National Ranking Improves to 23!!
In a game worthy of its proximity to Halloween, it had everything one could want in a “Rivalry” game. The game had significance in that a loss for Lehigh would knock the defending Patriot League champions out of the playoffs. Lafayette was riding a 7 game win streak and wanted the momentum for the post season and Lehigh had won the last 3 rivalry encounters in close games.
The styles of play could not be more different, Lehigh was a forward leaning team taking aggressive chances while Lafayette played a more elegant skill dominant game. The danger for Lehigh was to over commit while Lafayette had to be aware of interceptions and hard tackling.
The first half was a probing affair as each side looked for openings, Lafayette was to use either long passes to break open their offense and Lehigh looked for interceptions to get to the circle and set up penalty corners.
At the end of the first half, Lehigh was given a green card, which left the Leopards with a player advantage at the beginning of the third quarter!! But after one minute, a referee got a non contact injury, which required that a new official be called to come and substitute. Thankfully, the game continued after about a 1/2 hour delay. Lehigh retired to their locker room during the delay, while Lafayette was content to stay on the field and practice!
Once the game restarted, Lafayette executed a game changing effort. At 32:42 Josephine van Wijk broke the 0-0 stalemate with assists from Lineke Spaans and India Ralph during a corner. No one in the stands at that moment thought a 1-0 lead would be enough, and at 40:13 Naomi George fixed that with the first goal of her career, an unassisted strike.
That final goal from Lafayette would prove to be needed, as Lehigh would score with about six minutes left in the game. Avery Ice connected with an assist from Julia Gatelein. At 57:53 Lehigh pulled their goal keeper in a last ditch effort it tie the score, but Lafayette rose to the occasion. All during the third and fourth quarters Lafayette continued to attack and had several scoring opportunities go unconnected.
The Leopards were rewarded in the end, with a rise in the Field Hockey Corner’s RPI ranking to 23 in the nation…the highest in the Patriot League. It should be noted that is 23 in ALL of division one The team, their fans and parents celebrated with an outstanding tailgate under a tent in the Lehigh parking lot. The last game of the regular season is Sunday against Temple.
Go Pards!!!
Lafayette College Field Hockey 