Sports – Page 49 – Lafayette College Field Hockey

Lafayette Shows Courage and Strength in Indoor Tournament

Cody Hunsicker drives around Maryland goalkeeper

Lafayette entered two teams into the Big Apple Tournament, but ran into an obstacle on the way to the Pottstown Pennsylvania site. Unfortunate for the team, four of the team members came down with a flu-like illness and a fifth is nursing a leg injury. That left coach Stone with ten healthy players to play six 40 minute games. If all had gone as planned, Lafayette would have played with two teams of six players with two substitutes. Coach Stone left the solution up to the players. Play all 6 games and forfeit three of the games since the original entries were not there, or play 3 games forfeiting the 3 games that would have been played. The players decided to take the hard way….play 240 minutes of hockey (6 games), shorthanded, practically back to back. What I saw was the determination and competitiveness that will represent Lafayette College in the fall.

The first two games were difficult, against nationally ranked Maryland and Albany. It was in the third game that they began to find their heart and skill. It was against McMaster University from Canada. They began with an early goal from defender Cody Hunsicker in the second minute of the game. Katelyn Arnold was magnificent in goal playing every minute. Sophomore Katilyn Ewing found the back of cage for the first of her four goals ( at least) during the day in the 19th minute, to seal a 2-0 victory.

Ami Turner closely guards Albany attacker

The Leopards then moved on 10 minutes later to Rutgers University, playing a game that would officially be recorded as a forfeit, but was actually a 4-1 win. Hunsicker, Furneaux, and two more goals from Ewing were the highlights, in a strong overall game, which demonstrated a total team effort.

There was one more forfeit game with Drexel which I did not witness ,and was closely followed in 10 minutes ,with Rutgers’ second entry. Our Leopards managed 5 goals and tie at the end of regulation. Ewing got her fourth, Magadan another, Hunsicker with her third, Ellen Colbourne, and Ami Turner also got on the board by the end of regulation. Unfortunately, an overtime goal from Rutgers, as our team was playing past their 240th minute, gave Rutgers the win.

To me, this showed the heart that this team will bring to the turf in the championship season this fall, as the team personality has emerged. The next competition will be at Temple University in Philadelphia, outside on the turf. Hopefully Lafayette will be there with a full spring roster. Also the new recruiting class of eight will be announced very soon in April. They will certainly add to the depth and bring their own skill set to this courageous group.

Addendum: In the second day of the tournament, Lafayette, playing a remarkable 320 MINUTES OF HOCKEY over two days, lost to Rutgers 2-1. Colbourne scored to tie the game in the second half but Rutgers scored with seven minutes to go. Still, a remarkable effort for the Leopards this weekend!!!

Magadan Makes Final 18 for U-21 Pan Am Team

Two years ago I was on the sidelines at Spooky Nook, Pa., the national training center for the US team. It was the national tournament where individual players would be selected for the various national teams. Lafayette had several other players playing, and I took the opportunity to take a look at all the young hopefuls, but I wanted to see how our Leopards stacked up particularly. They had all been preselected to play from regional tryouts across the country ,and several of our players had make this cut.

Coincidentally, I was standing next to a college coach I knew who has had several national championships and she asked me who from Lafayette was on the field. Amanda Magadan was playing in that particular game and after several minutes the coach remarked to me,” What great balance and ability, how did I miss her??” Amanda was entering her sophomore year and I said, she is going to be a great player.

Last year, her junior season, she was the leading goal scorer as a midfielder, captain of the team and was a first team Patriot League and all region selection. Since then she has been selected to the US Under 21 team culminating this week in the selection to the Junior US Pan Am Championship team to take place from March 30- April 10. She will be playing against like teams from Canada, Mexico, Trinidad, Tobago, and Venezuela. In all, nine countries will be competing for a gold medal.

Amanda has already played against teams from Holland, England, Canada, and Japan but this is the first tournament for Amanda. ” Getting the opportunity to play in an organized tournament is different, adding a new level of intensity,”Amanda remarked recently. Coach Stone added, ” To be selected to represent the United States in the Junior Pan-Am games is quite an honor.” The senior squad won the title last year.

Interviewed last week during the half time of the Lafayette Men’s Basketball game she expressed her excitement and hope to bring back the gold, but also saw it as a learning opportunity,for when she returns for her senior year to her Leopard teammates, as they try to return to the Patriot League and NCAA tournaments.

When asked by the reporter how she sees her future in hockey and beyond, she said she takes in one day at a time. She is a psychology major with a GPA average over 3.5. She returns to a very experienced team with what looks like a talented group of first year students with a broad national and international background. The new group of freshmen will be announced officially in April on the NCAA national letter of intent day for field hockey.

The team meanwhile will engage in an indoor tournament March 5-6 followed by the spring outdoor season and several scrimmages and tournaments on the east coast.

Winter Days Filled With Training For The Leopards

Adrianna Pero and Liza Welch concentrate on the exercise

It is less than a month before the Lafayette field hockey team returns to actual competition. On March 5-6 they will participate in an indoor tournament at the home of the WC Eagles in Spring City, Pennsylvania. After that ( and hopefully a spring melt) they will again be on the turf for an outside game April 2nd in Philadelphia with Temple University. There will also be a “play day,” at Lafayette with many of the Patriot League teams on April 9th where we will get a peek at the rest of league for the first time in 2016.

Meanwhile, recruiting continues for our coaches, as it appears the final class will have eight or nine new “pards” to replace the six seniors who will be moving on to jobs or graduate school next fall. This is the time for our returning stalwarts to improve their skills as they get additional playing time in the spring. Process and preparation are paramount before the practical on field experience can be maximized.

It is at this point that the strength and conditioning staff play a key role in that preparation. Yesterday, I was on campus and decided to get a peek at a mid-week lifting session. Strength sessions occur three times a week with the Wednesday session being a “light day.” Sessions are scheduled at a time that fits the academic schedule of these student athletes, and it is typically filled with 4 or 5 field hockey players under the tutelage and watchful eye of Steve Plunkett, the Asst. Strength and Conditioning Coach. Steve is assigned to the Field Hockey team and is responsible for supervising the progress of the players, and to ensure they are ready to perform at the highest level. Steve is an athlete himself, having competed in the 140 mile Ironman Louisville Triathlon.

With a degree in Sports and Exercise Science, Steve uses the latest in technique and facilities to see that our players receive the greatest benefit while under his supervision. Each player is wired with a heart monitor to record their effort during the 45 minute session. He explained that it’s not his goal to make “weight lifters.” but to guide our young women and men in “sport specific” training to make them stronger and faster on the turf.

When asked what he concentrates on, he said in field hockey lower back exercises are important, since players spend most of their playing hours directing the ball with a stick in a bent position. However, he is also interested in the overall strength and endurance of every athlete.

I asked if he found differences coaching men or women. He said no, they tend to get competitive mostly as upperclassmen as they begin to realize the training is not necessarily to build large muscle mass but improve performance. But there are amazing accomplishments as he cited sophomore Kaitlyn Ewing’s squat exercise performance of nearly 200 pounds as a team leading effort.

During the afternoon I watched Adriano Pero, Liza Welch, Ellen Coulbourne and Kristen Taylor train under Steve’s watchful eye. Their performances and cardio-information were communicated by computer to the coaching staff to be reviewed individually and in team meetings later on.

Later in the day, the team had a meeting to review their overall progress and to participate in a classroom exercise reviewing and breaking down game films from last year. Breaking into smaller groups, field hockey strategies were discussed, which hopefully will make it easier to recognize opportunities during a game, improving the team’s performance.

Preparation is the key to success on the field and the Lafayette field hockey team is practicing all that to produce wins this fall. GO PARDS!!!

Lafayette Returns For Spring Classes And Field Hockey

Kristen Taylor - Spain — Kristen Taylor sharpens her skills in Barcelona

Lafayette field hockey returns to the familiar surroundings of the College next week, along with their classmates, to begin classes for the spring semester. Unlike their friends who are not athletes, the team will begin its preparations for a spring season that will be a period of experimentation for the fall. The coaches will be evaluating their returning talent, and without the graduating seniors and new recruits, this will be a period of competition where many will see far more playing time than they did in the fall.

Many of our Leopards have not been wasting the December-January period but playing and honing their skill as well keeping fit. Spring is always a challenge that many of the youngest players have not seen before. However, upperclassmen as well have been hitting the turf to be the best they can be. Amanda Magadan is playing with the US under 21 team, getting ready for the Junior Pan Am games by playing against tough international competition. Freshmen Rachel Bird and Kristen Taylor spent early January in Barcelona playing with their Vancouver Team in the 68th Torneo de Reyes tournament. Kristen was the captain of her team leading them to a 1-1-1 record against teams from Holland, England,Belgium, and Spain.

This period can be extremely important especially for the younger players. Arriving on campus in shape and ready to play is extremely important. The first order of business will be conditioning, as the coaches plan to have the team ready to hit the turf in a month when the snow and ice leave the field. They will be using the field house in the meantime to play indoors, and Coach Stone has planned to attend an indoor tournament March 5-6 where the Leopards will meet against some of the top teams in the country, including Maryland and Syracuse. The indoor game, played on a hard floor with a different stick is faster than the outdoor version, but is a welcome break to the monotony of early training.

The spring schedule, time wise, is less demanding than the fall schedule, but in many ways doesn’t lack for intensity as everyone is trying to impress the coaches with improvement. In the meantime, classes remain a primary focus and there are less travel issues, as all the games are weekends and at local venues.

The NCAA is weighing ideas to limit the hours athletes devote to their sport. Many of the ideas, are already current practice for Ivy and Patriot League schools. One idea calls for a ban on practices and other mandatory athletic activities from 9pm to 6am. I can’t remember a time where that was that issue at Lafayette. Another proposal is to create a three week break at the end of the traditional season. Again that is a practice for Patriot and Ivy schools. Some colleges at the “elite” level spend 40 or more hours a week on sports. I have heard of cases where coaches have discouraged players from majoring in the STEM area, because of time limits at some schools.

The above proposals are a starting point, as described by the NCAA, but to my mind do not touch on the most important consumer of time, and that is travel time. As many large university athletic conferences have merged and enlarged, the regional nature of athletic conferences has disappeared. Unlike the Patriot League and Ivy League, it would not be unusual for a soccer team, field hockey team or worse a baseball team to travel thousands of miles during the week to meet their conference foes, missing valuable classroom hours in the process. This is especially acute for the “non-revenue” sports. The Patriot and Ivy conferences remain regional conferences with no foe more than a bus ride away.

This does not make either of the conferences less competitive, but certainly more in the line of supporting the term “student athlete.” I have written about this before and more that ever I believe young recruits should take that into consideration in their school choice. Even the big power conferences are beginning to realize there is a limit. One conference is considering including travel days as part of a 20 hour restriction on athletic time. Jack Swarbrick, the athletic director at the University of Notre Dame agrees, and was quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education, ” If you’re really concerned that student athletes have enough time, you ought to focus on scheduling and traveling. Nothing is more important than that,” he opines

Time will tell how this eventually gets sorted out, but the Patriot League model continues to be a pretty good template to follow in my opinion. Perhaps in the future, conferences may be more sport specific and regional, to rationalize the travel time issue. That’s my suggestion but, highly unlikely to be adopted anytime soon.

Lafayette Falls To American…Madagan And Millen Chosen To All Tournament Team

Senior Paige Macrae moves towards the goal

In the intense atmosphere worthy of a semi- final game, Lafayette fell 4-2 to American University on friday afternoon. The Leopards came out on fire jumping out to a 2-0 lead 21 minutes into the first period. With many playing their best hockey of the season Lafayette used their speed and intensity breaking American’s high press and striking them where they were most vulnerable, on fast breaks. Amanda Magadan was a thorn in American’s side all afternoon attracting triple team coverage at times. At 12 minutes spent in the game Madagan picked up the ball along the sideline and drove to the base line shot and then shot the rebound slamming her 10th goal of the season into the backboards stunning the confident American Eagles. Eight minutes later while attracting double coverage Madagan found the speedy Kendall Weedling along the right side and she beat the Eagle defender and then avoided the American goalie for the second goal of the game, and her second of the season.

Kenall Weedling shows her defensive skills after scoring a goal in the first period — Kendall Weedling shows her defensive skills after scoring a goal in the first period

Madagan was to be threat all game, taking 7 of Lafayette’s 14 shots. After Lafayette’s second goal the American Eagles regathered themselves and within 3 minutes they tied the score with a strike by freshman Rafela Rubas with an assist by Katie McCormick. The Lafayette defense was to dig in until Lafayette was to give up a penalty corner with time running out. With 00 showing on the clock Rubas again found the back of cage knotting the score at 2 each.

Junior Amanda Magadan backs up American defender

As each team retreated to the sidelines most fans were afraid the last score would signal a turn in momentum. American was in fact able to get the first penalty corner 4 minutes into the second half which was saved by Arnold who had 8 saves all game. She was to save another shot one minute later just about the same time American got a green card. With a player advantage, Leopard fans took heart. The next shot came from Lafayette Junior Aliza Furneaux the defending weekly Patriot League defender of the week. McBeath, the American goalie made the save. Lafayette had the next three penalty corners without a result.

Senior defender and co-captain Hannah Millen delivers the ball upfield

At 50:45 as a result of a shot on goal by an American player illegally blocked by a lafayette defender, the official called a penalty stroke ending in a score for American breaking the tie. Lafayette was to have several opportunities but could not convert. With minutes left on the clock, fans were wondering when Lafayette would pull the goalie in a last minute attempt to tie the game.

Before that was to happen American was awarded a penalty corner and scored on a redirect of a shot putting them up by two goals. The Leopards at that point pulled the goalkeeper putting Millen in goal for the last 2 minutes.

It was a somber team after the game, but they played well and with great energy. In the second period they out shot American 7-6 and out cornered them 8-4. For the whole game American had the edge in shots 17-14 and there was a tie 10-10 in corners. Second team all league junior goalkeeper Katlyn Arnold had 8 saves, six in the first period alone.

Lafayette defenders close in on American

This of course was the last game for our seniors and it was clear they left it all on the field. It was perhaps Kendall Weedling’s best game of her career. The intensity of Paige Macrae was evident as well in front of the goal. Kirby Szalkowski was in the face of Eagles all day. Abbey Stefanides made the most of her appearances on the field overcoming losing 1/2 the season to injury. Katie Birle was looking for one of her patented deflections to add to her five goals this year. Co-Captain Hannah Millen was a force in the backfield and on corners, and was rewarded with a deserved all tournament selection. They will soon be Lafayette alumna with new fields to conquer, but will no doubt draw from their experience on the turf to succeed in whatever they choose to do. Good Luck ladies!!

As for the remaining team, there is a respectful period of reflection and soon a rededication. A spring season awaits as this talented team which has the ability to be a factor next fall. Soon we will know the names of out newest Leopards as we reload for next year.

Junior Amanda Madagan and Sophomore Rosie Shanks team up

American went on to lose to Boston University in the finals 2-1, today. Boston will represent the Patriot League in the NCAA national tournament. The league is getting stronger each year and I can see the day when the League could get two bids in the future. My assessment of the League going forward is a topic for a future article.

The Team.. And The Difference Between A Loss And Defeat…Kevin Lacz’s Model Of A True Hero

Last night Pam and I had the privilege of sharing dinner with Kevin Lacz,probably one of the most remarkable men I have ever met. Kevin was a Navy Seal. You may remember the movie “American Sniper.” He played himself and he is every bit as impressive as he was on the big screen . All of 6’3″ and some 230 pounds, he has that boy next store smile that anyone could warm up to as he approaches. There is something though in his demeanor that says so much more. His 33 years belies a life experience only few could imagine.

Born in central Connecticut, Kevin had enrolled at James Madison University. He was inspired by the attacks on September 11 which took the life of a good friend’s father and he decided to leave school. Even he admits that school was not for him at this time in his life. He was immature and needed something else to direct his life. He saw a poster in a Navy recruiter’s office and decided to enlist with the intention of becoming a Seal. Before going to BUD’s training in Coronado he attended the Combat Medical School at Fort Bragg to learn to be a Hospital Corpsman. He did two platoons at SEAL Team Three as a platoon sniper, breacher, and combat medic, each with a deployment to Iraq. It was there that he met Chris Kyle, the subject of the “American Sniper,” It was his experiences in Ramadi that most of the movie is based on. He was awarded the Bronze Star with a Combat V along with other medals before leaving the service.

After his enlistment ended, he returned to school at the University of Connecticut eventually graduating Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Political Science in 2011. Drawing on his experience in combat medicine he applied to Wake Forest with the goal of becoming a Physician Assistant, Today Kevin works with Regenesis Llc in Pensacola, Florida. He works actively to support his brothers and sisters currently in the service and with veterans in the community.

Introduced to Clint Eastwood, Kevin was hired to play himself shortly before shooting was to begin on the basis of a Skype interview. He also served as a technical advisor for the film. For those of you who saw the film, he was the guy in one scene who had a target tattooed on his back and his buddies played darts at it. He neither confirms or denies the veracity of the scene. However, he denies having the tattoo.

So, why am I writing all this? Lacz explained to us why people are able to do extraordinary things in the most stressful circumstances. In an incident in Ramadi while his platoon was pinned to a rooftop an RPG landed in the middle of his team. One of his friends, immediately dove on the device smothering the blast and saving his buddies. He of course died in the effort.

“We were a team”, Lacz said. Nothing got accomplished without a cooperative effort. There was no hesitation on the part of that man and you got the impression if it wasn’t him, someone else would have made the sacrifice. The field hockey pitch or any other playing field are not the streets of Fallujah or Ramadi, but the lesson is similar. He said the difference between success and failure is always on top of the shoulders and between your ears. If you need to run faster, you have to think and believe in yourself to run faster. Defeat is not an option, whether it be in an ordinary life or on the battlefield. Yes, there may be losses along the way but you can not be defeated unless you become defeated in your mind. Lastly. he defined leadership as calm in the middle of chaos. Your heart may be racing and world may be collapsing but the leader expresses that calm that keeps everyone to the task at hand.

We need heroes to remind us what is possible if we just let the human spirit within ourselves drive our actions. We may think we live mundane lives, but the next time we see little bumps ahead think of Chris Kyle or Kevin Lacz and their model of living. As we departed, Kevin gave me a friendly embrace, the warmth of which will remain with me the rest of my days.

Senior Day Win Against Yale Sparked By Shanks And Arnold

Rosie Shanks attacks the circle in game against Colgate and scores winning goal against Yale — Rosie Shanks attacks the circle in the game against Colgate and scores the winning goal against Yale

Junior Katelyn Arnold and Sophomore Rosie Shanks stepped up on Senior Day to have key roles in a 1-0 victory over Yale. Seniors Hannah Millen, Paige Macrae, Kirby Szalkowski, Kendall Weedling, Katie Birle and Abby Stefanides appeared for the last time in a Lafayette uniform at Rappolt Field. All were determined to make their last appearance on their home turf a memorable one. Pre-game ceremonies included introduction of all six players who were joined by their parents at center field in front of an appreciative crowd. This senior class has not only seen winning seasons but a Patriot League championship, a national ranking as high as seventh and an appearance in the national NCAA Division one tournament. They have also traveled as a team this year to Spain to compete and they have distinguished themselves in the classroom.

Corner offense of Kirby Szalkowski, Amanda Madagan, Abby Stefanides, Katie Birle, and Hannah Millen put the play in action

This year the team has qualified for the Patriot League tournament which will be played this friday and saturday in Boston. The winner of the tournament gets to go the NCAA tournament as a final sixteen participant. Sunday’s game with Yale, although a non-conference game was important, in that the seniors would leave with nine wins for this year ( three more than last year), a record tying appearance in the Patriot League tournament, and a chance to continue playing. They also succeeded in scoring more goals than the last two years in a season. This class wears a Patriot League Championship ring, and in their freshman year were consistently ranked in the top 20 while appearing in the NCAA division one tournament losing to Maryland 0-2.

The game with Yale was hotly contested evidenced by the 0-0 score at halftime, although Lafayette led in shots 5-3 and corners 4-2, each team was to hit the post. Yale’s Carol Middough was to hear the clank of metal at 18:32 and Ami Turner on the Lafayette side was to hit the post at 25:29. After the halftime break Yale came out determined to guard Lafayette closely and try to force turnovers, the Leopards were trying to flood the circle in hope of getting that second or third rebound to find the back of the cage. At 39:38 it was Rosie Shanks of Lafayette who was to break the tie as the ball came off the glove of the Yale goalkeeper into the air. Shanks spotted it mid waist, and batted it with the skill of a baseball player into cage. It was that goal that was to stand up for the remainder of the game as Katelyn Arnold was to make 2 key saves giving her and the team their second consecutive shutout of the weekend and Arnolds’s fourth of her career.

Senior Abby Stefenides gets ready to receive the ball against Yale — Senior Abbey Stefanides gets ready to receive the ball against Yale

So as the clock ticked to 00, the seniors reached that poignant moment of walking off the home turf wearing the Maroon and White for the last time. ( I sometimes wonder if there is more melancholy from the student athletes or the parents) There would be the celebratory tailgate with memorable poems and laughter, and they were to do it with a win at their back. There is still work and things to accomplish in the coming days but for today they can return to the Hill after a job well done.

Let’s Remember This Is A Team Sport

I know I have written this before, but I love team sports. It’s one thing to run in circle to see how long it takes to get back where you started. or accepting the winning trophy because you hit the little ball into the hole in a smaller amount of strokes, but organizing a group to act and perform as one is an achievement. Strong societies are built on collective achievements, something that seems to have escaped many today. Yes, we look for heroes to carry the day, but truly great things are done by teams today. Team playing in governing, scientific accomplishment by building on research of others, and winning wars working together are examples of team effort today.

Katie Birle chases down a ball as a Temple player is in hot pursuit.

Women’s sports are no exception. It has only been in the last 20 years or so that women’s sports actually have begun going beyond the idea of a recreational club. Field Hockey in the United States first arrived at the turn of the 20th century, and it really took the invention of astro-turf to have it start to look like a sport rather an up tempo game of croquet. The women look like athletes instead of like the “Belles of St. Trinians.” ( That movie still cracks me up especially the field hockey game.)

When I first proposed an astro-turf field at Lafayette 15 years ago, the response I got was, “yeah great but really, stands for actual fans??” Today the team even in down years averages more than 200 fans a game and if we have an important game 500 to 1000 might show up. There are many in the academe who mourn that women’s athletics is getting more like the male sports but they miss the point

Saturday we dedicated a tree in memory of a recent alumna whose little two year old died of leukemia. All her teammates were there to support her. One friend even gave her daughter a middle name after the little girl! This is what team is all about. You care for each other, you trust one another, you believe in common goals, and that never goes away.

Teammates always, Abby Stefanides, Katie Birle, Hannah Millen, Kirby Szalkowski, Paige Macrae, Kendall Weedling

Next Sunday we will celebrate Senior Day as they will play their last regular season game together. Hopefully after playing Colgate the day before they will come together and perhaps again qualify for the League Tournament. It will happen because they were a team and were not running circles to see how fast they can end up at the same spot they started from.(No offense to our track athletes). If we win its because we care for one another ( enough to put in the extra effort to help each other out), that will engender trust to know your teammate will be there when you see a space, and you believe and want that common goal, not for yourself but for your team. Go Leopards!

Leopards Have Key Game This Weekend With The Holy Cross Crusaders.

Ami Turner gets ahead of a Lehigh defender and passes the ball into the offensive circle

The Leopards will meet the Crusaders for the 32nd meeting between these schools. Lafayette has an edge with 18 wins against thirteen loses. The last win by Holy Cross was a 2-1 OT win in Easton in 2009. In that game, the Leopards had 26 shots to 3 for Holy Cross. The Crusader goalie had 12 saves in that encounter, but Lafayette scored the first goal in the first period and looked like they were on their way to a win when, with 6 minutes left to play, Holy Cross found the back of the cage to tie it up. The Leopards had chances in the end. including two corners, and the game ended in a tie. Two overtimes later. it came down to strokes and the Leopards ended on the short end losing 2-1. The Crusaders had a losing season and put the Leopards in a difficult spot regarding the playoffs.

Amanda Magadan and Ellen Colbourne closely guard a UConn player

This Crusader team is a better team coming in with a 6-9 record but having lost the last 6 out of 7 games. Their goalie, Inch is a key player and the Leopards must find their way to the circle to exercise their 24 pct scoring percentage. Holy Cross is 19 pct but take more shots and get more penalty corners than the Leopards have. Outside of Boston University I see no ranked team on their schedule but have posted a good win against Harvard early on.

Kirby Szalkowski turns ball around against Boston University

This is the part of the season where individual games matter. In order to get to the post season, these league games must end up in the W column. The Leopard’s fate is in their hands. They win, they are in the post season, if they lose its too complicated for my 70 year old brain to calculate but it is clear it will depend on other teams to make it all possible.

Twelve o’clock it all happens. The sky’s will be clear and a brisk fall afternoon is anticipated. Here’s hoping it ends in Maroon happiness!!! Come on out and enjoy the action.

Is It Too Early For Patriot League Bracketology? The Permuations At This Moment.

We are getting to that time of year where each game takes on added significance, and we start to see who has a shot at getting to the National Tournament to pick the best in the nation. The Patriot League, based on last years RPI will get an automatic bid to NCAA tournament. The honor goes the Patriot League tournament winner. There are seven teams in the League, and the four with the best record and, surviving tie breakers will play a four team two day tournament, the winner to move onto the big dance. The are two things now for certain, Boston University is definitely in and Colgate is out, based on Boston’s 4-0 record and Colgate’s 0-4 record in the league.

Here are the league standings and the corresponding League records with the teams each league member will play in coming weeks:

Boston University 4-0 needs to play Lehigh and Bucknell

American U 3-1 needs to play Lafayette and Bucknell

Lafayette 2-1 needs to play American, Holy Cross, and Colgate

Bucknell 2-1 needs to play Holy Cross, Boston, and American

Holy Cross 1-2 needs to play Bucknell, Lafayette and Lehigh

Lehigh 0-3 needs to play Boston,Colgate, Holy Cross

Colgate 0-4 needs to play Lehigh and Lafayette

Kaitlyn Arnold and Hannah Millen protect the cage

So if you believe that Boston has locked in the home field, think again. If Bucknell runs the table, the first tie breaker is head to head competition. Bucknell would win the regular season and host. If Bucknell losses one of their three games they will not host but would make it in. If Lafayette ran the table and Boston lost one, Lafayette loses the tie breaker and could not host. Boston would have to lose to Lehigh and Bucknell and Lafayette would need to run the table for the Leopards to host. To lock in their place in the tournament all Lafayette needs to do is win two of the last three. Bucknell will have two tough final games against American and Boston. Winning both would be remarkable.

Holy Cross needs to continue to win. Should they lose to either Bucknell or Lafayette, they are probably out. Lehigh plays Boston this weekend and even if they run the table are unlikely to make it in having lost to Bucknell and Lafayette. Colgate has no way in but could act as a spoiler to Lafayette should Lafayette lose to Holy Cross and American. Will Bucknell win against an improved and inspired Holy Cross team, helping the Leopards out??

We haven’t even talked about seeds…maybe next week!!??

So this weekend’s games will be closely watched and in all likelihood the field will be narrowed by the end of day. Interesting question is on the table for this weekend. What upset will spoil everyone’s calculations!

	Bite Sized Bree on Seniors Hannah Millen and Kirb…
	Hartmut Tiedtke on Leopards Leave It All On The F…
	William Rappolt on van Wijk Delivers Winning Goal…
	Bison 137 on van Wijk Delivers Winning Goal…
	Okosisi on Lafayette Succumbs To Albany P…

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