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THEY’RE BACK

It’s Saturday morning in early August and the Lafayette Leopards are back at work on Rappolt Field preparing for the 2024 Division one field hockey season. The legs are still fresh, the weather was perfect, and as the morning progressed it became obvious their machine like integration from last year renewed itself. This team saw itself go all the way to the championship game last year, and it was apparent this fast paced practice and intensity was showing the elements were still there to demonstrate play-off hockey.

The Maroon and White are returning 5 all league selections including all American Leneke Spanns. As the coaches put the team through its paces there was no doubt that the determination and skill were there…..and maybe more. Asst. Coaches Jop Beuger and Meghan Reese make sure no one was standing still, as continuous drills emphasized ball and body movement, while executing accurate passing and deflections at the goal.

New first year players absorbed information from their new teammates as well as from the coaches. Sweat was certainly visible, despite the relatively balmy weather as the drills delivered fitness as well as skill improvement.

Coach Stone was pleased with her veterans, but being the excellent coach she has demonstrated in the last 12 years, she looks forward to the development of others who will see more playing time and the first year’s players, as they become accustomed to the speed and skill of the college division one game. Stone has challenged her team with an interesting schedule which includes Syracuse, Penn State and Delaware. However, before the season begins there will be exhibition tune ups on August 20th and 25th at Fairfield and Columbia at home respectively. Both games will begin at 1 pm. The first regular season game will be with Vermont at home at 6pm under the lights!!

It’s not like the summer and spring have been idle for the Leopards. Much of the team has been practicing and playing internationally. Three Leopards participated in the Junior Pan Am games, Stella Malinowski, Laine Delmotte, and Katie Gibb. Raffi Fragomeni looked ready to defend the cage as she saw significant action last year!!

The Patriot League will be challenging with American defending their championship arriving at Rappolt Field on Sep 27 in the eighth game of the season. The first League game will be on the 20th of Sept in Worcester with Holy Cross at 4 pm. The away games with the Crusaders as well as the away games with Bucknell and Colgate always seem to be tough affairs.

There always will be THE GAME with Lehigh as they will try to avenge their one goal loss last year. This year the RIVALRY will be on home turf on Friday evening Oct 11 at 6 pm. Boston arrives on homecoming Oct 25 to avenge their loss to the Leopards in the semi final last. year. The last regular season game will be up north at Colgate on November 2nd.

Challenges abound but it looks like an exciting season for Leopard field hockey. I would not be surprised to see our heroines in the mix a for championship when its all over. The talent is there, the bodies are willing and the fans are hungry. GO PARDS!!

Coach Jennifer Stone To Be At Lafayette Event In Bucks County On March 7

The Marquis de Lafayette visited the United States in 1824 as a guest of President James Monroe. While in Philadelphia, 200 Eastonians including James Madison Porter met him. He was so impressed he set off to work to establish a College in Lafayette’s name. A group of prominent citizens led by Porter met at White’s Hotel to begin the process.

On March 9,1826 the governor of Pennsylvania signed the charter officially establishing Lafayette College. Each year on or around March 9, alumni get together at parties all over the world to celebrate their alma mater and toast the Marquis.

This year there will be an event on March 7 at the Bucks Club, 2600 York Road , Jamison, Pa. 18929. It will be a cash bar with small food. The highlight will be the attendance of Head Field Hockey Coach Jennifer Stone. The Field Hockey team could rightly be called the most successful team at Lafayette. They are regular participants in the annual Patriot League tournament and as champions represented the Patriot League in the national NCAA tournament.

This year, the team had a league leading, 5 all Patriot League awardees including an All American selection, Leneke Spanns. National teams are no stranger to Lafayette athletes as the captain of the US Olympic team will have alumna Amanda (Magadan) Golini leading the squad in this year’s Paris Olympics. Alumna Audrey Sawers is a member of the Canadian National Team. There are currently 3 players on the squad who were selected to the under 21 Canadian national team.

There is no doubt next year’s team will be in the hunt for a championship!!

The event is from 5:30 to 7:30. The host is Bill Messick class of ’68 Messy12@aol.com. You can also contact Alumni Engagement at 610-330-5040 or alumni @lafayette.com to make a reservation!! See you there.

USFH IS GOING TO PARIS!!!!!

There are games that can just be a win, because of luck or just superior talent. Then there are games that demonstrate character…..today’s game with Japan in India was one of those games. The skill was there, but character drove them to the finish.The nervousness rose in this house this morning as the US was scored upon for the first time in this Olympic Qualifying tournament in the second half. Could they score and a least go to overtime!!!??

Not only did they score, but they scored twice in the closing fourth quarter minutes to secure that elusive ticket to the Paris Olympics. Japan pulled their goalkeeper to try even the game in the closing minutes, but the US was able to win a corner running clock in the process.

Team captain and Lafayette Alum Amanda Golini will be the first Lafayette alum to become an Olympian in one hundred years. The emotions were overwhelming. driving the team, its fans. and coaches to tears. David Passmore the head coach, was seen a little teary eyed at the end as well.

The team had been through the difficulties of coaching changes, and moving to Charlotte. In the end, not only did they persevere but thrived.

They will move on to play in the finals, their Paris ticket in hand. They are remaining in SE Asia for several weeks for pro league games, as they polish their skills before coming home.

Congratulations To Amanda And The Team As They Prepare For The Olympics!! Go USA

US Women Score Huge Win Against India

The US Women’s National Team won their first game in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament today against India 1-0. Aside from the score and the Olympic berth at stake in the outcome, this game with the number six world ranked Indian team had special drama attached to it. Four years ago, India had knocked the US team out Olympic contention in a play in game. Janneke Shopmann had been the US coach at the time and was relieved after the series. She has since become the Indian coach and the US has had a series of coaches before settling on David Passamore.

Team congratulates Amy Tamer on goal

Comparing the two teams one has only to count the number of caps vs the Indian team. Amanda Golini (nee Magadan) and Ashley Hoffaman by far have the most caps on the team ( about 260 together). No one else comes close. India is an experienced side who was expected to dominate their Pool. There are two Pools for a total Eight teams playing. The top three will go to Paris in the coming Olympics this summer.

US defense was on it all game

This tournament is being played in Rachi, India and a second tournament is being played in Valencia, Spain with another three to get their bid the same way.

The name of game was defense, as the Red,White and Blue made a second period goal stand up in the end. It was made possible as Kelsey Bing, the US goalkeeper and player of the game turned back threat after threat.

The first period saw team captain and Lafayette alumna Amanda Golini apparently scoring the opening goal. However, under video review by the referees there was an obstruction violation negating the score. The US had to wait until the second period when Abby Tamer scored to make it 1-0.

Goal Keeping Was Excellent by Kelsey Bing

In terms of circle penetrations, corners and offensive possessions the home team had the edge. At one point India had 4 corners in row turned away by Kelsey Bing. But the US defense as whole maintained their 4-3-4 scheme turning way the attacking Indian Team.

The US will be taking on Italy tomorrow at 6:30 am EST. The games are televised by the CBS sports channel.

Leopards Nab Four All Region Slots

Lafayette led the Patriot League with four all region selections. Lafayette is in the Mid East region along with schools like Penn State, Yale, Bucknell, Syracuse and Connecticut. The other Patriot League school that had multiple selections was American who had three in the Mid Atlantic Region.

Leading the Leopards was no surprise as Junior Lineke Spaans was selected for the first team. Joining her on the second team were Sophomores Josephine van Wijk and Makenzie Switzer along with the Patriot League rookie of the year Stella Malinowski.

Remarkably, all four will be returning to compete for the Patriot League title!!! In addition freshman Katie Gibbs and Junior Laine Delmotte have been selected for the Junior Canadian World Cup team playing in Santiago, Chile this week and next!!

The Leopards will be returning to their team, a group that saw the majority of minutes during their run as runner up in the League. They missed going to NCAA tournament because of a one goal loss in the Patriot League Championship.

By adding a decent freshman class next year and the return of several injured players the Leopards should be favored to take it all next year or I might eat a hockey ball if they are not !!! I can’t wait for spring, as skills improve and we can insert a healthy team to the pitch.

Go Pards!!

Leopards Win In Character Effort In Patriot League Semi Final

Spaans looks to Thedrian

Lafayette Comes From Behind Twice To Win In Overtime 3-2 On Thedrian Goal

In an afternoon where the Leopards slowly gained possession time and in the end dominated statistically, Lafayette walked away with a 3-2 win over Boston University. At 64:09 the Leopards were executing a offensive penalty corner which was blocked by Boston. The ricochet ended on the stick of Josephine van Wijk who saw first year player Lena Thedrian on the far post who took the “rock” and delivered the goal for the win. It was Lena’s first goal of the season and career. The team erupted in happiness and swarmed the Lafayette defender.

Mackenzie Switzer closes in on BU player

Later in an interview she viewed the moment as the happiest in her life!. She later hoped her parents were watching in Germany!!

But the final goal was not the only heroics of the afternoon. The Terriers were winning 2-1 with less than one minute left in regulation when first year Lea Good took a ball delivered by Lineke Spaans to the back of the goal to tie the game and put the team into the overtime situation.

Spaans circles around a BU defender

BU started the game with an early goal by Thalia Stevenssens at 3:11 giving them a 1-0 lead which held up though the end of the first half. After halftime super player Lineke Spaans delivered the tying goal at 31:02 with assists from Mackensie Switzer and India Raph. Nine minutes later BU again moved ahead with a goal of their own. In the fourth quarter, the Leopards redoubled efforts culminating in Good’s goal with less than a minute remaining.

co captain India Ralph lines up a pass

Spaans was clearly the catalyst all game long advancing the ball, challenging defences and getting off 6 shots, scoring one goal and assisting on another. Josephine van Wijk was her usual self, placing herself in a position to be a threat culminating in her assist to Thedrian for the win!!

Offensive Penalty Corner explodes

As I mentioned Lafayette dominated the stats getting off 20 shots agains 4 by Boston. They managed to hold BU to 0 shots in the second and fourth quarter. Boston did get off a shot in overtime saved by a spectacularly by Emma Garvey. Lafayette had 8 shots alone in the fourth quarter and four in the overtime.

Catalina Rubel gets down for the block

The Leopards had 10 penalty corners to only one by BU.

Lafayette will meet American on Saturday for the championship and an NCCA bid! American also won their game against Bucknell 3-2 having scored all three goals in the first period. Bucknell came back and had two penalty corner attempts with no time left and failed to connect!!

American beat Lafayette 3-1 early in the season after the Leopards scored first!! The action begins at 1 pm on ESPN plus.

GO PARDS!!

Lafayette Enters The Post Season Capturing 5 All League Honors

Patriot League Tournament Most Balanced In Years

Spaans blows by BU defender

The top four teams in the League standings are still playing this Thursday in the semi-final round of the Patriot League tournament, and anyone is capable of the claiming the championship on Saturday. For example, Bucknell is seeded fourth but all three of their league losses came with one goal margins or overtime shootouts.

Lafayette claimed the number 2 slot, and was tied with Bucknell with a scoring margin of 1.51 positive and with number of shots (86) considering only league play. Lafayette has the stingiest defense of the group by allowing only 5 goals over the 6 games.

In corners earned, American leads the pack with 59, BU has 38, Bucknell has 37 and Lafayette has 30. Bucknell leads with 16 goals, then Lafayette with 14, American with 13 and Boston recorded 12 goals during the PL season.

But the task at hand is the semi-final game tomorrow. Lafayette plays at 2 pm after the American /Bucknell game. Boston has always been known for their defense and how it creates offensive opportunities but the Lafayette defense has been stellar this season.

The Leopards will enter the playoffs after capturing five all patriot honors. Stella Malinowski was rookie of the year, Lineke Spaans ad Mackensie Switzer made first team and Laine Delmotte, Josephine vanWijk, and Stella Malinowski were named to the second team. It should be noted that is three juniors, a sophomore, and a freshman, all returning next year.

During the play by play last Saturday between American and Boston the announcer said how that game could be the preview of the championship game. Lafayette will have something to say about that by captains Spaans and Ralph, and the team. An eleven year veteran coach, Jennifer Stone will have the team ready. This is an intense competitive group that will be on the turf in the coming days!! Couldn’t be more excited for the tournament.

Go Pards!!

van Wijk Delivers Winning Goal In 2-1 Overtime Win Against Quinnipiac

Stella Malinowski scores tying goal in fourth quarter

So your team has 25 shots vs 11, 12 shots on goal vs 6, and 14 corners vs 6, but must need some fourth quarter and overtime heroics to win the game 2-1. The Quinnipiac defense stood tall for most of the game and protected their 1-0 lead, acquired in the first quarter, for 43 minutes and 57 seconds before Stella Malinowski delivered on a penalty stroke to knot the game at 1-1.

Lafayette got off numerous shots but were turned away by a red hot Cristina Torres, the Quinnpiac goalkeeper. The Leopards were stopped on all their 9 penalty corners racked up in regulation time. During the first quarter, it looked like Lafayette would be well in control until the Quinnipiac defense started to dig in,

During overtime where it is normally 7 v7 most fans would have thought the Leopards were in a good position as passing and shooting lanes would be more open. The first minutes in fact would be 6v6 at the start as both teams had two green cards.

Lafayette played strategically, holding the ball until their card expired and they would be one person up for about 40 seconds. Although they were to generate some offense they still could not get past the Tiger goalkeeper.

As the overtime period ticked on the Leopards were to get a remarkable 5 corners in row. However, at 4:40 into the overtime, Josephine van Wijk was to take a feed from Lena Thedrian and India Ralph scoring the winning goal. The Leopards are now 10-5 and will meet Lehigh who lost 4-0 to Albany today.

Emma Garvey, the Lafayette Goalkeeper kept her unbeaten streak alive, making several key saves against Stella Tegtmier, the Tigers ace midfielder.

Lineke Spaans along with van Wijk had 6 shots. It was Spaans’ drive to the goal that set up the Malinowski penalty stroke.

Without doing a lot figuring, with Boston to meet to meet American and Bucknell to meet Colgate I believe Lafayette will probably meet Boston in the first round of the League playoffs.

Go Pards Beat Lehigh!!

Spaans Lifts Leopards To 4-0 Win

Josephine van Wijk zeroes in on Towson midfielder

With two unassisted strikes to the back of the goal Lineke Spaans led the Leopards to their sixth consecutive win, as the season rapidly growing to a close. They guaranteed a winning season for the themselves, at least a second place league finish, and a ranking in the top 30 in the nation. The last league game is with Lehigh in one week, and the last regular season game with Temple awaits after that.

They will first need to conquer I 95 in Connecticut tomorrow as they travel to a game with Quinnipiac on Sunday. Always a competitive opponent they will put their 9-5 record on the line at 12 noon. It’s unclear whether it will be televised.

India Ralph lines up the shot

Spaan’s contributions are the latest in her season of dreams. She seems to lead and inspire her team to greater accomplishments every week. In a undergraduate dominated team, this Junior athlete uses her speed, skill and intensity to the admiration of team members and fans alike.

The first period, last night, was a series of probing action from both sides that ended in a 0-0 tie. Towson was impressive as they had speed of their own and executed their plan perfectly. Each team at the time had one penalty corner, and shots were divided 2-3. with saves tied at 1-1. It was Spaans who broke the scoring draught, with three minutes left in the first half by breaking away as she went into another gear leaving Tiger players in her wake. Winding up she struck with an unassisted goal to give the Leopards the 1-0 lead after the first 30 minutes.

Spaans and Co get ready for an APC

The momentum began to shift in that second quarter as the home team recorded a 6-3 advantage in shots as the horn signaled the half ended. Analysis from the sidelines energized the Leopards, as Spaans was to lead her team for the rest of the game.

At 8 minutes and 44 seconds into the second half Spaans struck again with a similar break away using a reverse stick shot from the left side of the circle to give the Leopard the 2-0 lead. Three minutes late Stella Malinowski excecuted a beautiful penalty stroke to lift Lafayette to a 3-0 lead.

Lafayette was not done yet as Maddie Evans got her first career goal with the help of first year classmate Lea Good in 4th quarter to finish the scoring for the night. The Leopards were to finish with 25 shots, 15 on goal to the visitor’s 6 shots, and 3 on goal. The Towson goalkeeper needed 11 saves to contain the damage.

The final seeding is not done yet as American meets Holy Cross on Saturday where a win by the Crusaders and a further loss against BU and win against Lehigh next Friday could still put the Leopards in position to host. Lehigh lost to Bucknell 5-0 and next week is their last chance to make the playoffs.

Go Pards!!

Spaans Connects For The Game Winner And The Defense Contains For PL Win Over BU

Spaans blows by BU defender

The Leopards defense contained the BU offense for most of the game. While neither team could score in the first half, BU could not even get to the shooting circle. But it was a Leneke Spaans’ early second half goal that was to put the Leopards on top for the rest of the game.

The swift Leopard quickly and unexpectedly took a restart and rocketed a shot from the top of the circle at 31:25. That was to stand up until the end of the game. Lafayette’s defense was to stand tall and turn away the Terrier offense early and often.

They were to intercept passes, tackle with authority, and switch fields with great skill. Lena Thedrian, along with Mackenzie Switzer were all over the field making tackles, and moving the ball to the the offense. Stella Malinowski showed the ability that made her Rookie of the Week. Lea Good was in the face of Boston offensive players while dribbling past defenders. Spaans flew around the Boston defense almost at will as they were stymied by her speed and skill.

Garvey has second shut out in front of NE fans!!

Emma Garvey recorded her second shutout stopping two key shots in the second half as the Terriers started to tilt the field in their favor.

Lea Good shrugs off close pressure by a BU defender

The Leopards had to overcome a green card on India Ralph at the beginning of the fourth quarter. As the clock ran down, Leneke used her considerable stick skills in running out the clock at the corner of the field.

Mackensie Hall breaks free

Lafayette is now 7-5 overall and 4-1 in Patriot League play. They will await the results of the last PL games to see were they will be seeded in the PL tournament. The last PL game will be with Lehigh in two weeks as they enter a League bye week.

Tomorrow they will meet a tough Providence team!!