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Thumbs Down

First, a very large thumbs down to the University of Massachusetts for not having either video or live stats during the Lafayette game. Perhaps they spent all their money on giving out Dunkin Donut coupons or were just lazy. In any case, as a division one school you would think they would have one or both options available. It was “bush” in any case.

The game itself at least according the published statistics was close. Lafayette had seven shots to UMASS 8. Shots on goal were 4 to 3 in the Leopards favor and penalty corners were 5-3 in Lafayette’s favor. In shots taken, Stella Malinowski took three with one on goal, Spaans had one on goal, van Wijk had 2 with one on goal and Lena Thedrian had one on goal. Given the time breakdown it looks like the Lafayette GK was pulled with 3 minutes to go, but I wouldn’t know since real time info was not there from the hosts!!

If we were to believe the post game stats our subs entered the game but did not have any time on field!! UGGH

We were not able to make the trip not wanting to buck Labor Day traffic on I 95!!!

Thumbs UP

Since I was unable to view the Lafayette game in person or online I surfed around to several other games played on Sunday and was treated to some amazing action, especially from GK in losing efforts,

First, both Patriot League teams, American and Holy Cross lost in the overtime, but not without some outstanding goal keeping to get them there. American played Liberty, and lost in a shoot out, but not without the heroics of Bryn Underwood who did everything but stand on her head to keep American in the game. She had 5 saves on 5 shots on goal in the regular time and overtime competition, including a stop on a stroke. At one point it looked like Liberty had won in the second overtime, but Bryn called for a review and it was discovered on the reverse chip shot the Liberty player had used her back stick. ( remember my article before the season where I noted Sean Rappaport,the person in charge of officials, mentioned that there may be a large amount of back sticks on reverse chip shots).

Holy Cross lost 2-1 in overtime after Brooke Ross proved to be a virtual wall against Brown’s 20 shots on goal. Brooke saved 18 during her afternoon. Brown had 37 shots and Holy Cross ultimately succumbed on a penalty stroke.

In a contest of two top ten teams, Princeton and North Carolina, Princeton was kept in it through the efforts of senior Robyn Thompson who had 10 saves against 12 shots on goal including a stop on a penalty stroke. It was a heroic effort against a very skilled and fast UNC team that kept the pressure on the Princeton offense denying them circle penetration for much of the game.

Thumbs Down

It was an extremely hot afternoon which resulted in one Princeton player who appeared in distress on the sideline. According to the announcer there was not an EMT present. Yes, the University hospital is spitting distance from the field but if true it deserves a thumbs down.

Secondly, a definite thumbs down to the Ivy League who will not let there teams begin practice the same time as other Division One teams. Since, starting preseason with classes not having begun, I see harm to the student athletes of a shortened preseason. To my mind, this is not to the benefit of their health and safety. The Ivy League does march to its own drummer not to the welfare of their student athletes in this case..

Finally

The Leopards will meet a very good Syracuse team friday night. ( There will be TV and live stats). They bring with them Charlotte de Vries, the fifth year senior who in my opinion might be the best player in country. No doubt she will be on the USA Team when she finishes her collegiate career.

Congratulations to the three Lafayette Canadians who will represent their country at the Junior World Cup in November. Stella Malinowski, Laine Delmotte, and Kate Kibb. Well done!!!

It’s a bunch of firsts for Lafayette as they they make their first extended trip of the season to New England to meet two opponents not seen for at least 10 years, the University of Vermont and the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Under 9th year coach Katie Pfeifer Vermont had two back to back winning seasons. Last year the Cattamounts went 13-5 and 5-3 in the American East Conference. They finished 4th in their conference. This year they were a preseason number 6 conference pick by SID’s and coaches.

Looking under the hood a little, Vermont returns two all rookie team selections, number 15 Sophie LaFranc from Munich , and number 22 Mora Fernandez de Olivera from Buenos Aries. If that isn’t enough, they also have all league selections number 28, 6 footer,Alina Gerke from Hamburg, and Sophie Drees number 23 from Bremen Germany. Vermont also could benefit from an interesting transfer from Division 2 Lotte Kanters. who led the the division in goals last year. She is from the Netherlands.

Both teams come into the match at 1-1, Vermont having beat Sacred Heart 6-2 and losing to number 8 ranked Syracuse 9-1. Against Sacred Heart the Catamounts scored 6 goals on 13 shots ( 10 on goal) to dominate the game. One goal was scored by LeFranc ( on 4 shots), 2 from Drees ( on 2 shots), 2 from Gerke on 2 shots, and one from Fernandez de Olivera on 2 shots. Vermont had 3 saves on 5 shots on goal and earned 5 corners.

Against Syracuse it was tough going losing 9-1. The single goal was from Lefranc on her only shot of the game. Total shots were 5. Reggie Hillary had 1 shot, Lefranc had 1, Drees had 2, and Haley Buffenbarger had the remaining one.

In the goal, Lauren Halenkamp faced 27 shots, 16 SOG and saving 5. Syracuse out cornered Vermont 11-5

Both teams hope to end Friday at 2-1 and although this is a non- conference game they hope to set the the tone for the season by bouncing back.

The game starts at 3 o’clock and will be live streamed,

GO PARDS

During the Revolutionary War the Men of the 2nd Co of the First Delaware Regiment under the command of Captain Jonathon Caldwell were mostly recruited in Kent County and took with them Blue game chickens. The chickens were known for their great fighting ability, and therefore the regiment became known as the Blue Hens. The University of Delaware adopted the name and in fact their agricultural school still houses and breeds Blue Hens.

There’s a lot to be learned from last year’s stats as the University of Delaware’s season became a drama in two parts. The entire season had a 10-12 record and in fact, the first 9 games left them with a 1-8 record. However, the second part of the season turned it around, as their conference record was 5-1, 3-0 at home and 2-1 away. They ended playing Lehigh in the NCAA tournament beating them 4-0 in North Carolina. In that first stretch they lost to Va., American, Monmouth, UCONN, Penn State, Princeton,Rutgers and St Joes. The best win during their winning streak was a 3-2 victory over William and Mary.

More interesting was their scoring pattern. They scored 54 goals but gave up 60 in the process. They have brought in a transfer from UNC, sophomore Kylie Walbert. In her freshman season at UNC the 5’11 goalkeeper played in virtually every game for 30 minutes each amassing a save percentage of .657 with a goal against average of 1.33.

Delaware is picked to win the CAA and three players were circled as preseason all conference, Julia Duffuiss (nbr 12), Beber Bakerman (nbr 7), and as an Honorable Mention KiKi Oudshoorn (nbr 8). Julia Duffuiss is named preseason player of the year as a defender recognizing her 14 goal contribution. I suspect she is a key player in their offense corner set.

Delaware scores the most in the third quarter and gives up the most in the fourth quarter. They earned 125 corners and gave up 110. Lafayette conversely, earned 77 corners and gave up 106.

Lafayette’s record is 11-19-2 with the Blue Hens. The last win was a 4-2 win on Oct 15, 2003. The last game was a loss in 2017, although there have been exhibition games since. The first game was on Nov. 10 1977.

This will be a good test in this last exhibition game before the regular season!!

The final score was 4-2 as Lafayette dominated the second half of play against Drexel, a team they lost to 1-2 during the regular season last fall. The Leopards demonstrated a diverse attack that may make scouting this team in the fall very difficult for opposing coaches.

Drexel drew first blood late in the second quarter to take the early lead. The first half was an even affair but to my eye Lafayette had the best of time of possession, but failed to find the back of the cage. In addition, Drexel was to earn several corners, threatening to score

During the third quarter Drexel was called for a penalty stroke, however, Lafayette failed to convert leaving the score 1-0 in Drexel’s favor. It wasn’t long until the Leopards found their stride with four different teammates finding the cage for four straight goals. Alex Darrah, Ellie Barton, Ariel Schumacher and Hannah Findlay lit up the scoreboard to the delight of their fans and parents. Assists were made by Lineke on the Schumacher goal, Catalina Robel’s hard shot with a diving effort to Alex Darrah and Hanna Findley to Barton.

It was a team effort as the defense began turning away Drexel attacks. India Ralph was directing the defense as the game wore on. The field was shifted from one side to the other and Leneke Spanns drew attention freeing up her teammates to attack the circle.

Laine Delmotte was back from Barbados after playing in the under 21 Pan Am games for Canada and fit right into play. The spring has turned into a valuable experience for all. There were some bumps and bruises along the way but I expect that will be all gone by August. Catalina Rubel was an active threat all afternoon. Carley Kreytak was in the face of Drexel attackers. Aimee Hoefnagel and Josephine van Wijk showed increasing skill and leadership. Alex Darrah will be a real force this fall and Mackenzie Hall showed her gritty determination all spring. Alex Conway showed growing maturity.

Our two goalies, Emma Garvey and Raffi Fragomeni are showing improvement and are playing like upper classmen.

The Leopards again, will be playing an interesting schedule in the fall which will include Big Ten and Acc teams along with its usual opponents in the Patriot League. Boston, American, and Lehigh will be on the road. ( Boston will have a new field). Bucknell, Holy Cross and Colgate will our guests at home.

There will also be the usual list of clinics and camps in the coming months and the coaches will be on the road scouting for talent for 2024 and beyond.

It’s been 28 years since Lehigh last won a Patriot League Championship in Field Hockey, but they finally are able to claim the title after a worthy effort. The semi-final and final games both went to overtime and the Mountain Hawks dug deep in both games to get the win.

In the semi- final game it went all the way to a 9 person shoot out before beating American. It should be noted that due to a confusion by the official Sara Bothius’s first shot was disallowed. Other teams in other years would have been down after that, but their resolve seemed to redouble. Goalkeeper Maddie Kahn played magnificently and turned away shot after shot until the Mountain Hawks connected for the win in the ninth round!!

They continued their determination in the championship game coming from behind to tie the score in the fourth quarter with a Maddie Kandra redirection from Sara Bothius. It was in overtime, that sophomore Netherlands native, Hogandoorn on a penalty corner received an assist from Sydney White for the win at 67:14.

Special mention should to go coach Caitlin Dallmeyer who culminated this 7 year quest for the trophy. She used recruited players from far and wide and set goals that eventually led to the title. They were emotionally ready to play when needed.

The stats were not necessarily in their favor today. Boston out shot Lehigh 22-16, shots on goal were 14 to 11, and corners were 8-12. Maddie Kahn heroically came forward with 13 saves. Lehigh did it when they needed to.

For next years opponents…will Kahn and Bothius return?? A little bird says yes!

Lafayette had beaten Boston 2-0 and lost to Lehigh 2-3 during the regular season. This is all the more evidence that the League has become much more competitive and balanced!!!