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It’s been a rough two weeks for the Leopards but they showed tremendous character on the field friday night turning back an equally intense Bucknell squad in a 1-0 win. The win puts Lafayette back in the hunt for a slot in the Patriot League playoffs as Holy Cross fell to Boston University 8-1 on the same day. There is now a three way tie for two spots in the playoffs with Bucknell, Holy Cross and Lafayette knotted at 2-2. Bucknell will meet Holy Cross next week and finishes Patriot League play with Boston University. The Leopards will meet American University next week and finishes with Holy Cross.

Before a nice autumn evening crowd of 258 the opening minutes were not to disappoint either fans as the intensity was to build the entire game. Bucknell’s Meagan Keeney  was to take the first shot of the game as 9:19 ticked off the clock . Goalie Sarah Park was up to the challenge and turned it away. Two and one half minutes later Bucknell earned the first corner and Lexi Quick’s shot was again turned away by Lafayette.

The first substitutions began and the strength of the Lafayette bench began to show when finally, Lafayette was to earn their first corner 24 minutes into the first period. Senior Meg Lillis’ shot was turned away by Bucknell goalie Emily Finn. There was to be five more shots in the first period by Lafayette while Bucknell was to manage two more.

But it was the second period when Lafayette was to turn on the intensity as the Leopards collected 10 more shots to Bucknell being completely shut out from attempts at the cage. Every Lafayette player participated in the defensive “tour de force.” Lafayette used seven players in wearing down the Bisons while Bucknell substituted five. In penalty corners the home team was to dominate as well, earning 6 to Bucknell’s single corner in the first period.

It was during a penalty corner at 45 minutes into the game that Lisa van der Geest was to deliver the crucial difference maker. Using the veteran battery, Colbourne inserted and Shanks stopped, executing a machine-like precision corner to deliver the ball to Van der Geest who launched a rocket for her first goal of the season to the delight of Lafayette fans and teammates. It was at that moment the Leopards stepped up their game, shutting down  the Bison attack, while taking ten shots to nil in the second period. Appropriately Lisa van der Geest was to take the last shot of the game on a corner with less than two minutes to go, hitting the post.

The Leopards will move on with their fate in their own hands playing post season hockey at the moment. Richmond will visit Rappolt Field on Sunday in an out of conference contest on Sunday. The game will be live streamed at noon.

We are getting near the end of the season and with about 2 weeks left in the regular season, every game has added significance. Lafayette’s game last week with Lehigh  was a set back, but not fatal to their chances for a slot in the playoffs and a chance for a championship. Happily it is in their hands with 3 patriot league games left. The rest of the season looks like this.

Team        Record   Oct 13    Oct 14    Oct 21   OCT 28

BOSTON (3-0)         HC                          LH         BUCK

AMER     (3-1)                         COL       LAF

BUCK     (2-1)          LAF                      HC           BU

HC          (2-1)         BU                          BUCK      LAF

LAF        (1-2)          BUCK                  AM          HC

LH          (1-3)                                       BU          COL

COL       (0-4)                         AM                         LEH

I”ll leave to other people to insert the likely outcomes. However I will say those with 3 and 4 losses at the moment face virtual elimination from post season play. The Leopards have their fate in their own hands. Two wins would give Lafayette a 3 win season with wins over one of the three remaining teams….. in that case the tie breaker would eliminate one of the tied teams.

The Friday games between Boston and Holy Cross, while Lafayette hosts Bucknell has interesting consequences, with the possibility of establishing a three way tie at 2-2.  Bucknell faces HC next week and Lafayette faces Holy Cross on the 28th. Bucknell meets BU on the 28th.

Could be an interesting finale to the season!! A win tomorrow for the Leopards would be step in the right direction. Go PARDS

In a weekend that can be characterized as discouraging, the Leopards lost two games by one to nothing scores to teams, which on paper they should have won. On friday they outshot, and out cornered Lehigh by a wide margin. They successfully moved the ball up and down the field but didn’t finish, even with 3-1 breaks and good opportunities.

On sunday, against Villanova it was much the same, as frustration on the field transmitted to the stands.  Missed opportunities included corners where the ball was not moved outside the circle before a hit,  went past the goalie resulting in two disallowed goals.

It was posited to me on Saturday by an unnamed  person, that the team took Lehigh too lightly. That was an astonishingly ignorant comment to anyone that saw the effort on the field. This is a team with good smart athletes who have proven they can win. They have good skills, speed and are diligent. Breaking out of the funk is a challenge for all. There is a solution and it lies in the locker room. Bucknell could be the proof of that. I know it’s there and look forward to Friday.

I am with them as are all their fans. This could prove to be a life learning and unifying experience for the entire team!

 Being a Teammate is more than sharing a uniform for four years

Friday night we learned of the tragic death of a young man who was the six year boyfriend of Brittany Blass ’14, a Lafayette all-american and captain of her team. His name was Joshua C. Sollenberger and he must have been a remarkable person. I never met him but he must have been extraordinary to capture the heart of Brittany who was probably one of the more accomplished young women to pass through Lafayette. She is currently studying to be a physician’s assistant.

His passing was sudden and totally unexpected. An athlete himself, he was studying computer and informations sciences.

The funeral was Saturday and Brittany’s teammates ( I will not call them former teammates) showed up in force and traveled from as far away as Colorado on short notice to support Brittany. Brittany was herself diving in to support Josh’s parents and assisting in the final arrangements and speaking at the service.

That is the meaning of teammates, it is a lifelong connection that does not end at graduation. It has been my privilege to see almost 20 years of extraordinary young women pass through the Field Hockey program and this is not a surprise.

It is my prayer that God offers his peace to Brit and the Sollenberger family. I thank God for Brit’s family of teammates who were there for her.

The Leopards will make the short 15 mile trip to arch rival Lehigh University this Friday night to play a game that has significance for both team. Lehigh is 0-3 in Patriot League play and will face virtual elimination for the Patriot League tournament with a loss. It is no less critical for Lafayette at 1-1 in league play. A win with three additional games to play in the League will keep Lafayette in the hunt for hosting the Patriot League Tournament as well as a huge step for locking up a berth  in that same tournament without the tiebreakers that eliminated them last year

Meg Lillis starts the ball upfield

The Leopards will arrive with a four game losing streak to ranked teams and having lost to defending national champion Delaware in a disappointing outing on Sunday. Lehigh likewise dropped a game to Yale last weekend 7-1. More importantly they also lost to league rival Bucknell 1-3 several days before. A win on Friday night would be a season saver for Lehigh who has not beaten Lafayette in over a decade while it would preserve a hope of getting into the tournament. Motivation is  not an issue for either team.

Looking at overall season statistics would give Lafayette an edge. Lafayette is 5-5 with a strength of schedule rated by Field Hockey Corner of 43 to Lehigh’s 58. Lafayette’s RPI is 38 compared to Lehigh’s 74. However, Lafayette’s road record is 2-4 and Lehigh with a similar record gave Lafayette all they could handle last year at home. Lafayette prevailed 2-1 in a well fought contest.

Looking closer at the statistics, Lafayette has scored 18 goals on 115 shots while their opponents have scored 28 on 123 shots. Twenty of those goals against were made in the last two week’s games with Boston, Harvard, and Delaware. Lafayette needs to recapture its defensive strength in these final weeks of the season.

Lafayette shots on goal is over 57 pct, while Lehigh has 58 percent of its 110 shots on goal. Lafayette scores on 16 percent of its shots while Lehigh score on 8 pct of its shots. Opponents of Lafayette score on 23 percent of its shots while Lehigh opponents score on 28 percent of their shots. Lafayette has earned 58 penalty corners in 10 games while Lehigh has earned 61 corners in 11 games.

The starting goalkeeper for Lehigh Paige Innarella has a 61 percent save percentage while Sara Park has a 62 percent save percentage mostly due to the last four losses.

Offensively the Leopards have a diversified attack with Colbourne, Angelella, Shanks and Turnbull with 3 goals each and the rest of the goals split amongst six others. Lehigh has freshman Drew Pecora with 3 goals along with veteran Teresa Carotenuto. The rest of the goals come from three other players. In shots Lenke Havas has 25 for Lehigh and Carotenuto has 21. Ellen Colbourne of Lafayette has 19 shots while Lisa van der Geest has 18 for the Leopards.

So from the Leopards point of view they need to return to the stout defense they exhibited early on in the season while Lehigh needs to solve the Leopards diverse attacking structure.

However, statistics aside, as in most league games at this point in the season the stakes are bigger, making this game VERY important for both sides. And it is a rivalry game. The Leopards must bring their game faces and play the game they are capable of if they are to prevail.

It’s been a four game losing streak and the Leopards look to return to their winning ways against Lehigh on friday. If winning a Patriot League game is  not enough it is arch rival Lehigh, who stands in Lafayette’s sights. Lehigh will host with 3 loses in League games. As I have written before 4 is the magic number on both sides in the Patriot League. Win four league games and you are in the tournament with a second chance. Lose 4 and you are virtually out. Both Lehigh and Colgate are at the 3 game threshold. Colgate will play Bucknell this weekend and is in the same spot as Lehigh. Both could eliminate themselves from post season play with a loss.

On the other hand a win by Lafayette will give them 2 wins and one loss with Bucknell, American and Holy Cross to play. It is even still mathematically possible for Lafayette to host with a string of wins in their remaining League game. Three wins would at least assure them of a spot.

The team will need to gather their Mojo this week. Last year’s game was a close affair at Lafayette where the Leopards took it 2-1. It’s been a decade since the last Lehigh win. The Leopards need to muster their inner motivation. This game simply cannot be lost.

Sarah Park and Anna Steps enjoy the sun poolside

Kristen Taylor and Rachel Bird soak up some sun in the garden

Ellen Colbourne, Rosie Shanks, Coach Dayrymple, and athletic trainer Jon Edwards wait for cooks to make ready

Lisa Van der Geest, Theresa Delahanty and Dad Fran Delahanty get refueled

Teammates and friends Sam DiMaio, Ana Buzzard, and Jenn DeLongis

After a very disappointing outing on Sunday the team stopped at our house for a tailgate and cookout with friends, fans and family. As one father described it as a hopeful “coda” in front of the remaining games. I must say morale was lifted as everyone enjoyed each other’s company and looked forward to the remaining 8 regular season games. There is no doubt the talent is there but these games are won on the practice field as we all know. I know the support is there. Starting tuesday the players will have to provide the rest.

I would be wrong to put on a happy face  and write that we did some great playing but lost due to some unlucky breaks. You do things as team win or lose. That is not to say there weren’t individual highlights on sunday. You had to see the individual effort on  Leopard faces to appreciate their frustration. But I would ask them to consider this, with the exception of the Harvard penalty stroke, none of Harvard’s defensive schemes or their offensive displays came with single person efforts.

Yes, we did have some individual highlights, and we do have a young team, but we failed to mesh together. In clearing the ball, we were more into individual effort to break a press, and as the game progressed our breakdowns occurred because we were hoping an individual could use their skills to dodge or power their way up field. We looked for individual heroics as we tried to press without using double teams. Asking someone else to make that great play to break open a game is not a recipe for consistent success. Games like these can be learning tools by reviewing, as a team your work together,  focusing on things that can be accomplished in the future. Certainly, you shouldn’t dwell on losses but learn from them!!

The leadership challenge will be in keeping it all together in this tough patch and emerging stronger. You win together not apart. We are only at the halfway mark. and a majority of the Patriot League games remain, as is the possibility of having a winning season…even a championship season. But the journey is only successfully ended when we find the assist that has eluded us this weekend, or the clear, moving  as a team up the field, seeing the open teammate while breaking a high press. That may require moving to get open and practice to know where  your teammate will be during the heat of a game. That’s when success will appear.

Delahanty moves right

Shanks closing in

Yes, and it also means taking a chance now and again, by breaking a well known pattern that the opposing team has seen on recordings. I WANT to see us play against Boston a second time. But that will happen only with additional Patriot League wins, three more, for certain. A winning season is there for our Leopards, indeed without wins from this Boston weekend, but with wins accumulated in the next 9 games and hopefully into the playoffs, building on the experience and lessons learned in this two day stretch.

I look forward to the tenaciousness from Theresa, the fearlessness from Sophie, the stamina and effort from Audrey, the blazing speed and leadership from Ellen, the strength from Meg and Cody, the cleverness of Grace, the focus from Rosie,  the skills from Lisa  and I could go on. However, most of all I’d like to see the team put it all together and build on each other’s strengths to reach our goals. Go Pards!!

The Lafayette Leopards will leave at 6 am on Friday the 22nd and travel to Boston in anticipation of two games with ranked opponents Boston University and Harvard University. First up on Saturday  at noon will be league rivals, the Terriers of Boston University. The early departure will allow for time for the Leopards to practice on New Balance Field, the Terriers home venue. This is again one of those games difficult to handicap. Last year, Lafayette won their meeting with the then number 9 Terriers in a shootout at Rappolt Field. This year it is hard to judge who Boston will have on the field.

The Terriers welcomed a large talented freshman class and in fact their two top goal scorers are freshmen Miya Denison and and Alisa Connolly. The two scored two each in the relatively weaker early games against Bryant, New Hampshire and Miami. However, each had one goal against UMass,  and Denison scored the only goal in the 8-1 loss at UConn.

Boston is riding a 3 game losing streak but the losses were against tough opponents (UAlbany, Umass and UConn). So they will meet the Leopards with the losing streak and the loss last year on their back….added to that, it is their first league game of the year.  There is  motivation aplenty for the home team.

Lafayette brings a 5-2 record after a disappointing loss against a good Cornell squad. In addition a 2-0 league start would be a tremendous leg up for playoff positioning. Lafayette also brings a talented freshmen group with Grace Angelella tied with senior Rosie Shanks for goals. However, goals can be scored by a plethora names with seven others having found the back of the cage in the previous 7 games.

There is a large difference in strength of schedule with BU ranked 29th and Lafayette 48th, mostly due to Lafayette playing lower ranked Colgate last week. In RPI, according to Field Hockey Corner, Lafayette has the edge rated 26th while BU is 27th.

Lafayette’s defense is very solid letting in only 8 goals over 7 games. So far this season Lafayette has scored 16 goals to BU’s 13 while the Terriers gave up 15 at the same time.  Lafayette goal keeper Sara Park has been on the field 100 percent of the time and sports a very good 81 percent save percentage. The Terriers have been splitting goal keeping duties between freshmen Millie Baker ( 52% save pct) and junior Kathleen Keegan (71.4 pct save pct). Keegan has started every game and Baker has come in at the half. Keegan has had 6 goals against her and Baker has had 9 goals against. Lafayette’s Park has 8 goals scored against her.

The two high scoring freshmen on the BU squad have played about half the time and as far as I can tell do not start. So what will the Terriers look like at the start of the game?  I would guess Keegan at goal and mostly upper classmen on the field with their two hot freshmen at the ready.

I expect a low scoring game given Lafayette’s defense and Boston’s home field advantage.   However if the Leopards can control the ball and get into the scoring third perhaps their 48 to 39 corner advantage will be the difference. All in all it comes to down to execution with these two talented teams. BU will take advantage of mistakes, so Lafayette must limit turnovers and make those corners count!! So 12 noon EDT, and about two hours later we will know!!

In a hard fought contest that was dominated, for the most part, by competing defenses the Leopards lost to the Big Red from Cornell. It’s been ten years since these two teams met on the turf in the regular season and the 2-0 score was a repeat of that 2007 score. Lafayette opened up strongly, winning 50/50 balls and spending much of the first 15 minutes on Cornell’s side of the field. The statistics for the first half confirm the balance. Cornell had three shots while Lafayette had 2. Corners were even 1-1. Sara Park had two saves to preserve the 0-0 tie at the half.

The second half early going was much the same. However, Cornell’s quick starts on penalties and their ability to spy Lafayette’s passing lanes and jump to intercept the Leopard’s passes eventually led to a possession that resulted in a opening goal. Katie Carlson of Cornell received a pass into the circle, and as Park came out of the goal for the block, Carlson spun around, revealing an open goal to make the score 1-0. Cornell found the back of the cage 9 minutes later  on a hard direct shot of a corner.

The Leopards were not done when late into the second half during scramble in front of the cage it appeared Lafayette had scored, as the near official called a goal. As both teams marched into position to start play again, the officials conferred and the goal was disallowed because a Lafayette player was observed with a foot fault before the shot.

The Leopards were to continue to fight to no avail. Coach Stone decided to pull her goalie  with about 4 minutes to go leaving an additional field player on the field. Lafayette was to manage several shots, one from Sam Di Maio, and one on a corner as time expired. The statistics for the whole game confirmed the even match with Cornell leading on shots 11-8, while the Leopards led on corners 6-4

Sara Park recorded 6 saves while Cornell’s goalie Maddie Henry earned the shutout tonight with 4 saves. In 280 minutes in the cage this year the Cornell sophmore is unscored upon.

Although disappointed with the loss, the Leopards will regroup and face Boston University in a League game on Saturday at 12 noon. There will be lessons learned and game tapes to analyze as a win against Boston will be an important stride in making the league playoffs. This will be Boston’s first league game while Lafayette arrives 1-0 in the League after their win against Colgate last weekend.

Anna Steps took the ball after about 7 minutes had run off in overtime. Seeing an opening she dashed into Colgate’s scoring circle dodged one player and saw a space between the Maria Krull, the excellent Colgate goalkeeper and one of her teammates. With a quick stroke, the Lafayette faithful were treated to the satisfying smack of the ball hitting the backboard. It was suddenly over and the Leopards emerged victorious with a 5-1 record and 1-0 in League.

The Leopards outshot the Raiders 27-6. They out cornered Colgate 13-3 but alas as the clock wound down to 00 in regulation time the score was tied. The first half looked for a moment like the rest of the game would turn into a multi-goal  win. Both teams probed all first half with each side looking for weaknesses. The sun  had begun to cook the astroturf and temperatures began to rise on the field and in the game. Nineteen Leopards saw action while seventeen raiders made it onto the turf.

Late in the first period the Leopards began to make inroads. The Raiders had basically formed a solid wall inside the circle  making shots more directly at the goalie difficult. As Ellen Colbourne, the Lafayette captain and speedy midfielder remarked,” The Colgate goalie had an excellent game and everything we shot from the front wasn’t going to work, it became obvious goals would be scored from the side and on rebounds.”

And thats, indeed how it happened. The Colgate defense began to break down and the first signs happened as Adriana Pero was able to get into the circle. Shortly thereafter after a corner, Sam Di Maio finished a rebound off the right side. It was about 2 minutes later that Rosie Shanks received the ball from DiMaio and slammed it past Krull as she moved to protect from a another DiMaio shot.

With a 2-0 lead the Leopards looked like this was to be a comfortable win but Colgate’s Michaela Corvi came to  play, and found the back of the cage after a long pass got her behind a Lafayette defender at 40:59. Exactly 6 minutes later the Raiders knotted the score on a Molly Klare penalty stroke.The Leopards were determined not going to lose this one, but first had to overcome two late penalties which left them down two players for nearly the last 5  minutes of the game.

Speaking to Lafayette defender Lisa Van der Geest after the game she said,” We wanted this game and stuck together to get the win.” With about 8 minutes left in the first overtime, Anna Steps, the third Leopard to score, created her heroics planting the winning goal past the Colgate keeper.

Next up is 4-1 Cornell in a Patriot League vs Ivy League match up. Cornell’s last outing ended in their first loss of the season to ranked Rutgers. Game time is 7pm at Rappolt on Monday!