 in shots on goal, while also out cornering them`10-6. Lafayette’s Ellen Colbourne led the Leopards with 8 shots including one which hit the post.
Turnbull’s score came on a first period corner on a rebound in front of the goal. Hunsicker’s second period goal came on a perfectly executed Colbourne to Costello to Hunsicker play, ending with the rocket we are now accustomed to see off her stick. In addition she played a very strong game on defense. She has now scored 2 goals in as many games, tied with teammate Rosie Shanks who made several key plays reversing and stopping the opponents counter attack.
It would be hard to single anyone else out, but as we witnessed against Hofstra, this was a team effort. Van der Geest was solid, Ana Steps was able to earn several corners, and Audrey Sawer made several key plays.
At the end of the game with less than 1 minute to play Lafayette was to get a green card leaving them one short on the field. Appalachian State was to simultaneously pull their goalie in the hopes of getting a tying score, but the Leopard defense was to hold fast to end the game and preserve the win as Ellen Coulbourne controlled the ball as the buzzer sounded..
The game was played during a steady drizzle with 60 degree temperatures to enhance the fall like environment. It was hard to believe that Appalachian State lost a game to Georgetown 8-0, as they showed themselves to be a much tougher opponent than that game would indicate. That game was played on field turf at Georgetown which may explain the anomaly. On Friday night they lost to JMU 4-0 having played them to a 0-0 tie for much of the first half.
The Leopards have little time to relax as they will play JMU at 2 0’clock tomorrow.
Lafayette College Field Hockey 