Two seniors opened up the scoring in the first half against Fairfield this afternoon and two freshmen finished the day in the second half to give the Leopards a decisive 4-0 win. This raises Lafayette to 3-1 on the year, It was their second shutout of the season. The afternoon was mild, as the Leopards stepped onto the Fairfield turf for the first time in 15 years. They made for a memorable afternoon as senior Ellen Colbourne opened the scoring, using her blazing speed, running up the right side of the field, outdistancing her Fairfield defender. She found herself all alone just inside the circle and saw her chance, launching a shot to the goalie’s right side before the goal keeper realized the ball was coming her way. The 1-0 lead was established with only 7:04 having run off the clock. It wasn’t until 15 minutes had past, when freshman Anna Steps found senior Kaitlyn Ewing near the cage, and delivered a perfect pass allowing Ewing to deftly deflect it past the goalie for the 2-0 lead.
The field was a dry one compared the wet turf the Leopards were used to. In addition, in the first half, the East West lay out of the Fairfield turf had the east goalie looking into the sun. The Fairfield goalie in the first period, was on the east side was and gave the Leopard offense a slight advantage nullifying the the dry turf surface..
In the second half, the positions were reversed, but the sun was no hindrance, as Grace Angelella found an opening during a scrum in front of the cage and lifted the ball over the goal keepers stick, sending the Leopards to a dominating 3-0 lead. With less than 5 minutes to go in the game, the Stags were trying to clear the ball out of the circle and Sophie Carr, using her speed and athletic ability, jumped and blocked the ball, delivering a goal to the surprised Fairfield goal keeper.
The Leopards led in shots 13-8, while goal keeper Sara Park made 4 saves, including a spectacular save coming out of the cage cutting off the attackers shot and progress. There were few corners with Fairfield getting 4 and Lafayette 3. The Leopards, especially early, seemed to have difficulty with the bouncy turf on the corners.
Obviously pleased with the offensive output, Coach Stone was especially thrilled with her defense which held the Stags at bay all afternoon and started many counter attacks. It was a fine afternoon of hockey as all parts were in sync.
The Leopards will have a day of rest before taking on the Drexel Dragon’s at home on sunday, scheduled to be live streamed at 1 o’clock as they begin a three game home stand!!
Lafayette College Field Hockey 