Month: August 2025

Fragomeni Is The Bomb In 2-0 Shutout Of Drexel

If there is goalkeeper that had a better weekend let me know. Raffi Fragomeni had two shutouts, and each day she had to defend against a penalty stroke…dispatching both, preserving the shutouts. Today against Drexel she had…count them ….9 saves preserving her perfect weekend.

Drexel, who is favored to win the CAA this year, did not go down easily, taking 15 shots, and earning 7 corners. Lafayette’s young and deep team was up to the task. They made their shots count and use their extraordinary depth to bring in the win.

The Leopards had 6 shots, and two of them found the back of the cage. The first came at 37:03 into the game after a scoreless first half. Sophomore Laila Pasic delivered, with the assist from captain and senior Mackenzie Switzer. The ball was delivered from the right side across the goal mouth and picked up by Pasic who got her first goal of the year. She was scoring goals all preseason, and finally delivered one that counted!!

A 1-0 lead did not seem enough as Drexel pressed to try to even the score. That 3rd period saw the Dragons get 5 penalty corners to 2 from the Leopards Drexel also had 8 shots to 3. It was at 39:37 that Drexel looked as though they might tie things up when they were awarded a penalty stroke…mere feet away… the stroker did her best, and Fragomeni batted it away. It was the turning point.

Lauren Kurek gets first goals of career
Lauren Kurek get first goal of her career

The fourth period saw no shots for Drexel but two for Lafayette. There were no penalty corners for either side. The victory was sealed by freshman Lauren Kurek who got her first goal of her career at 47:25 into the game. The Leopards then used their depth using 20 players to wear down the very game Drexel Dragons.

Feline Reusken competes for the ball

Lafayette is now 2-0, having dispatched two preseason favorites to win the NEC and CAA respectively. They will play Longwood (1-1) on Friday who lost to Richmond 0-3 and beat Queens 3-1 and Sunday will travel to Williamsburg to meet William and Mary on Sunday at noon. They are 0-2 having lost to American and Old Dominion.

Leopards Handle The Stags For Opening Day Win

Raffi is a wall against Fairfield

Opening day is always a nervous affair. Both teams were champions of their respective conferences and picked to repeat. So aside from the normal incentive to add a “W” to the record, each team was sort of defending the honor of the Patriot League and the Northeast Conference respectively . Both were in the NCAA playoffs and lost to their opponent by one goal.

Lafayette’s DPC sprints to meet Fairfield

Lafayette countered everything Fairfield threw at them and some individual and team heroics resulted in a 2-0 early season win. Although outshot 16-10 and out cornered 8-2 the Leopards always came with a solution.

The opening goal happened at 9;07 into the game with Josephine van Wick teaming up with Linda Nova who delivered a deflection into the cage past the Fairfield goalie. The first quarter saw the Stags out shooting the Leopards 4-1 and it was up to Lafayette goaltender, Raffi Fragomeni to demonstrate why she was selected as preseason goalkeeper of the year. The second period, the Leopards turned it around by outshooting the Stags 3-7. and the Stags countered with more aggressive play however, resulting in a penalty stroke at 20:33 delivered by Captain Stella Malinowski. That made the score 2-0 which would hold until the end.

Stella Malinowski receives appreciation from her teammates

Lafayette could not coast for the rest of the game as Fairfield was to renew and refresh their efforts with a 7-1 margin in shots in the third quarter and a 4-0 stretch in penalty corners. It required defensive heroics, including a defensive save by Lena Thedrian to preserve the shutout at the end.

At 54:47 Fairfield pulled their goalkeeper, but Lafayette’s defense held strong, and was to prevail despite a yellow card on Lafayette’s van Wijk.

Lafayette unloads a shot

Lafayette’s depth was a factor using 20 players during the game while Fairfield only used 15. The crowd’s official count was 317 bolstered by the men’s lacrosse team.

There will be no rest for the weary as Drexel will come to town, the preseason favorite in the CAA.

An editorial Comment

Last night American beat up on William and Mary 10-0 and Syracuse rolled over Loch Haven 15-0. Although both teams seem to have been substituting liberally, I don’t think either outcome demonstrates any sportsmanship, or helps the game in general. ( American’s goalkeeper was in the whole 60 minutes) American will face Duke on Sunday and Syracuse will play Fairfield.

Stags Travel To Lafayette To Meet In Opener On Friday

First year coach Laura Gebhart will bring her roster of 25 to Rappolt Field to challenge the PL champion Leopards on Friday at 6 pm. Both teams qualified for the NCAA tournament last year by winning their respective conference tournaments. Both lost in the first round by one goal. Fairfield to Delaware 2-1 and Lafayette to national runner up St. Joseph 1-0.

The Stags will return a veteran squad with 6 newcomers, as far as I can tell. Payton Rahn, their starting GK with a .87 goals against average and 30 saves, returns as a graduate student fifth year. Lafayette GK Raffi Fragomeni had a .77 save percentage. Leading Fairfield scorer number 17, Konni Hofman also returns for her senior year, as will second ranked scorer 5′ 9″ Alice Pifferi from Newark, Delaware number 21. Their second ranked scorer, Rylee Laloup number 5, had 7 goals as did Hofman

Last year, the Stags had 48 goals on 278 shots for 2.29 goals per game average. Their opponents had 25 goals on 174 shots for a 1.19 goals against average. The Leopards had 42 goals on 292 shots while opponents had 23 goals on 173 shots. So on paper, it looks like a low scoring game with whomever brings their offensive production to be the eventual winner.

Lafayette had 137 penalty corners while Fairfield had 140 corners. Lafayette allowed 104 while Fairfield allowed 105. Expect aggressive Stag play as they suffered 25 cards during last season.

Lafayette probably had a higher RPI but Gebhart seems to have spiced up their OTC schedule by adding UCONN and several Ivy teams. Last year, they lost to Lehigh 0-2 and beat Holy Cross 5-0. Their away record was 3-6 and home record was 8-2 while they were 1-1 at neutral sites.

It’s an appropriate game, on a favorable venue for the Leopards for an opening season contest. I expect a good turnout for this Friday night , hoping for an early aggressive start by the Leopards.

Talent, Tempo, And Training

In a frenzied tempo the Leopards opened the last competition with a hint of what this team could be during the regular season. Ranked nationally by the NCAA, using last year’s RPI the number 22 Leopards pushed the 18th ranked Great Danes on their heals. They opened scoring and got out to an early lead. I’m not going into great detail but to these eyes this is a team that could go far.

The scary thing is they can get better. They are fast, skilled and show great determination. There. is new talent and old talent, and Coach Stone is putting together a team that could go far this year. Albany was no slouch this afternoon, and yes they rebounded and evened the score later on, but if our Maroon and White numbers on the field can sustain what I saw early on, the 22 ranking could turn into something amazing.

First up will be Fairfield on Friday. First games are always tough but this one comes with Fairfield’s new coach Laura Gebhart’s initial attempt to get her first win. Laura is the former Penn State star all American and. later on Associate Coach. I am sure Coach Stone will have our Leopards ready for the challenge.

The talent is there as Leopards have four preseason all league players and they are picked to win the League title. No doubt the early season will see the Leopards with a big target on their back which means they will need to show their talent using high tempo while relying on their training to see them through….I can’t wait for the opening whistle!

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Pards Roll In Second Exhibition Game

Flying Upfield

In the second game of the preseason Lafayette avenged a spring defeat by the Monmouth Hawks. On the backs of an already stout defense Lafayette came from behind with only 1 minute 49 seconds left on the clock. The Leopards had pulled their goal keeper with 4 minutes to go in the game and were able to take control with about 2 minutes left turning around a Monmouth attack. The Leopards managed to get to the attacking circle earning a penalty corner.

Rather than try to be fancy, the feed from Linda Nova. went directly to Lena Thedrian who delivered a rocket to the back of the net, the game ended after regulation time and they went to overtime. At about 4 minutes in to overtime Laila Pasic tipped in her second goal of the preseason sealing a victory.

Katie Gibb goes for the ball

Since this was practice game, play continued for the remainder of the 10 minute period. Both teams retired and began to set up for shoot out practice. Although it wasn’t as sharp as they would have liked they put in more goals than the Hawks.

Olivia Krey stands up Monmouth player

Lena Thedrian again had a very good game making multiple defensive saves while scoring the equalizer with less than two minutes left. Sophmore Laila Pasic continues to find the back of net in this preseason.

Lauren Kurek puts it into high gear

I don’t want to diminish the effort by the rest of the team as all games are a team effort and our Leopards continue to look deep and skilled. However, this is not the regular season yet and these game don’t count and the team is going to get better……and so are their opponents.

Next up is Albany on Sunday, another stern test for the Leopards!!

Is It Time ” To Fear The Leopards?”

I hate to be so optimistic even before the season starts, but this may have been one of best Lafayette teams at this point that I have observed. It is a team that is determined to work together. Their passes are going where their teammate is going to be rather than the receiver having to wait for the ball. The transition game is well in place, and best of all they are not going to be intimidated.

As the game progressed things started to get a little chippy and the official warned players that continued play like that would lead to players removed from the game. Penn State’s offense begins with a hard one on one defense to start play. The Leopards did not back away and I had the feeling the 1-5 loss last year to the Nittany Lions was imprinted on their minds.

Oh, there were mistakes, but this team is going to get even better and they are scary deep! There is deep enthusiasm in their play. After the game it was obvious they had their confidence raised. Did I mention the score….1-1 and it was no fluke.

Penn State opened the scoring in the second period on a hard shot on a difficult angle. Lafayette scoring happened in the third period with intense action in front of the goal with Laila Pasic delivering the goal on an assist by Josephine van Wijk. There was strong defensive action also and one point Lena Thedrian had a defensive save.

Raffi Fragomeni started the game and Addison Kahn came in the during the second half at goal. In a practice session of shootouts both GK faired well making several key stops and Leopards prevailed with a two goal advantage at the end

I was impressed, as well with the newcomers who looked like veteran players. I am excited. Next up will be Monmouth on Tuesday at home at 1 pm. I am hoping to see further progress…Monmouth is a very solid team!!

Leopards Begin Training To Defend Title

In a brisk, sharp, practice, under the August sun, the Lafayette Leopards are hard at work honing their skills, to make another run at a league title, and a place in the national tournament. To these eyes, the dedication and enthusiasm is there, and the coaching staff is making sure they will be ready.

The first test for this team who are showing extraordinary depth, will be at Penn State on Friday. It will be a strong baptism for this team that finished ranked in the top 20 in the nation last year!!! They will be playing the Nittany Lions a nationally ranked team in the tough Big Ten conference. They will be meeting the Lions during the regular season at Lafayette, and will be hosting an Olympic fundraising clinic after the game. It features clinic coaches who have had Olympic experience.

Leaders consult at end of practice

During practice, the team showed good speed, and given the early season, showed good decision making skills. It’ll be especially interesting for the new players, number 2 Addison Ford from Malvern, Pa,number 9 Lauren Kurek from Collegeville Pa, number 20 Katie Ambrose from Newark, Del, number 21 Feline Reusken from Voorsburg, Netherlands, number 25 Roselie van Gool from Saint-Michielegestel, Netherlands, number 27 Linda Nova from Prague, Czech Republic and number 98 Campbell Lemmink from Yorktown Va. Together with the other 20 team members, this team will be deep and talented.

Depth is an emerging strength

The team has benefited from the new construction adjacent to the field hockey field, housing the Lacrosse teams. There is a fully equipped strength facility which is being used. Improvements to the FH stadium area still await approval of plans by the township!! As the winningest team on campus, we all hope that we can move forward soon!!

Coach Stone, who is entering her 13th season at the helm, will be joined by last year’s assistants Jop Beuger in his 3rd season, and Meghan Reese in her second season.

Aside from winning the conference, the Leopards ( and their fans) would love to see the PL tournament at home. So winning each Patriot League game is important, and a key game with American is circled for Friday Oct 3rd in DC. Perennial power Syracuse and Penn State will strengthen an already strong schedule with Fairfield, Drexel, Longwood,William and Mary, Temple, Dartmouth, Quinnipiac, New Hampsire and Delaware providing non league challenges!!

Aside from the Penn State exhibition there will be games with Monmouth and Albany to prepare for the opening game with Fairfield on August 29th at 6pm at home. The game will be covered by ESPN streaming service.