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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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As we all know the start of the season begins in the spring as the seniors get ready for graduation and our Juniors begin to fill roles vacated by their older teammates. Yes, it is a period of adjustment as new roles are defined. However, the Leopards are blessed with a plethora of returning players albeit some will find new places on the field.

Field Hockey is a game of finding space, especially space that leads to an open teammate and a path to the goal on the offensive side of the field. No surprise then Thursday’s first live inter collegiate contest of the spring saw both offensives struggle. The end of the match was nil-nil but it was an exercise for coaches to see what needs to be improved.

No doubt the fine defense from last year is virtually intact with key performers like Lena Thedrian and Raffi Fradomeni are back for an encore, but of interest to fans will be how Josephine van Wijk steps into a leadership role. Her skill and presence was noticed in the contest thursday which left no doubt, as the prep for the fall continues, she will be ready. In addition there will be experienced players like Carolina Rubel, Mackenzie Switzer, Stella Malinowski, and Katie Gibb who will be familiar to Lafayette opponents.

As the game progressed it was obvious that many were stillT finding their spot and their teammates spot on the field. They will be at Temple at 1 pm on Saturday. What will be fun is to see the progress the team as whole makes during this practice week.

GO PARDS!!

It was an intense afternoon of hockey in which the umpires seemed to have difficulty keeping the play under control. In the end, the Leopard prevailed with a penultimate score in overtime by Lea Good assisted by Makenzie Switzer. The events leading up the win were every bit as dramatic.

From the get go it became obvious to the crowd of 623 that this would be a struggle of frantic defenses. Play was dominated by mid-field action with American at times trying to press, especially covering Lafayette’s co-captain and inspirational leader Leneke Spanns by triple teaming her all game long. One got the feeling it would be the success or failure of that effort which would lead to a championship for either team.

No one would have predicted the events of the fourth quarter. The 2nd and 3rd quarters would see the Leopards gathering six penalty strokes to the Eagle’s 2. With less than 10 minutes left in regulation time Eagle Agostina Ruffo was open and flicked a shot high into the goal scoring the first goal of the contest. Ruffo had scored two other game winning goals against the Leopards in the two previous games.

Anxiety reigned for the next 4 minutes until Leneke Spanns broke through her triple coverage and headed to the goal. As she penetrated the shooting circle a sloppy attempt at a tackle though Spann’s legs caused her tumble with a serious injury. Fans held their breath as she struggled to get up, eventually leaving the field only to briefly reenter the pitch with a courageous effort to return to the fray.

Intense moments ticked away as officials conferred only to eventually call a penalty stroke on the Eagles. Stella Malinoski stepped to the line and beat the Eagle GK Bryn Underwood on the lower left corner to tie the score with 5 1/2 minutes to go.

Those last five minutes played like the 55 minutes preceding, ending in a tie, and the teams now faced overtime. Executing a press would be more difficult with only six players on the field, but without Spanns’ presence on the field the Leopard’s faithful held their breath. As champions they would become, the Leopards gathered themselves together to await their opportunity. That came at 3:47 into the period during a corner. as Makenzie Switzer found Lea Good on the left side of the goal and would deliver the winning shot, a redirect, past Underwood for the win.

In the minutes that would follow I would reflect on the tempo and intensity of the last 64 minutes. The officials seemed to let the players play on through close action. The events leading to the stroke in retrospect seems to me to have been inevitable. The absence of video replay ( American is the only one of two teams in the PL who don’t have it) contributed to the close aggressive play that led to the game changing stroke.

Raffi Fragomeni had a career day in goal having 7 saves. Lena Thedrian was all over field playing what may have been a career day for her. All that is not to diminish this team effort.

It is time for the League to mandate video referral as the rest of the world has already done, never again should a championship game be without it. Do it NOW Patriot League.

The Leopards now await the outcome of the 10 pm Sunday announcement of their NCAA tournament pairing. Their RPI now puts them ranked 22nd nationally. NO matter what. these Champions can now hold that title forever. WELL DONE

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!!

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 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!!