Category: Sports

Lafayette Rolls Against Boston U

October 30, 2026 was the date that Lafayette captured lone possession of the Patriot League regular season title. It was also the date that the Lafayette Leopards showed they are among the best field hockey teams in the country. Yes, they are ranked 15 in the NCAA rpi rating, and 17th by the NFHCA, but they demonstrated it to the 700 fans who saw them dominate a very good offensive Terrier squad.

The Leopards were 13-3 better in shots, 6-1 better in penalty corners, undefeated at home, highest margin of victory in the League, 81 % save percentage, and a .71 goals against average all season. Only one goal was scored against them in all league games. We now start 0-0 in the League tournament and they will have to prove themselves all over again to get to the NCAA tournament. I believe they will be ready as they have drawn Holy Cross in the first round this Thursday at noon. If they prevail they will play for the auto bid on Saturday.

What I saw Friday night was a thing of beauty. Anyone who views that game could not deny, this is a special team. Everyone was playing championship field hockey. The Leopards used 18 players. The Terriers used 15. The Leopard’s 18 kept the intensity all night.

As expected, the first quarter was hard fought but Lafayette managed to set the tone early with a 5-1 advantage on shots and a 3-0 edge on penalty corners. One had to know it was only a matter of time before the ball would reach the back of the cage. We had to wait until 25:59 when Lena Thedrian would connect with Lea Good and Katie Gibb, using her drag to rocket past the Terrier GK for the first score. Lena was to have 3 shots, all totaled 2 on target.

The Leopards exited the first half with a 1-0 lead and the Lafayette faithful wishing for a little insurance. The insurance goal came off the stick of sophomore Feline Reuskin, who solved that problem using a rebound after a penalty corner 8 minutes and 40 seconds into the third period.

From the first shot from Linda Nova 2 minutes into the first period to the impressive controlled passing at the end, that denied Boston the ball and a chance to even the score, it was a demonstration of fine hockey. The coaching staff will have this team ready for the challenge as they did Friday night. The coaches have worked tirelessly planning each game through out the season. This team has the best record of any Lafayette team this fall and the coaches should take a bow!!!

Moving on to Thursday the Leopards should keep in mind the narrow 1-0 victory earlier in the year over the Crusaders. Somehow I am sure there will be no let down. It was a great privilege to witness Friday’s game. I look forward to this coming Thursday!!

Naomi George via Linda Nova Deliver Winning Goal Against Brown

It was a unexpectedly gritty contest on a perfect sunny afternoon, that wasn’t decided until seven minutes were left in the game. In only the second game between the two schools, it devolved into a struggle that was to be decided by one goal. The last meeting was similarly decided by a single goal years ago.

Lena Thedrian was to open the scoring 18 minutes into the contest by using her drag off a penalty corner assisted by Olivia Krey and Katie Gibb. As her rocket crossed the goal line, the feeling was this was to be the opening that would flood Brown’s cage much like last week’s game against William and Mary.

There were several chances early on that were missed. In fact, shots favored the Leopards 4-1 in the first period, although in the second period shots were an even 3-3. However, the Leopards by the end of the half, were up 4-0 in corners. But the longer the Brown Bears hung around the more intensely they fought back.

The third period saw a momentum change as Brown began adding penalty corners 3-2 and another 3 in the fourth. Addie Kahn made 6 saves during this stretch. Inevitably with 10 minutes to go in the game Grace Almeida from Brown delivered a tying strike during a scrum in front of the cage, it was 1-1.

It was then that the Leopards showed why they are a ranked team! Linda Nova intercepted the ball, and sprinted towards the shooting circle dodging opponents along the way. As she entered the circle she reversed her stick and shot toward the goal where Naomi George, her training kicking in, delivered a deflection into the cage.

Brown was not done as they pulled their keeper. With less than two minutes to go Lafayette gets a yellow card and all of the sudden Brown is up two player in field. The defense kicks in. Finally, with seconds left Lafayette get control and the clock runs out with a Lafayette victory and 14 wins on the books.

In the meantime in Worcester, Mass, Holy Cross has won their game against American in a shoot out! The Patriot League field is set. It will be Lafayette, Boston, American and Holy Cross. The seeding is TBD. Lafayette plays Boston on Friday which will determine who will host. Holy Cross will play Colgate on Saturday and American will play Lehigh. A win by Colgate will give Holy Cross the 4 seed, who will play the one seed. A win by Holy Cross gives them the 3 seed and they will play the two seed. The winner of the PL tournament will go to the NCAA national tournament.

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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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!!

Stars On A Team Or A Team Of Stars

Lafayette has certainly gotten off to a good start to the 2026 championship season. The only blemish is a 0-1 loss to the number one team in division one, Northwestern. To date they have a 3-1 record ,and along the way individual efforts have highlighted that record. Certainly and foremost could be the performances of Addie Kahn the Leopard goal keeper whose outstanding performance against Northwestern earned her goalkeeper of the week for the Patriot League last week, but her performance continues on with an outstanding game against Cornell stopping not one, but two penalty strokes preserving a 2-1 victory. She currently ranks 18th nationally in save percentage.

Another shining star on the Leopard lineup is Lena Thedrian whose goals per game, 1.25 ( which includes a hat trick against Temple), puts her ranked 9th in nation and second in the conference. Kate Gibb is ranked 7th in the nation in assists with at least 1 per game. Lena is ranked 14th in points per game.

The team itself is ranked 6th in country for defensive saves. The most important stat of course isthe won loss record of 3-1, which was against quality opponents. It does not getting any easier with Drexel, Penn State, Delaware, and Brown as future non conference foes.

However, there is always the in conference competition. Bucknell is off to its first 4-0 start in decades, BU has demonstrated a strong offense, Colgate has dangerous energy and there is always American lurking. Each game will be a”championship” game ,and Holy Cross and Lehigh will be looking for that playoff spot as well.

The prize in the conference battle of course is home field for the conference tournament. Hosting is a big advantage, as each field has it’s own characteristics. It’s been years since Lafayette was the site….it would be sweet if this year would see activity out there in late fall.

There is a whole team wearing Maroon and White and I suspect this team of stars will be making their mark in the record books.

Leopards Return From Impressive Performance In Chicago To Face Temple At Home

The Leopards flew back from Chicago with a 1-1 record having faced two opponents, one of which was the two time National Champion. The game was a solid 2-1 against Kent State at Northwestern’s field. Kent State scored their only goal with minutes left in the fourth period. Lafayette had just scored earlier on a Stella Malinowski strike which was disallowed. The official refused to recognize the Lafayette call for a review which they were entitled to. In my opinion it was a good goal. Lena Thedrian and Malinowski scored the previous two goals.

The following day was occupied by a baseball game at Wrigley Field and a visit to the “Bean,” in downtown Chicago. During the bus ride the coaches were hard at work on the game plan for Northwestern.

The game itself was a defensive tour de force by Lafayette. It was highlighted by PL goalkeeper of the week Addison Kahn, who had 15 saves all weekend, earning a season 88 pct save percentage.

The 0-1 loss was filled with impressive performances as Lafayette’s veteran defense held back Northwestern’s offense for 58 minutes led by captain Thedrian who had defensive saves as well.

The Leopards will don their home uniforms this Friday at 6 as they take on the Temple Owls who are also 1-1, having beaten JMU 2-1 and losing to Maryland 1-3. The Temple goalkeeper was not as successful as Kahn as she arrive in Easton with a 69 pct save pct. Goals were scored by Riley Gallagher, Lucia Magro and Brooke Weaver. Both Lafayette and Temple faced 31 shots this season. Coincidentally, both teams had 15 shots over the weekend.

Malinowski grabs the ball

The Owls and the Leopards are no strangers, since they have faced each other many times over the years including spring scrimmages. Make no mistake this will be an intense contest as either team would like to leave the turf with a winning record. I would hope the Leopard faithful will be out in force to tilt the energy towards the Leopards.

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Leopards Finish Preseason On High Note

In five days the Leopards will be playing for real. It’ll be a non conference game with Kent State on Friday August 28 2;30 CT. Today, they finished their preseason with a home game against Wagner. There was a lot for coaches to be pleased with, especially with a dominant performance by the offense. I don’t know if it would be wise to identify goal scorers etc, but suffice to say the Patriot League coaches got it right in their preseason selections.

Stella Malinowski can make her presence known

However, one could add to the story, the progress made by the first year players, and the improvement of the returning squad members, as well. Today I saw excellent speed and good skills against a team that at the end of last year was ranked ahead of Kent State.

Corners were well executed with Lena

The hockey was as sound as it was exciting to watch. As they step on that plane Thursday, I don’t see how they can be better prepared. In a cautious observation, first games can be difficult and I remind everyone of last years game with William and Mary…a game that should been a W, The second game on Sunday may be a different story but the Leopards should not look ahead. The most important game is always the next one.

I think Lafayette fans are in for a treat this fall and the team deserve every bit of support. This is a serious minded battle tested group and it will be fun to watch this all come together. Wagner opened with a press and Lafayette handled it in way that should give concern to opponents, League and Non League. It time to set the tempo early.

I have my tickets in hand for Chicago and I hope the return trip will be with a smile on my face. The first game will NOT be televised and Sunday’s match will be on the Big Ten network.

Go Pards!!!

Leopards Continue Preseason Prep

The 2026 Leopards continue to work under hot late summer conditions preparing for the coming season which is only one week away. They traveled to Monmouth and got taste of intense high level hockey. Monmouth showed their skill and experience by jumping out to a first quarter two goal lead, surprising Lafayette fresh off the bus ride from Easton. However, this is a gritty team and they battled back and soon would get help from first year Elsa Wood nailing her first goal in a maroon and white uniform.

Following Elsa’s lead, senior Katie Gibb would even the score in the second quarter. Monmouth would eventually add one more goal, but this was a good afternoon as the upper classmen showed the skill that brought them success last season while the first years gained confidence.

As each day goes by the team is starting see where they are on the field and where their teammates are. Lena Thedrian deserves special mention as she had 3 defensive saves during the afternoon. Her work last year merited recognition as the preseason defensive player of the year. She was selected along with Stella Malinowski and Rosalie van Gool to the Patriot League preseason all league team. Lafayette was recognized by being picked second in the Patriot League poll…American was picked first by the coaches.

In 25 years of watching Leopard hockey, I have never seen us picked first. The first League game is September 18 th at Colgate.

Preseason Beginning To Show Results…Lafayette Reloads

Stella Malinowski finds open space

Lafayette Field Hockey had their first live competition of the season during a preseason game with the University of Albany. Remarkably, for an early early preseason game, the offense showed strong organization with considerable depth. Scoring was spread around the squad with Lafayette being able to solve the Albany defense from the first push-off. The defense was strong and played a role in starting attacks and showed strong field awareness.

Linda Novas evades an Albany defender
Linda Novas evades an Albany defender

There is still progress to be made with additional ball speed, but no doubt it will be there in time for the first game with Kent State and the game with Northwestern two days later. Of interest to all fans is the competition at the goal. The two goaltenders who played, showed that whoever prevails, the area between the pipes will be well protected.

The first year players were well represented on the field, and will make their presence known as the season progresses. I was particularly impressed with the speed of Mia Barreto, who chased down an Albany player in the second half attempting a fast break.

The attack penalty corners and defensive penalty corners were up to the challenge as they exhibited mid-season form. As the weeks go by, I expect to see more deception in the APC’s and maybe more attempts to fast break after DPC’s.

The returning players seem to have made progress which will be bad news to upcoming opponents, including the League Rivals. I am trying to temper my enthusiasm, but there is still a week to go and two more preseason games with Monmouth and Wagner before it begins for real!

Next up is Monmouth which should provide another measure of progress.

For those of you attending the opening week end at Northwestern, there will be a reception after the Kent State game Friday afternoon. More on those details later.