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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 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.

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.

Talent, Tempo, And Training

In a frenzied tempo the Leopards opened the last competition with a hint of what this team could be during the regular season. Ranked nationally by the NCAA, using last year’s RPI the number 22 Leopards pushed the 18th ranked Great Danes on their heals. They opened scoring and got out to an early lead. I’m not going into great detail but to these eyes this is a team that could go far.

The scary thing is they can get better. They are fast, skilled and show great determination. There. is new talent and old talent, and Coach Stone is putting together a team that could go far this year. Albany was no slouch this afternoon, and yes they rebounded and evened the score later on, but if our Maroon and White numbers on the field can sustain what I saw early on, the 22 ranking could turn into something amazing.

First up will be Fairfield on Friday. First games are always tough but this one comes with Fairfield’s new coach Laura Gebhart’s initial attempt to get her first win. Laura is the former Penn State star all American and. later on Associate Coach. I am sure Coach Stone will have our Leopards ready for the challenge.

The talent is there as Leopards have four preseason all league players and they are picked to win the League title. No doubt the early season will see the Leopards with a big target on their back which means they will need to show their talent using high tempo while relying on their training to see them through….I can’t wait for the opening whistle!

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Pards Roll In Second Exhibition Game

Flying Upfield

In the second game of the preseason Lafayette avenged a spring defeat by the Monmouth Hawks. On the backs of an already stout defense Lafayette came from behind with only 1 minute 49 seconds left on the clock. The Leopards had pulled their goal keeper with 4 minutes to go in the game and were able to take control with about 2 minutes left turning around a Monmouth attack. The Leopards managed to get to the attacking circle earning a penalty corner.

Rather than try to be fancy, the feed from Linda Nova. went directly to Lena Thedrian who delivered a rocket to the back of the net, the game ended after regulation time and they went to overtime. At about 4 minutes in to overtime Laila Pasic tipped in her second goal of the preseason sealing a victory.

Katie Gibb goes for the ball

Since this was practice game, play continued for the remainder of the 10 minute period. Both teams retired and began to set up for shoot out practice. Although it wasn’t as sharp as they would have liked they put in more goals than the Hawks.

Olivia Krey stands up Monmouth player

Lena Thedrian again had a very good game making multiple defensive saves while scoring the equalizer with less than two minutes left. Sophmore Laila Pasic continues to find the back of net in this preseason.

Lauren Kurek puts it into high gear

I don’t want to diminish the effort by the rest of the team as all games are a team effort and our Leopards continue to look deep and skilled. However, this is not the regular season yet and these game don’t count and the team is going to get better……and so are their opponents.

Next up is Albany on Sunday, another stern test for the Leopards!!

Leopards Begin Training To Defend Title

In a brisk, sharp, practice, under the August sun, the Lafayette Leopards are hard at work honing their skills, to make another run at a league title, and a place in the national tournament. To these eyes, the dedication and enthusiasm is there, and the coaching staff is making sure they will be ready.

The first test for this team who are showing extraordinary depth, will be at Penn State on Friday. It will be a strong baptism for this team that finished ranked in the top 20 in the nation last year!!! They will be playing the Nittany Lions a nationally ranked team in the tough Big Ten conference. They will be meeting the Lions during the regular season at Lafayette, and will be hosting an Olympic fundraising clinic after the game. It features clinic coaches who have had Olympic experience.

Leaders consult at end of practice

During practice, the team showed good speed, and given the early season, showed good decision making skills. It’ll be especially interesting for the new players, number 2 Addison Ford from Malvern, Pa,number 9 Lauren Kurek from Collegeville Pa, number 20 Katie Ambrose from Newark, Del, number 21 Feline Reusken from Voorsburg, Netherlands, number 25 Roselie van Gool from Saint-Michielegestel, Netherlands, number 27 Linda Nova from Prague, Czech Republic and number 98 Campbell Lemmink from Yorktown Va. Together with the other 20 team members, this team will be deep and talented.

Depth is an emerging strength

The team has benefited from the new construction adjacent to the field hockey field, housing the Lacrosse teams. There is a fully equipped strength facility which is being used. Improvements to the FH stadium area still await approval of plans by the township!! As the winningest team on campus, we all hope that we can move forward soon!!

Coach Stone, who is entering her 13th season at the helm, will be joined by last year’s assistants Jop Beuger in his 3rd season, and Meghan Reese in her second season.

Aside from winning the conference, the Leopards ( and their fans) would love to see the PL tournament at home. So winning each Patriot League game is important, and a key game with American is circled for Friday Oct 3rd in DC. Perennial power Syracuse and Penn State will strengthen an already strong schedule with Fairfield, Drexel, Longwood,William and Mary, Temple, Dartmouth, Quinnipiac, New Hampsire and Delaware providing non league challenges!!

Aside from the Penn State exhibition there will be games with Monmouth and Albany to prepare for the opening game with Fairfield on August 29th at 6pm at home. The game will be covered by ESPN streaming service.