Category: Sports

In most sports accounts, the writer concentrates on the player who scores the touchdown, goal, or makes some spectacular play and I will give credit to all those I mentioned in the title. But I also want to especially emphasize the final member of the team, Et Alia. Don’t go rushing to the roster list, or the final account of game on goleopards.com because Et Alia will not be mentioned. Et Alia is a latin phrase that appears often in legal text as the abbreviation et al, meaning everyone else. This game was won by Et Alia, the entire team. It is no secret, that the entire team was in a slump. After tuesday’s game against Penn there was depression settling over Pardsville. The Leopards looked out of sync, and out of sorts. Et Alia was not to be found.

But something changed in the last four days. The team that arrived on the field on Saturday for this important league game was not going to be denied. Bucknell arrived with impressive history having won the Patriot League regular season and not losing a league regular season game in two years. In fact, they had beaten the Leopards each of those years. But these games with Lafayette were always close and well fought. I have to admit I arrived at the field this year with some trepidation. A repeat of last tuesday would mean certain defeat and a struggle to make the playoffs.

As expected the Bisons arrived with a good plan, they were going to press high, and double team the Leopards outside players to shut down the transition game and keep the Leopards out of their offensive end. They were aggressive, and precise in execution. They also gave Amanda Magadan, and Ellen Coulbourne  extra attention but they couldn’t guard “Et Alia.”

The Leopards took advantage of opportunities, and as we know pressing constantly, takes some sacrifice in energy and defensive coverage downfield and the Leopards took advantage. Yes, Bucknell had a 17-8 advantage in shots, and a 10-4 advantage in corners. But as some sports sage said long ago statistics are for losers. Lafayette on this day used a team effort which included the efforts of Arnold, Macrae, Weeding, and Shanks  who helped put points on the board and stopped goals when needed.

First Arnold came with save after save. Some were ordinary kick saves but there were others of the leaping variety. I believe Katelyn Arnold is the best goalie in the League and she proved that to the crowd and her opponents. Scoring started early with a Kendall Weedling goal delivered off an alert pass from Paige Macrae who had an outstanding afternoon. The two were able to take advantage of a fast break and took on the Bucknell goalkeeper two on one with Weeding deftly delivering the shot from goalie’s right side. The second goal was nearly 41 minutes later from sophomore Rosie Shanks who also executed a break, after a  steal by Hannah Millen who passed to Macrae. The Bison were executing a break of their own when the Millen to Macrae pass to Shanks  found her near the top of the circle facing the Bison goalie who had come out of the cage. Weedling meanwhile came speeding up the other side of the circle and Shanks shifted her focus to Weedling  creating the hesitation needed in the Bison goalie, to allow a clean shot at the goal. It was a rocket that sounded with smack that was heard throughout the field.

Macrae was to get a goal of her own during a penalty corner as Amanda Magadan received the ball at the top of the circle delivered a pass to the reliable Paige Macrae who deflected the ball soundly into the cage for her third goal of the year. Bucknell was still to be heard from as Nicole Rupnick received a pass from Amy Mucelli and shot at 66:40 of the game into the goal.

The game was to end, as time ran out on a Bucknell corner which was stopped by a defensive save by Hannah Millen. Although it was meaningless toward the final outcome, it was a metaphor for the whole game. Bucknell battled to the end but Lafayette was not to be denied today by “et alia”,….. the team.

The Leopards are now 2-1 in the league and will meet 3 other league members in coming weeks, American this coming Saturday, the much improved Holy Cross Crusaders, and finally Colgate who eliminated Lafayette last year from the playoff. Lehigh with 4 loses has already been eliminated, and Boston University has clinched a berth with four wins.

The Leopards also welcomed back assistant coach Joey Civico who returned to the sidelines.

The field hockey season is one of second and third chances at success and saturday will present one of those opportunities. The Lafayette Leopards have now dropped back to 6-6, a .500 season, and will meet League rival Bucknell who is 5-6 against good competition. I would rate this game a toss up. Question…. will the Leopards step up and meet the challenge?? Last night they met a good Penn team and fell 5-0, Penn out shot them 15-8, out cornered them 11-4, and Lafayette left unguarded the leading scorer in the country who ended up scoring three goals and an assist. Saturday, Lafayette must bring all phases of the game to bear. Although Bucknell is 5-6 they are 2-0 in the League and a win would be a huge step to making the playoffs and putting them in position to host their second Patriot League championship in as many years. For Bucknell, the toughest part of the League  schedule lies ahead of them. The Leopards are one and one in the League and have Holy Cross, American and Colgate remaining on their League schedule. A win would give them a solid position to get in the play offs which really is the third season and most important “season.”

However, Bucknell will bring a well coached and motivated  team to Easton. There are common opponents. They beat Monmouth 2-1, lost to Albany 3-1, and beat Lehigh 4-2. Sound familiar? With the exception of the home field win over Lehigh the other two scores are exactly the same. Which team will arrive with the most desire to win on Saturday? Lafayette fans hope it is not the one that faced Penn, but the Lafayette team that has the talent to beat a tough league rival, Bucknell. Go Pards!!

In an emotional contest between arch rivals, Ami Turner found the back of the cage 54:31 into this important Patriot League contest. Lafayette came into the game with a 5 and 5 record but one loss in league games. Lehigh was 1-8 and had  an 0-2 record. A loss by either team would have complications for making the league tournament at the end of the season. All the stops were out for Lehigh as they concentrated on neutralizing leading scorer Amanda Magadan. Amanda found herself double and triple teamed for most of the game, but Lafayette has more than one weapon as the Leopards dominated the final statistics. They led in shots 16-6, corners 9-2, and forced Lehigh to make 7 saves in second half.

The Leopards were to control the offensive pace from the beginning and were able to penetrate the Lehigh circle as Ellen Colbourne found herself open,  becoming a big offensive weapon for the Leopard’s transition game. The Leopards got  the first six shots. The last shot was to earn Lafayette their first score. After earning a corner, Colbourne inserted to Turner who set up a shot by Magadan who rifled a blazing ball past Julia Ward, the Lehigh goalie.

The Mountain Hawks were not about to lie down, and Lehigh answered with a goal of their own three minutes later by Lindsay Schott who received a pass from Zoey Pacheco at the post past Katelyn Arnold, the Lafayette goalie. There was to be no more offense for either side for the remainder of the period.

The second  half opened strongly for Lehigh as they got the first two shots, which were deftly stopped by Arnold to keep the game tied. With the Mountain Hawks stymied, the Leopards redoubled their defensive efforts and the momentum began to swing.  The defense was a team effort as the back line of Furneaux, Millen, Hunsicker, and Delahanty putting in minutes in reserve,  became a wall with Furneaux also aiding the transition game by pushing the ball past fifty yard line numerous times.

In stong evidence was Ami Turner who displayed her defensive skills as well by being all over the field, when Magadan ended up being triple teamed and Colbourne attracked more attention in the second half. At 54:31 Turner found herself face to face with the Lehigh goalie and got off a high shot, off the glove of the Lehigh’s Ward. recording the winning goal of the day. There were several chances for the Leopards to add to their lead as the tiring Mountain Hawks were forced to play defense  most of the second half.  Opportunities by Rosie Shanks and Kendall Weedling after the Turner goal  were stopped by the Lehigh Goalie.

A final opportunity for Lehigh was presented, as the Leopards were to receive a green card with about 5  minutes to play. The Mountain Hawks got off two shots, one of which was stopped by Katelyn Arnold the Lafayette goalie and the other blocked by a defender. The final possession was to belong to Lafayette as they earned a corner in the final minute and were to keep the ball in their end as the clock ticked to 00.

This was the 10th win in a row against Lehigh, a school record, and was the sixth win of the season leaving the Leopards with a 1-1 record in the league with four league games and three non -conference games remaining. The Leopards will take on a tough University of Pennsylvania team on tuesday before returning to their home field for another important game with league rival Bucknell on Saturday.

The toughest part  of the regular schedule is about to begin. Its the part that really means something in that each Patriot League game counts towards one, deciding who enters the League tournament, and two who will host that tournament. It is the only sure way to get into the national post season NCAA national championships. A win in the League tournament also earns the winner a ring and ticket to compete against the best in the nation.

Saturday the Leopards will be taking on a very skilled and well coached Boston University team. Lafayette has not beaten the Terriers since their entry into the league two years ago, as the Terriers hold a 2-0 margin. Every game has been a close, well contested contest, and I expect nothing less on Saturday. Lafayette has played one top 20 team, Liberty University and lost a 2-1 contest. Boston has  played two top twenty teams, Maine and rival Boston College, and lost one and won one. Both teams have been good in overtime Lafayette winning two.

Other stats are fairly close Lafayette has 20 goals to Boston’s 17, narrowly favoring Lafayette. Opponents have scored 9 against Lafayette and 11 against Boston. Lafayette’s shot percentage is .307 while Boston is .193. Boston’s SOG is 88 and Lafayette is 66. BU has 41 penalty corners and scored on 7, Lafayette has 27 penalty corners and has scored on five. Lafayette save percentage is 73 pct and  BU is .67.

This game could well be a defensive battle. If Lafayette can break through and aggressively get to the Boston goalkeeper, advantage Lafayette. If Boston’s high press prevents that, advantage Boston. Lafayette will have to make quick decisions in the  backfield and stop Boston getting off shots. Boston needs to do much the same with Lafayette’s advantage and success in scoring once the shot is taken.

I am sorry to say for fans, this will not be a runaway for either team but a tense battle until the final whistle. With the stakes high and skill of both teams, a one goal game is not beyond the realm of possibilities. The Leopards have something to prove against the ranked Terriers. So for them it is as much about respect as it is about establishing a winning record within the league. They are the visitors but Lafayette fans travel well.

It gets no easier as the Leopards on Sunday, will take on the UConn huskies, last year’s national champion and next friday will host the national runner up. Yes, this could be a defining week for Leopards.

Go Pards!!

At times it is just being on the field, but it was the Lafayette captains, two time Patriot League defensive player of the week. Hannah Millen and Amanda Magadan, one of the leading scorers in the League and a member of the US under 21 team who showed the way as each scored a goal in each period against Quinnipiac, enabling the Leopards to end the week at 5-1. It wasn’t without some last second dramatics as the Bobcats were award three straight short corners after time had expired. But it was the defensive battery that was to come up big and turn away the final shot ending the game.

It was Magadan who opened the scoring with a crowd pleasing dash to the goal, stealing the ball outside the circle, avoiding two defenders and then “juking” the goalie in a final move, before placing it in the back of the cage unassisted thirteen minutes into the game. It was then that Millen and company in the back line stiffened and denied Quinnipiac the circle while they managed to get only two shots the whole first half, only one of which required a save by goalie Katelyn Arnold. Lafayette did suffer two green cards and played 4 minutes of the half down a player.

Lafayette looked as though it might break the game open in the second half as Millen scored the second goal off a corner sending a rocket past the Quinnipiac goalie using assists by Ami Turner and Ellen Coubourne one minute and fourteen seconds into the second period. Lafayette threatened several times to make it three but got turned away. Take away the final 3 corners with no time left by Quinnipiac, they managed only three corners during the game. Lafayette had 7 corners, 5 in the second half alone.

Lafayette used its bench, substituting in every able bodied field player available demonstrating how deep they are this season. Each coach took a time out, Quinnipiac to get organized as Lafayette looked like it might take complete control, and Lafayette did it for the same reason as Quinnipiac eventually did score a nifty goal by Michelle Fedrico on a backhanded shot assisted by Meghan McCulloch. In addition, Rosie Shanks was to get a yellow card with 6:47 to go in the game. but Lafayette did manage to earn a corner with 3:15 left on the clock. Amanda Magadan was to get the last Lafayette shot which was saved by the Quinnipiac goalie with 30 seconds to go.

It never over until its over, as Quinnipiac earned their corner which resulted in three last chances to tie the score with time having expired. The defense came together and finally sealed the victory batting the ball out of the circle ending the game.

The Leopards next take on the Boston University Terriers in Boston next Saturday at noon. This will open the Patriot League Championship season which will decide the final four participants in the League tournament and the home field advantage.

We are twenty percent into the 2015 season and the Leopards are starting to make a mark in the NCAA division one statistics. First they are 3-1. According to fieldhockeycorner.com and their mathematical calculation of rank, which includes opponents records and margin of victory as variables, the Leopards rank 22nd. The NCAA statistics are impressive, they rank 6th in goals and goals per game. They are 8th in average margin of victory, 11th in winning percentage,9th in defensive saves, and 12th in assists. Katie Birle is ranked 11 in goals and Ellen Coulbourne is 11th in assists. Katie and Amanda Madagan are 11th in points per game as of this writing.

Yes, it is still early and these statistics probably are not reflective of a whole season. However, after this weekend’s games with Monmouth and Quinnipiac, the Leopards will be playing three straight games with highly ranked team, an important league match with Boston University @ Boston, University of Conn. @ UConn and Albany @ home. At that point the Leopards will have played more than 50% of their games with top 20 teams. After that, we will have a fair view of where the Leopards are nationally.

But it is really the league schedule that hold the key to getting into the national tournament.  A win over the preseason favorite in Boston would be a big step forward. These are must win games to get the Leopards into the League tournament and have a home field advantage. The other games may or may not help to get a second Patriot League  team into the tourney. First things first, and of concern for the team and their coaches is Monmouth’s return to Rappolt Field for a game tomorrow. The Leopards holds a 10-1 all time winning record with Monmouth.

However, Monmouth is an improving program and I do not expect for them to be an easy game. Last night, they lost to Rutgers after taking an early lead. Rutgers tied it before the end of the half and finally pulled ahead in the second half ending the game with a 4-2 win. Monmouth also lost to Bucknell 3-1 in their first game after an early lead. A good early start against this aggressive attacking team would bode well for the Leopards.

We are getting to the belly of the season and with good results it  could go a long way for the Maroon and White to set up  a sprint to reaching their goals. Go Pards!!