Month: September 2025

Lafayette Celebrates Senior Day With 5-0 Triumph Over Dartmouth

DPC unit locates the ball

A second half surge sealed the deal on a 5-0 dominating win for Leopards over visiting Dartmouth on a beautiful day for senior celebration. The first half saw the score knotted up 0-0 maybe just to give the fans a little tension. But we all should have known better. After introducing the seniors and their families, the game opened with Dartmouth providing a stout defense for Lafayette’s 9 shots and 3 penalty corners. They successfully jammed the circle and cut off any clear space for Lafayette to operate.

After the half time break, giving the team and the coaches time to come up with a solved strategy, the goals began to come. At 2 1/2 minutes into the second half, Junior Maddie Evans took a feed from senior Josephine van Wijk who had penetrated the defense and started the ball rolling with a nifty deflection into the cage.

Senior Van Wijk penetrates the circle

Lafayette did not have to wait long for the second goal, as less than two minutes later, freshman Rosalie van Gool was to get the first of two goals on the afternoon by freezing the keeper and delivering a solo strike to the back of the net. Her second goal was also unassisted 3 minutes later. that 3rd quarter was to see the Leopards collect 9 shots and 2 penalty corners.

The home team was not done as the fourth quarter was to see more goals from sophomore Mia Freeman from Downingtown with help from Junior Lea Good, and the final goal came from senior Josephine van Wijk with the assists from Junior Stella Malinowski and Junior Katie Gibb.

The stage is set for Senior Day festivities

After the final whistle fans, and the team retired to Kamine Field house to celebrate and honor our amazing seniors Makenzie Switzer, Catalina Rubel, Ellie Barton, Josephine van Wijk, Peyton Guinter, and Raffi Fragomeni. The Juniors roasted the Senior with inside barbs ( most of which I will ignore or don’t want to know).

Juniors entertain fans with a roast of senior teammates

The Leopards ended the day with an 7-3 record and a crucial game upcoming with American in DC on Friday. But that’s for another day…..

Leopards Land On Top Against Bucknell In Overtime Thriller 2-1

It’s a full house of 500 fans

In an evening of very high level and intense hockey, Katie Gibb, and Kiley Gallagher, along with Lena Thedrian, providing two crucial assists, the Leopards delivered another overtime thriller to 501 fans. Never to be counted out, Lafayette fought through 3 periods of pretty even hockey, to finally tie it up with 6 and 1/2 minutes left in the game. It was a penalty corner and a rocket delivered by Thedrian, that found Katie Gibb in front of the goal, who responded with a much needed tip in.

Until then, it was Bucknell’s Reese Czajkowski, with a Gianna Purorro assist on penalty corner of their own at 20:24, that provided Bucknell with the single digit lead. The game had all the feel of a championship effort, and the timing of the equalizer provided the faithful a chance to appreciate the heart of this team.

But tying the score would not be enough, as the game moved to overtime. Bucknell faced a two player shortage in the opening moments of overtime due to two late green cards. For most fans, it seemed that would have sealed the deal, but the Bison’s made it through and at 5 1/2 minutes the Leopards delivered the deciding blow with Kiley Gallagher finding a looping assist from the ever present Lena Thedrian ( who played 64 minutes) ending the game 2-1.

Excitement throughout the game was also provided by Josephine van Wijk, who was limited to 27 minutes nursing a practice injury, but managed to provide one on one penetration to the circle, dribbling through an aggressive defense featuring her strong stick skills.

Again, Lafayette provided a plethora of thrills by the whole team, demonstrating courage and fitness that has captured the appreciation of their many fans.

Having to fight back Lafayette won the tale of the statistics with shots 12-10 (7 coming in the forth and overtime periods) and they out cornered their opponents 4-3 ( Bucknell’s corners were all in the first half). Fragomeni had another solid performance in the cage with four big saves!!

The team will receive their championship rings from last year and be honored at the football game on Saturday. Sunday they will meet Dartmouth at home, in pursuit of their 7th win and travel next Friday to American!!

Leopards Pounce On Lions In 2 OT Win

It’s a full house of 700 fans

You would think an overtime time win filled with drama and action would be easy to write, but as I type this I find it hard to convey how this was a team effort! Yes there were some individual heroics, which I will describe later, but I want to leave the reader with the impression of how much every player, and every coach, contributed to the outcome…there were no small efforts this afternoon.

Penn State opened the afternoon ranked 16th in the nation. The Leopards had just won an important league game at Lehigh two days before. From the first push off, there was every indication to the capacity level fans in attendance that they were going to be treated to a special event.

The first quarter saw Penn State fend off the first attack and shot by Lafayette’s Lea Good at 1:24 into the contest. However, it only took the Lions 6 minutes to first challenge the Leopards, with a penalty corner which was blocked. The Leopards quickly responded by clearing the ball up field, and earning a corner of their own 30 seconds later. Lena Thedrian, with an assist by Lea Good and Katie Gibb delivered a hard shot to the lower right hand corner putting Lafayette up 1-0. It was then revealed that this was to be no ordinary contest

Lena Thedrian delivers the strike to open Leopard scoring

The Leopards were to lead in shots 3-2 in the first quarter as Penn State was to redouble efforts to get control from their opponents. Raffi Fragomeni was to collect two saves in that half and five during regular time. But at 21:04 Penn State was to even the score as they found an opening to tie the score which was to hold up til the end of the half. The Leopards were to turn away several later attacks and press the Lions on there on. The defensive penalty corner team was especially effective turning away three corners.

The third quarter showed no slowing of action as Penn State was to get 2 more shots and the Leopards responding with one of their own. One shot was to be a penalty stroke which was earned on an unlucky foot penalty during a defense in front of the goal. It was 2-1 at that point.

Fatigue was beginning to show in the fourth quarter as cards were being issued to both sides. However, even then, Lafayette looked in better shape. Lafayette used 11 substitutes and Penn State used 7. Coach Stone was to pull her goalie with five minutes to go as Maddie Evans came in for Fragomeni, With 45 seconds left in regulation time, Lafayette earned a corner. Penn State asked for a video review which was unsuccessful. Stella Malinowski had taken the shot. In a scrambled melee in front of the goal Lauren Kurek found the ball and delivered the tying goal with 37 seconds left on the clock.

Fragomeni returned for the final seconds and we went to overtime.

Fragomeni and the defense was outstanding as, during the two overtimes they turned away six Penn State shots which included a five minute period of working off a 5 minute penalty corner suffered by Stella Malinowski. Kiley Gallagher was especially active as was Josephine van Wijk who was able to penetrate the defensive end of Penn State challenging them. The working off of the yellow card was heroic and seemed to inspire the team and their fans!! Penn State was to get off six shots but only earned one corner which was successfully defended. Lafayette had 3 shots and 2 corners.

The game went to a shoot out. Stella Malinowski got the first goal and Penn State got their first after a retry. All the subsequent shots by Lafayette and Penn State were missed or turned away. Raffi Fragomeni was to show her experience by aggressively turning away three shots and swiping away the ball. On the fifth try by Lafayette’s Lea Good, she connected. Penn State’s Joji Purdy was cut off by Fragomeni on their last try and the team stormed the senior goalkeeper in celebrating the win.

Leopards Leap Over The Hawks 3-0

In a perfect evening setting, the Leopards attack penalty corner unit scored three times, combined with another shut out from Raffi Fragomeni, to roll to a Patriot League 3-0 win. Fans had to wait until the second quarter for the first points to be scored. With 10 seconds left to play in the half Patriot League preseason offensive player of the year Stella Malinowski earned the goal, with a strike assisted by Mia Freeman ( who also had thee shots of her own during the game).

The third period was hotly contested, though Lafayette had 7 shots to Lehigh’s 3. Coach Stone used her deep bench, substituting 11 players to Lehigh’s three, and clearly by the fourth quarter the Leopards began to wear on the Mountain Hawks. Until the fourth quarter the 1-0 lead was becoming wearisome. However, three minutes into the fourth quarter Josephine van Wijk, who may have had the best game of her career, made it 2-0, off a penalty corner with the assist of Lea Good and Katie Gibb. Josephine was all over the field, and was slashing through the Lehigh midfield leading the offense all evening.

The coup de grace was a goal by Kiley Gallagher assisted by Lena Thedrian on a penalty corner with no time left on the clock. The Leopards also dominated the stat sheet with 21 shots to 5, corners 7 to 3, and Fragomeni had a perfect 2 save evening, while Kate Burgess the Lehigh goalkeeper was forced to save 10 shots.

Afterwards, the Leopards and their fans retired to a well deserved tailgate at a discreet location near the field to receive congratulations from their fans. Although fan attendance was only 384 there was a solid contingent of enthusiastic partisans there to motivate the team!!

The next game will be at home on Sunday against Penn State. The Leopards will next pit their league record against Bucknell on the 26th at 6pm. They are scheduled to be recognized at the Lafayette Princeton game the following day after receiving their championship rings!!

Beware The Brown

Naomi has first goal of her career unassisted against Lehigh

While conducting some research for this article I decided to watch last week’s game between Lehigh and Monmouth. Having read the statistics for Lehigh I prematurely came to the wrong conclusion. This game was hard fought by Lehigh, and not decided until the final seconds. Lehigh led for a bit, but much like Lafayette’s game with Syracuse had a crucial penalty stroke swinging the momentum to Monmouth’s favor.

Lehigh did not have the stats in their favor. They had less shots, less APC’s, and less time with the ball, as they battled a more athletic opponent. They were in the game until the very end, having taken advantage of the opportunities they did have in the 4-5 loss.

Maddie Evans eludes a Monmouth defender
Olivia Krey stands up Monmouth player

Number 15, Kiki Mes, their captain, is the real deal as she was involved in every important play on the field. The Leopards must mark her well. I am reminded of a game several years ago at Lehigh that was decided in overtime, breaking a long losing streak against Lafayette. There again, it was the less athletic team winning, in a game that on paper should have gone the other way. But the game is played on turf not paper.

The statistical trail points in favor of the Maroon. Lehigh comes in with a 1-4 record having lost all of their last four games. Lafayette is 3-3 with a strength of schedule ( according to hockey corner) higher than the Mountain Hawks, Lafayette takes more shots and scores more goals, 13/69 vs 8/58. However, as can be seen, their shot percentage is higher. Lehigh has more penalty corners 19/18 and they have more penalty strokes taken…… 3 vs 1.

In the goal, the Leopards have an advantage, Kate Burgess has a .667 save percentage, while Raffi Fragomeni has a .77 save percentage. Opponents seem to score the most against Lehigh in the first and third and fourth quarters. For Lafayette the fourth quarter has seen the most goals scored against them. Both teams have their opponents get more penalty corners.

So this fan believes Lafayette, having the stronger schedule, and deeper bench can leave the turf with a W. Getting off a strong start and getting more corners would be helpful. The Leopard’s must mark Mes well. Lehigh has the more difficult task of covering multiple goal scorers and if the Leopards start getting APC’s early, it could be trouble for the Mountain Hawks. The Leopards having an early lead, and taking control by the fourth quarter is a path to victory!!

However, this a rivalry game, on opponents turf…not to be taken lightly!!

Leopards Battle With Number 5 Syracuse But Stumbled In The End

Josephine van Wijk speeds past Syracuse

Yes, in the end it was a 2-5 loss but our Leopards for much of the game were going toe to toe with perhaps the toughest opponent of the regular season. At 1:57 van Wijk stunned the Syracuse visitors with goal putting Lafayette up 1-0. Wijk delivered without an assist and expertly drove the ball passed the stunned Orange goal keeper. It would take Syracuse 5 minutes to find the equalizer from Graduate Student Bo van Kempen with the assist of Pati Strunk and Lana Hamilton.

First year Rosilie van Gool puts Lafayette ahead 2-1

The tie held up until Roselie van Gool with the help of Lea Good and Katie Gibb put Lafayette ahead 2-1 at the half. At that point, Syracuse led in shots 11-4, but Raffi Fragomeni stood tall having six saves to 2 for Syracuse. Lafayette showed much of the determination and skill that emerged in the preseason. I was also impressed with the play of Lena Thedrian whose strong presence in the backfield and was starting much of the offense with long accurate passes.

However, it was the two penalty strokes by Van kempen in the third and fourth quarter that was to prove the Leopards undoing. Despite all that, there were moments that showed the Leopards determination and heart. I saw long strong and accurate passes, a defense that sparkled at times, and effort that if continued will serve this team well for the 2/3rd of the the season to go!

This first third of the season has prepared for the Leopards for a championship run at a second League championship. I still believe this team has extraordinary talent that will be refined when the “second act” begins its quest to host the championship tournament. That second act opening curtain is against Lehigh at Lehigh on Friday night. What a better way to start than to get that W against the “Brown from Bethlehem.” SIX PM BE THERE!

I will preview the game later in the week!

Leopards Beaten On First Period Goal By Temple 1-0

In a 60 minute defensive battle the Leopards came up short 1-0 in a game in Philadelphia. Lafayette’s stingy defense played well as Lena Thedrian returned to the lineup. This Leopard team is as good as any between the twenties, moving the ball with great speed and accuracy.

Lena back in the lineup

The Leopards had their chances outshooting the owls 7-6 but each shot missed the cage at times by inches! There was only one penalty corner in the whole game.. picked up by Temple. The only score of the game came with barely 2 minutes into the first quarter on a redirect.

Minus the one goal, this Leopard team was good enough to win and I am confident as the season progresses the key will be unlocked. In the meantime Syracuse looms on Sunday and then on Friday the opening league game with Lehigh will need the back of the Lehigh cage filled with Leopard shots.

I have been traveling for the US Field Hockey Foundation raising money for the 28 Olympics. Next Sunday when Penn State comes to Rappolt the Foundation will be sponsoring a clinic that will benefit that effort. Former Olympians will be in attendance to give young players tips and instruction starting at 8 am. Details can be found on instagram.

Leopards Coast In 6-0 Victory Against Longwood

Lauren Kurek fights for her goal in the first perio

Lafayette remains undefeated and unsecured upon this young season and the Leopards left Farmville, Va with a convincing 6-0 victory. The offense was active, having scored the 6 goals on 28 shots and an 8-4 advantage in penalty corners. The Leopards wasted little time getting their first score. Rosalie van Gool scored a mere 3 minutes into the game executing a penalty corner from the top of the circle with Stella Malinowski and Linda Nova providing the assist.

Eight and one half minutes later first year Laren Kurek took an assist from Malinowski and scored a gritty goal off of two deflected shots to put Lafayette up by two goals.

The second period was much the same story as the Leopards had a 9-0 advantage in shots and 2-0 advantage in penalty corners. The result was a goal from Maddie Evans assisted by Kurek.

Shots continued in the third quarter as a 6-0 advantage in shots translated into a nifty goal at 35:23 by Lea Good as she eliminated a defender in the circle and took a reverse stick shot to make it 4-0.

The coaching staff substituted liberally and the result was 2 additional goals in the fourth, At 46:01 Linda Nova stole the ball inside the circle and delivered a strike..5-0. Lea Good got her second goal of the afternoon off an assist by Josephine vanWijk. at 58:10.

All game long Lafayette demonstrated teamwork and speed especially considering the long bus ride to Virginia!! There were several players on the sideline nursing injuries from the previous week’s play. There is no reason to believe they will not return to action soon.

The Leopards will take a two hour ride to Williamsburg to meet William and Mary on Sunday. They have an 0-3 record having lost today to VCU. After that meeting Lafayette will encounter the meat of their schedule, with Temple, Syracuse and Penn State on the horizon. One should not forget our rivalry game with Lehigh on the 19th.

In Patriot League action BU dropped a heartbreaker to Vermont in overtime, Lehigh lost to Wagner 0-2, Holy Cross lost to Providence 1-2, and Bucknell beat St Francis 3-0. Colgate and American were not active today.