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Championship Run Begins Thursday

American, Lafayette, Bucknell, and Boston vie for Championship on Thursday and Saturday

The four teams left standing will again meet in DC for a repeat of last years Patriot League Championship with a minor reshuffling of the deck. American will meet Boston at 11 am Thursday and Lafayette will meet Bucknell at 2 pm. American ended the regular season with an undefeated record, Lafayette came up second with the overtime loss to American as their only blemish, Buckell had two losses ( American and Lafayette), Boston dropped games to Lafayette, American and Bucknell.

Josephine avoids defenders

But it is the internal statistics that are most interesting. Lafayette has not be scored upon in any League game since their 1-0 overtime loss to American at the beginning of the League schedule. Lafayette and Bucknell lead in goals scored in League games with 17 each while American trails with 16 and Boston has 10.

Leneke Spaans explodes downfield

The five straight shutouts by Lafayette compare with Boston’s 12 goals against, Bucknell’s 8 goals against and American’s 3 goals against. Lafayette’s offense is highlight by its League leading 103 shots, to American’s 92, Bucknell’s 82 and Boston’s 70. Lafayette had 42 corners during the League games, Buckell had 40. American had 36 and Boston had 36.

DPC defense is a wall

Lafayette was strong in goal with a 95% save percentage, American followed with 86 %,Boston with 75% and Bucknell with 68 %.

So in summary. statistically the Leopards look pretty good. But the only statistic in end is the final score and the Leopards ( as well as the rest of League ) have a hard time getting past American and they are at home. There is not video replay at American’s home field which to my mind is an issue the League should address, any other field but American’s would have had video referral.

Mackenzie Hall holds off a Bucknell defender

Three of the coaches have ten plus years in the job while Bucknell’s coach has been there only several years but has proven to be a dangerous opponent, especially in important games.

There is always a surprise in these games as American lost to Lehigh several years ago during the pandemic games. Lafayette has a diversified group of talent which could be a problem for any opponent. Lafayette’s Thursday opponent, Bucknell has the very talented Lily Neilson which will challenge Lafayette’s defense. In any case, Lafayette must limit opponent penalty corners and circle penetrations. They must also finish with more regularity.

The prize is the trophy and the privilege of keep playing in the National Championship tournament!!

Lafayette Offense Struggles In 1-0 Loss To Number 15 UMass

The Leopards went to head to head with the visiting Minute Women, falling by one goal for the second consecutive meeting. UMass did out shoot Lafayette 9-5, as they used a strong second half to overcome the defensive stalemate in the first half. The Minute Women were able to control play and by adding two penalty corners to Lafayette’s none in the fourth quarter.

It was even more remarkable given that Lafayette held, for a time an advantage of three field players due to two cards by UMass and with Coach Stone pulling the Lafayette goalkeeper. Lafayette keeper Fragomeni had 3 saves during the contest.

So does this look like the GK is going for ball….I think not!!!!!

The winning goal came at 45 seconds into the final period during a penalty corner. The Minute Women played a very physical game, often pressing the Leopards especially in the second half. Lafayette’s shots came from two by Leneke Spaans, two from Lea Good, and one from Laila Pasic.

There was strong defensive play from Makenzie Switzer and co captain India Ralph. The Leopards will now move on with a League bye next week and meeting Drexel and Temple before a big game with Boston University in two weeks!

Leopards Roll Against Lehigh 5-0

Stella Malinowski attacks the circle

In a demonstration unlike any other this season, the Leopards put it all together for the 500 fans in attendance. The 5-0 score may have underscored the dominance Lafayette had all game, but it didn’t tell the whole story. It was a game of defense, offense. and personnel depth. Sophomore forward Stella Malinowski was the statistically dominant player of the night with two goals and an assist, but it was “all hands on deck,” as the Leopards just crushed it with speed, team play, and aggressiveness.

Lafayette executes on an OPC

Lafayette had 18 shots to Lehigh’s 3, they were tied in penalty corners, but each corner became offensive opportunities, Fragomeni was perfect in the goal, and scoring was spread around to four players with assists from three different Leopards. As an example of aggressive play, the Leopards had 46 fouls to Lehigh’s 28 and at one point they were down two players on the field due to cards, and Lehigh still could not find a scoring solution. The mountain hawks never gave up playing, but tonight was Leopard night.

Scoring was opened up at 6:04 into the contest with Malinowski delivering on a penalty stroke, to put Lafayette out front, which they would never cede. Lineke Spanns, who was guarded closely all game delivered the second strike with a spectacular drive across the Lehigh goal dodging several players, and putting the Lehigh goalkeeper on her back foot. Lafayette 2-0 at 14:26 into the game.

Trying to shut down Spanns proved to be futile as Lea Good took an assist by Josephine van Wijk at 16:07 as the offense avalanche continued with a deft strike to the back of the cage.

Lafayette reentered the game after halftime as Alex Darrah ( who seems always to be at the right place) delivered a Stella Malinowski assist, to put the Leopards up 4 with 29 minutes to play in the game. Malinowski finished her night with a goal assisted by co-captain India Raph at 37:26.

In other Patriot League action the American Eagles beat BU 2-0 after taking 26 shots on the road to continue their undefeated league record. Bucknell rolled against Colgate to keep pace with the Leopards in second place, as their last game of the season with ‘American looms large to break the logjam at the top of the standings.

The Leopards will have a league bye next week. and then will meet BU at home which may lock in a place in the PL tournament. The Bucknell/ American game may well initiate going to tiebreakers for the top seed. Just wait…..your head could explode with the possibilities.

In the meantime, Lafayette will meet the ranked UMASS minutemen ( or women) on Sunday which, believe it or not could be a factor in tie breakers. In any case it could help the Leopards break into the top 30!!

Lafayette Shows Character With 2-0 Win At Bucknell

Spanns delivers the ball in the circle

The first half of this game looked like overtime was inevitable. Both teams spent most of the first 30 minutes between the 30 yard lines. They had three shots each, while Bucknell had 3 penalty corners while Lafayette had single time with a corner chance. Bucknell’s defense was all it was cracked up to be, and their team speed was impressive. The two players that attracted the most attention were number 12 Lily Neilson from Bucknell who had 4 shots , and number 8 Lineke Spaans from Lafayette, who had no shots was central to getting the ball to circle. Spaans was surrounded by 3 Bison for most of game but managed to break free from time to time. Neilson was well contained one on one by the Leopards, but was clearly on their minds.

Mackenzie Hall holds off a Bucknell defender

It was number 19 Josephine van Wijk, who had the most shots for the Leopards (5), but couldn’t seem to connect, despite being on goal for 4 of them. Lena Thedrian was a key player on defense and contributed 4 shots during the game. Despite the fine defensive play by the Bison it was my impression that the Leopards relentless play began to wear them down eventually. Shots in second half were 12 to 6 in the Leopard’s favor.

With less than 3 minutes left in the third quarter Katie Gibb found a rebound off of two shots during a penalty corner. The umpire could have called another PC for Lafayette but held his whistle as an excellent official should. The Leopard’s took the first lead of the game.

Josephine van Wijk scoots around a Bucknell defender

Bucknell was not giving up, but the visiting team scored again with 8:20 left in the game as Alex Darrah found the back of the net with the help of a perfect pass from Laila Pasic after two other shots at the cage. It should be noted that both came off the bench seconds before the goal!!

DPC unit had a good night

Goalkeeper Raffi Fragomeni had a very good night, not only getting the shutout but by using her kickers to direct the ball. In my opinion, this was the best effort by this Lafayette team of the year. It was a wonderful turnaround after losing 2 tough game last weekend. The importance of the game cannot be overstated as this drops Bucknell out the League unbeaten ranks and gives Lafayette two victories with 3 League games to play. Lafayette and Bucknell are now tied with a 1 game loss in the League. This Bison team is a fine team, and in my opinion could very well beat American later in the season.

American Gets By Lafayette In Double Overtime

As the late great Yogi Berra might say, it was ” deja vu all over again,” as Lafayette lost to the American Eagles 1-0 in a similar play that ended the 1-0 championship game last season. The game was played at that level as each team had their chances during regular time. Game statistics were a reflection the closeness of the action. American led in shots 9-8, while Lafayette led on shot on goal 5-4, American’s goalkeeper Bryn Underwood had 5 saves to Raffi Fragomeni’s 3. American led in corners 3-2.

Several times the Leopards had breakaway opportunities which were stopped by American’s fifth year goalkeeper coming out to meet the threat. It was the class of the Patriot League, in my opinion in this early game. American had lost in three other overtime games this season. It was American’s first League win, so there is a lot of hockey yet to play but it is a huge step up to claim another home field advantage by the DC based American Eagles.

The Leopards will move on to Happy Valley with a meeting with nationally ranked Penn State on Sunday. A win would certainly help with the sting of tonights game, but the Leopards will face another challenge with an ever improving Bucknell Bisons next week in Lewisburg

Alex Darrah Drills Two To The Back Of The Cage In Patriot League Win Over Holy Cross

Lea Good goes after the ball. She had an assist on the first goal

Lafayette saved their offensive fireworks for the second half as they were only able to manage two shots to Holy Cross’ six shots in the first 30 minutes. Penalty corners went to Holy Cross 3 to 2 as well. From my perspective it looked like the Leopards were having trouble with a bouncy turf, but the Maroon and White turned it around and outshot the Crusaders 14-3 in the second half to record a 3-0 win in Worcester

Katie Gibb gets encouragement from Alex Darrah

The Holy Cross goalkeeper was forced to make 11 saves, while Raffi Fragomeni earned a shutout, with 7 saves.

Lafayette bench was a huge advantage, as Coach Stone used 20 players during the game while Holy Cross only 15.

The second goal of the game came at 35:49 after a desperate scrum in front of the cage resulted in a penalty stroke goal by Stella Malinowski. Alex Darrah score her second goal of the game at 42:06. Although the Crusaders fought hard, the field seemed to tilt in Leopards favor and they managed 7 shots to one, and threatened all period long.

The Leopards will take their 5-2 record and 1-0 record in the Patriot League back to Rappolt Field in an important game next Friday against American University. In other league action Bucknell beat Boston 2-1 in overtime!!!

Leopards’ Victory: Deep Bench and 29 Shots

Lea Good delivers one of 29 shots

The Leopards finally walked way with the fourth win of the season against the Bobcats of Quinnipiac, following a ton of shots and an amazingly deep bench 3-2. Think twenty nine shots ( sixteen on goal), twenty one players seeing action on the pitch, three different players scored goals while the Bobcats had 8 shots 5 on goal, 4 defensive saves, 9 saves by their goalkeeper. They used only 4 players from their bench but found the back of the net twice during the game.

Laine Delmotte delivers the ball to Stella Malinowski

Quinnipiac jumped out to a lead in the first quarter behind a 3 shot to 1 advantage at 9:28 into the game. following a lift past two Leopard defenders and a shot into the left corner. For the moment it looked like the momentum was moving in the Bobcats favor. The home crowd of 403 fans were about to see the Leopards turn it on. Lafayette managed 15 shots to 1 for the visitors in second quarter, with a 5-0 penalty corner advantage as well. Finally, India Ralph delivered a deftly tipped the ball into the back of the net tying the score at 1-1 at 22:21 Mackenzie Hall and Leneke Spaans were helpers on the goal. Spaans attracted as many as three defenders at times, enabling her and the Leopard offense to find openings. She and Stella Malinowski were involved in the second go ahead goal by freshman Laila Pasic, who delivered by tipping the ball into the net at 33:44. It was the first goal of her career and first appearance on the turf this season!!

Spaans escapes triple coverage

To the credit of Quinnipiac, they kept fighting and tied up the score 4 minutes later, and seeming to breathe life into the Bobcats who had a 3 -2 advantage in penalty corners in the third quarter, but the Leopards still had the advantage in shots 6-3.

Josephine van Wijk delivered the winning go ahead goal at 44:47 with help from Lineke Spaans again on a tip in. Van Wijk had a team leading 5 shot 3 on goal during the contest.

Mackenzie Hall closes in

At end of the contest the players and close fans were treated to a post game tailgate by the ever supportive parent delegation.

Lafayette hits the road to Syracuse to play the Orangemen on Sunday, their first ranked opponent of the season. Syracuse is 3-1 and are coming off a 2-0 win against Northeastern. Last Season’s game in Easton was cancelled because of a thunderstorm. They are ranked 14th in the NFHCA poll. Their one loss came at the hands of Ohio State 0-5.

Leopards Drop One In Durham

Spanns powers past her opponent

Lafayette finished their New England tour, losing their first game of the season to the University of New Hampshire 3-0. All three New Hampshire goals were made in the first half, where each side made 5 shots, but the home team found the back of the net on 3. Lafayette had the edge in penalty corners during the game 7-3 but couldn’t connect while two New Hampshire corners resulted in scores. New Hampshire led 11-9 on shots for the whole game.

I watched the game on TV, which was a real challenge as there was no replay, no close up shots, and the one camera man had a hard time following the ball. However, right from the outset it seemed Lafayette was having a hard time with the new turf. There were slippery conditions, and ball seemed to bounce in way that gave our players difficulty. However, that is not an excuse, New Hampshire was quick and their defense was stout, keeping the Leopards from getting into any real rhythm. According to the stat sheet, Addis Kahn the Leopard freshman Gk did get in for 5:14.

The second half did see the Leopard’s defense shut down the New Hampshire offense, but the Lafayette offense had little to offer. Josephine van Wijk led the Leopards with 3 shots, Spanns had 2, Evans had 2, Darrah had 1, along with India Ralph. Of the 9 shots 4 were on goal.

Next week challenges include a home contest with Quinnipiac on Friday and a meeting with number 7 ranked Syracuse on Sunday.

Lafayette Extends It’s Streak To 3-0 In Dominant Win over Dartmouth

Leopards celebrate Stella Malinowski third period goal

The Leopards travelled to Hanover, N.H. and Dartmouth College for the first ever meeting by the two schools in Field Hockey. Lafayette made the most of the opportunity by recording a 3-0 result, using a crushing defense and an opportunistic offense. Lafayette had 18 shots while dominating play on their side of the pitch for most of the game. Dartmouth was able to muster 7 shots, 4 of which were made in the third quarter. The Dartmouth GK, Isabel Andrews, stopped 8 shots. Raffi Fragomeni earned her second shutout of the season while only having to turn away 1 shot, but was very active directing the Leopard defense.

The Lafayette scoring was spread around to three different players. Lena Thedrian opened the scoring in the second quarter at 16:14 using a rebound after a corner attempt. Early scoring continued as Stella Malinowski again used a rebound to find the back of the cage two minutes into the second half. She also had the only assist for the Leopards later on as Alex Darrah found the low far side of the goal at 59:40.

Aside from the goals, offense pressure came from 9 different shot takers, Josephine van Wijk recorded 5 shots, Mackenzie Hall and Lineke Spaans both had three, Alex Darrah had 2 shots, while India Ralph, Stella Malinowski, Lena Thedrian, Olvia Key, Maddie Evans all recorded one shot!

There were no cards during the game. The Leopards will now travel a short distance for a Sunday game with the University of New Hampshire. Who are at the moment 1-2, having lost to St. Joes and UConn, but picking up a big win against Qinnipiac 4-0 in Hamden earlier today. It will be New Hampshire’s home opener. In last meeting, Lafayette came away with a 1-0 win. The first matchup was in 2008 where the Leopards prevailed 2-3.

Leopards Sprint To 2-1 Win Over Vermont

Mackensie Hall looks to intercept the ball

Getting the first win of the season is always well earned, and before a home crowd of 357 fans, the Leopards did not disappoint. It was more than a contest that demonstrated skill and athletic ability, but had elements of field hockey strategy as well.

The game opened with both side trying to establish physical dominance as the first 4 or five minutes moved from one side to the other. The Leopards deep bench was to come into play and at the 5 minute mark, fresh legs in the form of Alex Farrah, Mia Freeman, Maddie Evans, Kiley Gallagher entered the pitch. Vermont answered with substitutions of their own and produced the first shot of game that went wide of the pipes. It wasn’t until 11:31 into the game that Mackenzie Hall was to have Lafayette was break the ice with a shot that was wide of the goal.

Makenzie Switzer sprints upfield

The Leopards were to gain momentum when 30 seconds later Josephine van Wijk took her chance at the goal and ws turned away by the Vermont goal keeper Ila Gunner. As the quarter progressed Lafayette was to attack the goal more often with shots and an eventual corner at 12:12. Pressure on the GK continued with van Wijk finding opportunities to pressure the cage.

Kiley Gallagher dodges around the Vermont defender

At the beginning of the second quarter, Lafayette was to find the back of cage at 18:53 as Lea Good, with an assist by Laine Dellmotte were to open scoring for 2024. Leopards fans needed only to wait about six months as all American Lineke Spaans drove the right baseline beating the Vermont defense for an unassisted goal at 25:07. The Leopards were to retire from the first half with 2-0 lead with Vermont on their back heals.

Vermont was to answer by trying to negate the Leopards speed with a zone defense which resulted in a Vermont goal from Marie Dijkstra assisted by Meg Weyer at 49 seconds into the second half. The shot came on a reverse move that had a Lafayette defender shielding Raffi Fragomeni from seeing the ball.

Vermont had signaled they were not going down easy. One had to remember last year’s game with these same opponents, which ended up in a tie at the end of regulation and Vermont eventually winning it in overtime…..not this time.

Lineke Spaans shows her defensive skills

Lafayette redoubled efforts getting four penalty corners to one in the second half. Fragmeni was to was to turn away two shots during the same half. Vermont itself turned away three Leopard shots but couldn’t get by the Leopard defense. As the clock ticked off the last 2-3 minutes of the game Lafayette played an effective game of keep away with Spaans going to the Vermont corner repeatedly, denying Vermont and offensive chance to tie the game. With thirty seconds left, Vermont gave away a deliberate corner stopping the clock hoping for one last chance. Instead of taking the shot Spaans again went to corner ending the game with the 2-1 win.

Sunday will see the Blue Hens of Delaware in Easton. Although the Leopards have a hold on wins at home, Delaware has the edge overall in the series. The Patriot League had a mixed bag Friday night with American losing in overtime to VCU, Boston picked up a 3-0 win against Providence and Holy Cross winning dominantly against Stonehill. Bucknell lost a close one to Miami of Ohio. Colgate succumbed to Rider 5-1. Lehigh plays on Saturday at Monmouth followed by Wagner on Sunday.