Month: October 2026

Lafayette Extends Record to 13-2 Off A 6-0 Win Against William And Mary

Lafayette advanced their home undefeated record before 368 fans with 6-0 dominating display against the Tribe of William and Mary. The Leopards had 28 shots against 3 for their opponents and led 6-2 in penalty corners using one of their corners to deliver the initial blow by sophomore Rosalie van Gool assisted by Juniors Mia Freeman and Olivia Krey. Freeman added to the board 11 minutes later with a goal of her own making the score 2-0.

Despite an effort by the Tribe to get back into the game Senior Maddie Evans sent a message with less than 4 minutes left in the half by delivering an unassisted strike leaving a 3-0 lead at the half.

The crowd was treated to an introduction of the 2011 -12 PL Champions. They were accompanied by a least 7 potential recruits aged from 6 months to 5 years. Our friends and parents were relieved to see each other looking better than ever!!

Maddie Evans continued where she left off in the first half with a solo strike at 9:44. Evans continued in the fourth with an assist for classmate Stella Malinowski delivered the 5th goal with 7 1/2 minutes to go. Coach Stone substituted liberally and second keeper Campbell Lemmink finished the final three minutes of play after Mia Freeman made it 6-0 with her second goal of the day.

There remains two games in the regular season, Brown ( next Sunday) and Boston University on the 30th which will determine the home field for the playoffs. It would great to get a nice crowd for the BU game, 400 or 500 partisans might make a difference.

More to come…

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Lafayette Has Record Day Against Lehigh 11 to 0

Lafayette rolled in an afternoon league and rivalry game against Lehigh. It seemed like Lehigh could do little to stop the steamroller that was the Leopards. The Leopards broke a League and School record that stood since 2002 for the most goals in a single game. That game was against University of Albany in which Lafayette prevailed 10-2. That game was 24 years ago, and Jen Stone, the current Lafayette coach, scored 2 goals that day.

This time it was Rosalie van Gool who scored 9 points with 3 of the goals occurring in the first half. She added three assists in the second half adding to one in the first half. The goal scoring spree was joined by Stella Malinowski with 1, Katie Gibb with 2, Laila Pasic with 1, Lena Thedrian with 2, Emma Maher with 1 and freshman Katie Jackivicz 1 with her first collegiate goal.

Scoring was opened by van Gool with only 2:43 gone in the first period with assists from Gibb and Thedrian on a corner. In fact all three of her hat trick goals were on penalty corners. By the end of the first period it was obvious what the outcome would be with a 4-0 lead. Scoring actually did slow down with 2 goals in the next two quarters finishing with 3 in the fourth . The last score came from Katie Gibb’s second goal with the assist from van Gool at 57:41.

More evidence of Lafayette’s dominance was the 37-2 shot advantage and the 15-1 edge in penalty corners. Lehigh’s goalkeeper had 14 saves, while Lafayette’s Addison Kahn needed to make 2 to preserve the shutout. Lafayette is undefeated at home and in the League.

The home record will be challenged by three games against William and Mary, Brown, and Boston University. The games will be this Sunday, Sunday the 25th, and the regular season finale on Oct 30th, which could definitively determine the home field for the PL tournament. Lafayette has locked in a place in the post season, as has American. The Leopards have also locked in a share of the regular season championship. If Lafayette beats BU, the home field goes to Lafayette. A regular time loss might give the Eagles home field again……….but first things first!

We Are Closing In On The Regular Season Finale..Every Game Is Championship Related

The Leopards traveled to Bucknell and won 2-1 in a crucial League contest, one that if Bucknell lost would eliminate them from the post season tournament for the first time in 17 years. It was apparent that both teams wanted to start with an offensive foot forward. Lafayette had 6 shots to Bucknell’s 0 in the first period and followed that with a 5-2 advantage in the second period. The penalty corner advantage reflected that with Lafayette holding an 8-0 edge.

The Leopards were rewarded with a Lena Thedrian goal at 27:29, giving Lafayette a 1-0 lead at the half. Olivia Krey and Katie Gibb provided the assists.

Bucknell came out determined and turned some of the numbers around but Lafayette got a fourth quarter goal from Linda Nova at 48:54. Facing tournament elimination the Bucknell coaching staff decided to pull their goalkeeper and add an extra field player after Lafayette suffered a yellow card.

However, it wasn’t until 2 1/2 minutes left in the game that the Bison’s were able to find the back of the net. The game ended with a 2-1 win for the Maroon and White. The game was played without video review and given the number of close calls it would have been helpful to both teams. Bucknell has the replay assets, but inexplicably it was inoperable for the game.

The game ended with a 2-1 win for the Maroon and White. The game was played without video review.. I only ask one question…would the Bucknell basket or football team ever play without video review!! I am not criticizing the Bison coaches but their athletic facility management!

Sunday’s game was a defensive battle as much as it was a battle against the elements. The Leopard showed their mettle by turning way the Blue Hens and managing to out shoot Delaware in the overtime period 3-0. It ended in a shootout with Campbell Lemmick stepping between the pipes, as Lafayette shooters delivered the victory. So Where Are We??

So Where Are We??

Lafayette has qualified for the League tournament with only the home field to be decided. Boston is also undefeated with American and Lafayette as its upcoming opponents. Before Boston, Lafayette must play Lehigh. Clearly, if Lafayette wins its remaining games they will host. Boston is the last game Boston is the lasof the regular season. Just to drive you a little crazy here is the tie breaking scheme the League has to decided to use.Boston is the las

  1. Teams are compared based on a weighted point scale where a victory to worth 3 points and an overtime loss is worth 1 point and a regulation loss is worth 0 points.
  2. Out of League Common Opponents : Comparison of records against common non-conference opponents.
  3. Head to head Goal Difffrential: The goal differential between the tied teams with a max cap of 4 per game
  4. Overall League Goal Differential: The total goal differential across all Patriot League games capped at 4.
  5. NCAA RPI rating

I ran the criteria through AI using various scenarios but I’ll let YOU do that. The one point for an overtime loss is a little bizarre. Suffice to say, Lafayette prevailing in the next two League games (Lehigh and Boston) would be satisfactory!!!

Mental Toughness Is Built In October

As we moved to this past weekend in the schedule, we realized how it would demonstrate the mental toughness to challenge for the championship. The Leopards, as they continued to win and climb in polls were beginning to to paint a large target on their back. No longer was Lafayette looking for the upset, but others were looking to upset the Leopards. A win would set the agenda and tone for their season.

This was no more obvious than the battle between American and Lafayette friday night. It was a struggle between rivals for the regular season title and the home turf for the Patriot League tournament. No doubt each coach, Jennings and Stone peeked at earlier season games for a clue to success on Friday. Additionally there was the national rankings as an additional painted target!!!

For most of us fans, it was given that the end result would go to who could successfully navigate the details and make the least mistakes. For most of game it was this cautious respect that would dictate play. The game was played at the midfield interrupted by forays to the circle as openings showed themselves. Goal tending was crucial as Addisson Kahn turned away four shots and Teagan Harmon from American turned away two in five periods of play.

At the end of the fifth period both teams were left standing at 0-0 and would go to a shootout. American had accumulated seven shots ( mostly on corners) and Lafayette had tallied five. Each had two corners apiece. American’s second penalty corner in overtime was a crucial turning point in the game. It was after that it became clear that a shootout was likely.

Each coach, at the end the overtime period would designate their shooter for the overtime, but it was Coach Stone who was to change her Goalkeeper to Campbell Lemmick, a second year player who had yet to record minutes in any college game. Stone knew that Campbell had the quicker feet required to the task. Addison had done her part and the cage was ceded to the sophomore.

Stella Malinowski and Lena Thedrian each made their goal Gools, when American Emila Winkler was to stopped by Lemmick. Van Gool was stopped as well along with American’s Sam Kokx. Lea Good stepped to the line beating the American keeper making it three to one. Nora Tremble, American’s last hope was denied by Lemmick’s leg pad putting the win in the Lafayette column.

The first challenge ( and most important win) was to go to Lafayette who now is undefeated in League play. Sunday in another overtime battle the Leopards were to go down 3-2 to Penn State. It was clear this was again well contested but Lafayette was to come up short. It was an upset but the Leopards will still have a challenge ahead against League rival Bucknell on Friday. A loss by Bucknell could go a long way to eliminating them from the post season and putting Lafayette in the driver seat with a 4-0 record in the league, with five straight home games for the rest of October.

It will be a do or die test for Bucknell as Lafayette will need to beat them on Bison turf!! The Leopards have the heart and skill up for the task!!

Is It All In The Numbers??

10/02/2026…The date I have circled since mid-summer. The game with American is always a crucial part of the regular season. This year, it occurs mid-season with the Leopards as the nationally ranked team. Depending on which rank you subscribe to, the American Eagles will have to arrive on Leopard turf to face the number 19 ( NFHCA poll), number 7 ( NCAA and Field Hockey corner calculated RPI rank), or number 17 (ACR rank) national team rank. The Eagles’ RPI is 32.

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American got off to a slow start this season losing their first 3 games to California, Stanford and Richmond. Since then they have added W’s over App State,William and Mary, Towson, Bucknell, Lock Haven, and Maine. Last Sunday they lost to Providence. American comes to Easton with a 6-4 record, but 1-0 in the Patriot League. Lafayette of course is 8-1 with a 2-0 record in the League.

No doubt the outcome of the game will go a long way in determining the home field for the League tournament ( and a high RPI will have beneficial effect on an ultimate seeding in the national tournament).

But lest their be any doubt, American will come well prepared with both coaching staff’s having viewed hours of game tape to develop a plan. The last two games by Lafayette saw their opponents using most of their resources to jam the shooting circle and hold the score down hoping for a game winning opportunity. That was a strategy used by American’s in their 1-0 win against Bucknell, where they were to find the winning goal with 30 seconds left.

Looking at the raw stats, seems to favor a defensive battle. American’s offensive stats are boosted by beat downs against William and Mary (8-0), Towson (6-1) and Lock Haven (6-0). Eliminate those scores and their goals per game stat is reduced considerably.

Lafayette’s defense looks good per game goals against (.78) leads the league and American is 1.3. Addison Kahn’s save pct is .80 compared to Teagan Harmon’s save pct of .639. The amount of penalty corners per game is similar.

American uses their defense to start their offense so the task for Lafayette will be to contain American to their side of the field and try to maintain possession and get to the shooting circle.

The weather will be perfect, and these games are always well contested. I hope there is a big crowd to tilt the field the Maroon and White way!!