In past year’s Lehigh has been a step along the way. Not any longer. The game this Friday is as close to a must win game as can be. Lafayette has no w’s in the win column in the Patriot League with 4 games left. Lehigh in recent years has improved and become a real challenge in the League. To date they have not won one Patriot League game and lost one to Boston 1-4. A loss to the Leopards would put them to 0-2 with Bucknell, American, Colgate and Holy Cross to play. A win by Lafayette would make them 1-2 in the League with Boston, Colgate and Holy Cross to play.
To my mind, it is four wins that is the magic number to just about assure a place in the tournament. Lafayette seems to have had the tougher schedule with an impressive recent win against Princeton. The Bucknell loss was problematic as I have previously written. The other loss was an OT loss to American.
The Leopards must find their offense. To date, they have 13 goals to Lehigh’s 21. It looks like Raffi Fragomeni has earned the GK spot with a 72 % save percentage while the veteran GK at Lehigh, Maddie Kahn has a 69 % save percentage. Lehigh’s leading shot taker is Sarah Bothuis with 7 goals on 47 shots, with next highest shot taker, Abbe Brown with 16 shots.
Lafayette’s leading shot taker is Molly McAndrew with 16 shots and 3 goals with Spanns following with 17 shots and 2 goals. As is typical with Lafayette teams, shots and goals can come from anywhere on the field.
The Lafayette defense is very solid, led by Simone Hefting who also has three defensive saves.
The Leopards must keep the ball in Lehigh’s end and earn corners while shutting down Bothuis. The game is at home with video review possible!!
I believe in the skill and heart of this team and a home game in front of friendly fans should serve them well. This team and coaches deserve support. After the outstanding win at Princeton there is plenty for Lehigh to try to be ready for. We can do this!!
Lafayette College Field Hockey 