Lafayette College Field Hockey

No one can criticize the Lafayette Field Hockey Team for ducking the. tough ones as Lafayette left the field having lost to it’s fourth nationally ranked opponent this year. It was all hands on deck as Lafayette kept pace with the Flames from Liberty all afternoon. One could see from the stands the progress made with the speed and intensity demonstrated in a high level Division one game.

The game started ominously as Liberty scored with only1;35 having run off the clock as Agueda Moroni, the second leading scorer in the nation nailed a shot during a corner after a Mallory Fotenback insertion and a Kendra Jones pass. Moroni found a spot low and to left giving Liberty the early 1-0 lead.

Maroni was to get off 11 shots, 7 on goal and connecting for all three Liberty scores. But that was not the only story. Lafayette kept pace for the rest of game although they were unable to stop Maroni. Park had a good afternoon making 12 stops while Rachel Bird and   Adriana Pero had two defensive saves.

During the second period after Liberty had established their 2-0 first period lead they were only to manage one more goal as Maroni found the right side of the cage. Lafayette was to answer on the last play of the game with a Van der Geest rocket during a corner assisted by Jenn DeLongis and Theresa Delahanty.

Freshman Molly McAndrews had 3 shots as did Van der Geest and Audrey Sawers as

Lafayette got off 13 shots during the game. They did outcorner the Flames 9-4.

Sara Park had an 80% save percentage and showed great poise in the cage in her best performance of the season.  The team also moved the ball well especially in the second half and demonstrated the speed and quickness they showed against Drexel and Lehigh. The brand of hockey is first rate and doesn’t reflect yet in their record.

Ana Steps Lafayette’s fine midfielder was sidelined this game recovering from a concussion suffered in Friday’s game. It is hoped she will be ready Saturday.

It was a good crowed of 612 as the Leopards have attracted over 600 fans on average this year. No doubt the Leopards will bring it all for an important match next Saturday at noon against the league favorite  Boston University. As we all left the field, we were remarking how everyone was looking forward to that match.

It goes without saying that a 2-1 overtime win is a hard-fought contest but there were so many big plays before the final winning McAndrews to Van der Geest  score in Lafayette’s second overtime win of the season. The first score was to come from Drexel at 21:22 when Avery Powell received a cross from Megan Weist who was able to lift the ball slightly as it dribbled past Sarah Park the Lafayette Goalie. However Sarah was to make 3 saves on Drexel’s 5 shots on goal, none bigger than a leaping save at the end of the game to preserve the tie and forced the game into overtime.

The game was filled with big defensive plays, including an important save early in first half by Rachel Bird keeping the early score 0-0. Play was back and forth as both teams were not able to capitalize on opportunities. Audrey Sawer, who may have had her best game of the season was all over the field while accounting for 3 of Lafayette’s 12 shots with one shot finding its mark at 32:08, delivering off a rebound single handed to tie up the game at 1-1 before the end of the half.

Drexel tried to press Lafayette and made several key steals only to be thwarted by the tough defense from the Leopards, who were able to turn them into a counter attack. In the battle of statistics Lafayette came out on top with 12 shots to 9 and 5 to 4 in penalty corners. Drexel earned all their corners in the second half.

 

The final play occurred with about 1 and 1/2 minutes having run off the overtime period. Drexel had just driven down and missed on a centering pass in front of the Lafayette goal and Lafayette counter attacked. Lisa Van der Geest took the ball at midfield and delivered a pass to the streaking freshman Molly McAndrews. McAndrews drove to the left side of the Drexel goal to be met by a Drexel defender. As Van der Geest sprinted to the goal, Molly McAndrews soon faked out the Drexel defender with a 360 degree spin move and delivered a high pass to Van der Gesst who planted it into the goal.

This was a team effort with hard work by everyone. Difference makers include McAndrews, Van der Geest, Audrey Sawer, Bird and Delahanty.

There will be a days rest before meeting nationally ranked Liberty University at home on Sunday.

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One would have thought after the big win against Lehigh that Lafayette would have built around that emotion, but the team came out flat, giving up 3 goals in the first period on 3 shots with the second two goals coming within 20 seconds of one another. In fact, Lafayette had no shots in the first period at all and no corners with Albany earning three corners. It was hard to believe this was the team that earned a dramatic win only two days before.

Play was started slowly giving Albany time to get into their match up zone planting two and three Albany players on our midfielders and backs and turning play towards the Lafayette goal repeatedly.

The second half was better as Lafayette managed seven shots to Albany’s 6 and giving up one goal in the process. Penalty Corners were even at 4 as Albany chose not to execute its last corner with no time left and the score 4-0. It was a remarkable display of good sportsmanship as the game had already been decided.

Midway through the second half it looked like Lafayette had executed a corner perfectly as Ana Steps delivered what appeared, to most knowledgable people, to be a goal high into the cage. It seemed clear to people who were watching from the stands there was no backswing, therefore a legitimate goal. But there was no dispute from the Lafayette bench which may have had a different view, when the goal was disallowed. Personally, I can’t wait to see the replay on the PLN to see for myself.**** I am sooo in favor of instant replay!!!

Meanwhile, the team that lost on Friday to Lafayette lost 5-0 to Fairfield, a team Lafayette lost to in the first game of the season at home 3-1.  . Meanwhile this weekend American lost the BU 2-1 in overtime  and Bucknell lost to Syracuse 3-0. BU today, got thumped by Penn State at Maryland and Colgate fell to Bryant 2-0. Holy Cross lost to LIU Brooklyn and Dartmouth this weekend as well.

Next up is a game at Drexel on Friday night. Drexel lost to Penn this weekend 2-1 and next Sunday Lafayette will be at home to nationally ranked Liberty University who beat Virginia this weekend 3-2. The next Patriot League game will be against BU at Rappolt on Sept. 29 at noon.

 

****Addendum

Looked at the replay and the goal by Steps looked fine to me with no backswing. There was no protest from the Lafayette side and a lot of protest from Albany. Maybe there was a foul that I didn’t see.

 

Friday night at 7 pm the rivalry continues as Lehigh comes to Rappolt Field for the first Patriot League game of the season. So the league record is 0-0 for both teams and if either wants to be in the playoffs at the end, this is the game to win! Lehigh is 1-4 in out of conference games and Lafayette is 0-6. However, taking into account strength of schedule  as calculated by FieldHockeyCorner.com Lafayette ranks 16 places ahead of Lehigh. Despite having the easier schedule the stats seem to line up against Lehigh in most catagories. Lafayette has scored 7 goals in 5 games while Lehigh has 6 goals in 5 games. Lafayette has take 83 shots vs 65 shots by opponents. Lehigh has taken 43 shots vs given up an astounding 100 shots ( twenty per game). Lafayette has given up 19 goals in 5 games while Lehigh has given up 16 goals in 5 games.

Lisa van der Geest has been Lafayette’s major weapon with a league leading 27 shots, while Oliva Perrone is ranked fifth with 12 shots this season. Lehigh’s other weapon is Leah Mullery who is tied for third in goals with 3 to her credit.

The astounding 100 shots allowed, sticks out to me but is mitigated somewhat by the 75% save percentage by Paige Innarella. Lafayette does lead Lehigh in corners with 37 vs Lehigh’s 26 remembering Lafayette has one more game under its belt.

If Lafayette can move its goal percentage from about 10 pct to 17 or 18 pct that should yield us about 4 goals. If. we can move our save percentage to 65%  we could hold Lehigh to under 2 goals.

But figures are tricky. This a rivalry game that both teams need. I think Lafayette has the athletes and the Leopards are playing at home. I am sure both coaches are burning the midnight oil looking at tapes, as are the players. It’s alumni weekend and the partisans should be on our side.

I believe the hockey gods favor us in this one, and I am a believer in the ultimate skill and heart of this team. The weather will be iffy but I am sure the score will not be. GO PARDS!!

In a game that had all the tension, speed and excitement that any fan could want, Lafayette couldn’t quite pull this one out. This was  a game of two teams looking for their first win. Temple came into the game at 0-4 and Lafayette at 0-3 but one would have thought this was a game between undefeated teams. It was a hard played  with lot’s of speed and skill, as the Leopard’s performed with a loose, but aggressive style not seen this year. For their efforts, Lafayette outshot the Owls 18-10, shots on goal were 10-8, and they out cornered Temple 9-5. However, in the stat that matters ,Lafayette again could not convert opportunities into goals and lost 3-2.

Temple opened the scoring at 11:17 into the game, with a bouncing shot that went over goalkeeper Sara Park’s head into the goal. The Leopard’s did not give up, and controlled the field getting multiple corners, the last occurred with no time left on the clock. Sophomore Grace Angelella made a beautiful deflection off of an Audrey Sawer shot stopped by Liza Welch after the insertion by Ana Steps.  The score was knotted at 1 apiece going into the half.

It only took 2 1\2  minutes into the second half to get a go ahead goal off a beautiful penalty stroke shot by Ana Steps, beating the Owl goalie. It was to be the last score by the Leopards, as Temple tied it a 53:26 on a cross and shot to the right side and went ahead with the winning goal at 62:26 during a corner and deflection to the right side.

The Leopards had several last chances with a number of back to back corners,  with the last starting with no time left on the clock. The Leopards could not convert allowing the Temple Owls to escape with a 3-2 win.

There were several spectacular plays on offense and defense, one most memorable was a Rachael Bird stop, thwarting a two on one break with the Leopard goalie caught in an awkward position. Lisa van der Geest had several long passes that got the offense going with Audrey Sawer showing her skills offensively and defensively all over the field.

For this game I saw several difference makers but Lisa van der Geest, Rachel Bird and Audrey Sawers stood out. Ana Steps stood out to me as well as she showed great determination. I am always impressed with the hustle of Grace Angelella who not only scored but was seen chasing down numerous balls along the sideline.

I thought the Leopards deserved this one, but the game is, who scores the most goals. This team is getting better and you can’t keep that talent down for long. Maine is next before the first Patriot League game with Lehigh next week,  and given how this team can play I like us alot in that game. But first Maine.

This contest was played in front of 725 fans and was well populated by both sides which added to the excitement. This may have been a record home crowd.

 

Last week I spent several hours with Dr. Jarrod Spencer, nationally recognized sports psychologist. Dr. Spencer is the author of “Mind of the Athlete—clearer mind, better performance.” Amy Swenson, two time olympian for the US Field Hockey Team writes, ” Any athlete who wants to take their game to the next level should consider the mental concepts in this book. Dr Jarrod Spencer will improve your performance.” In the forward  Matt Millen four time super bowl champions says, ” What gets overlooked in training, for the most part is the mental aspect, which is far more important than the physical part.”

Sitting in his office, Jarrod opened with some astonishing statistics regarding stress on college campuses assembled by the American Psychological Association.

30 PERCENT : the percentage rise in students seeking appointments at counceling centers between 2009-10 and 2014-15 even though there was only a 5% increase in enrollment

61 PERCENT: The. percent of college students seeking counseling who report anxiety.  Depression 49 %, stress 45 percent, family issues 31 percent, academic performance 28 percent and relationship problems 27 percent.

Given the increase in counsel seeking, which is greater than the increase in population consider that the mean student to counseling staff ratio is 1,737:1.

Also almost equally alarming is the number 56 percent….The percentage of of counseling center directors who say their professional identity is psychology. Thirty percent say it is social work, 10 percent other, 2 percent higher education administration , and less than 1 percent medicine and nursing.

These statistics cover the general student body and not in isolation the competitive athlete who experiences stress at a much more intense level. In most cases the student athlete’s most important contact for mental health is their coach. But what if the coach is applying the wrong solutions and increasing stress? It is he or she that may be the problem. Coaches at the collegiate level are not required to register for course taking and  certification by authorities to recognize mental or physical abuse like secondary school coaches or even scout leaders.

Dr. Spencer points out that many Division one schools are hiring Directors of Sports Psychology, a position like other medical related training position and have a separate reporting stucture outside of the athletic department. These LICENSED psychologists not only could work with athletes but with coaches so early intervention and coaching techniques could be used to avoid serious issues.

The NCAA recognizes this as a serious issue so what are the obstacles??  Funding is the simple answer, but money seems to be found most everywhere for other priorities. In many cases, referrals are available, but there is no ongoing secure monitoring going on in most athletic programs.

Dr.Spencer works with professional, Olympic, college, high school athletes and coaches and teams across the country. Teams he works with include, University of Maryland, Old Dominion, and Lehigh . He has also worked with individual athletes from the University of Michigan, UNC, Ohio State, Princeton and many more.

He is available in the Lehigh Valley at his company office of Mind of the Athlete 3400 Bath Pike Suite 302 Bethlehem, Pa 18017. Tel 610 867 7770.  His email is drjarrod@mindoftheathlete and his web site is http://www.mindoftheathlete.com

 

It was a determined Leopard squad that opened play in the first half at Williamsburg against William and Mary. In the first period Lafayette outshot the tribe 8-6 and out cornered them 3-1. Both teams battled the noontime heat and humidity, but fans were treated to an attacking, aggressive style.  There was  an initial goal by William and Mary at 28:46 by  Estelle Hughes from the Tribe who got the ball high on the circle and using a reverse chip shot lifted the ball high into the back of the cage.

Lafayette was not about to lie down in front of this nationally ranked team and responded 3 minutes later with a Molly McAndrew rocket that wizzed past the goalie for the first goal of her collegiate career. With the score knotted at one it looked like this might be a real battle.

Unfortunately William and Mary took advantage of a defensive miscue with 12 seconds left in the first period and Woodard Hooper lifted a shot high again to give William and Mary the 2-1 lead with one second left in the period.

That goal seemed to deflate the Leopards as the second half was not as productive. There were points where Lafayette looked like they might break through but just could not connect to get. the goal. William and Mary used excellent teamwork as they scored 2 more goals at 43:15 and 52:39. In the second period, the oppressive heat slowed things down and Lafayette gave up 9 shots to 3 while they were blanked  on corners 1-0.

 

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The beauty of the game of field hockey is its team aspect. Three of William and Mary’s goals came with assists resulting in deflections and tap ins. There is no such thing as give to the star and let her score. Like most team sports every goal, every win is created by team movement. We began to see that in the first half and perhaps we will see more of that on Friday against Temple. The second thing that makes a sport like field hockey exciting is that there has to be risk taking to score and win . A team that continually looks for the “safe” pass will never see numbers light up on the scoreboard.

Although this weekend was not the result we hoped for, I think the leadership on this team is beginning to move it in the right direction. So ladies be fearless, believe in your teammates and yourselves and good things could happen against Temple on Friday.

I do have difference makers for this game. First, Lisa van der Geest was directing the play all game and encouraging her teammates to move forward. In addition she took 7 shots . Second I like the play of Kristen Taylor who was effective on both sides of the field. Ana Steps was an additional force on the field. Third or Fourth Molly McAndrew is getting better every game and will mesh together well with this team going forward.

So Friday at 7 pm at Rappolt Field and also broadcast via LSN.