Author: William Rappolt

I am past chairman of the Lafayette Friends of Field Hockey and a former BOT member at Lafayette College. My wife and I are members of the Board of Trustees for USA Field Hockey Foundation. I am currently Chairman of that Board. I am the retired treasurer of M and T Bank Corporation and a 30 year fan of Division one field hockey

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.

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.