Lafayette College Field Hockey

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.

It was like two different games between two different teams,  as the Richmond Spiders built up a 3-0 lead in the first half off 9 shots to 1 for the Leopards and three penalty corners for the Spiders whereas Lafayette was shut out of corners altogether.  The second half was a different story when Lafayette exploded for 16 shots to only 2 for Richmond and 10 corners to none for the Leopards. That effort produced 2 goals for the Maroon and White, while Richmond added one, 10 minutes into the second period.

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The 4-0 lead at 45:10 into the game looked insurmountable until Lafayette’s rejuvenated offense clicked into gear 2 minutes later with Sam DiMaio somehow coming out of a scramble in front of the cage to find the back boards making it 4-1. It would take another 13 precious minutes before the Leopards were to find the back of the cage with a Van der Geest strike coming from a penalty corner. Freshman Mary Gould was the inserter and earned the assist combined with Jenn DeLongis as helper. Haily Abbot spent the second half in the cage substituting for Sarah Park.

There was no apparent reason for the second half turn around except that the Leopards were able to get to the attacking circle and a tougher scrabbling defense. There were still many scoring opportunities unfinished. As the season progresses and if the Leopards can replicate this second half effort they could be quite dangerous. I believe in the ability of this team and once they find their true personality, they can evolve into an exciting field hockey squad.

In the meantime it’s off to William and Mary for a Sunday match at 12. William and Mary lost to  Old Dominion tonight as Old Dominion put on a second half surge in a come from behind win 4-3 in overtime after William and Mary tied the game with no time left on the clock in regular time. Old Dominion scored 5 minutes into the overtime.

This leaves both William and Mary and Lafayette at 0-2 looking for their first. win.

Okay, now that I have your attention, it will be be on ESPN, but ESPN PLUS which is their new streaming service. It will be pay per view but I did see an offer in my mailbox for free sample time. So check that or otherwise its $4.95 for the month. ( maybe cheaper than gas). Anyway on to the match.

The Spiders have gotten off to a rough start by losing two games 1-4 against American and 0-3 against Rutgers. The stats do not look any prettier as they scored their one goal on a total of 12 shots against being scored upon seven times in 44 shots. Penalty Corners are not any better as they had a total of 5 penalty corners vs. 20 for their 2 opponents.

This is Jamie Montgomery’s first season after coming from Wake Forest ( her alma mater) as an assistant. Her previous asst coaching experience was at Bucknell and Temple. She has been a national level player and was a second team all American at Wake.

Montgomery lost her three top scorers from last year ( a team that beat Lafayette 5-3), so rebuilding has been the task assigned, as she took over in early spring. She does have a  second team all league veteran returning at goal but she did not play in the games last weekend. Instead junior red-shirt Emily Braunwell was in the pipes and performed well with a 75 %. save percentage.

Lafayette will be coming off a disappointing start with a loss to Fairfield last Friday night. However, it’s been a week to prepare and two opportunities to see game tapes, so the Leopards should be ready. Last year’s 3-5 loss came with 19-15 shot advantage and a 10-6 penalty corner advantage. Lafayette will need to capitalize on opportunities to prevail. Both teams need this win and I expect some intensity on the field. The Leopards will travel on Thursday to be ready for the Friday @ 3pm festivities.

There were some mild surprises over the weekend. If you had told me, preseason, that BU would be undefeated at this point I would not have batted an eye. However, having Colgate stand undefeated also would have been slightly unexpected, but we must consider the competition. Colgate played Central Michigan who was 0-18 last year and followed with LIU Brooklyn who didn’t have a field hockey program three years ago. American had two competitive games one with Richmond, which they finished in style but succumbed to a tough St. Joseph team two days later. Lehigh lost two over the weekend and so did Bucknell who will have work to do before commencing a difficult schedule going forward. Holy Cross was thumped badly by a very good Maine squad despite the return of the Crusaders ace goalkeeper. Lafayette of course dissapointly dropped their first game to Fairfield, but Fairfield put an exclamation point on their early season success by defeating Villanova on Sunday.

American

I was able to watch a good portion of both games, and I must say both were entertaining. Friday’s game was a demonstration of the Steve Jennings press and attack style and was impressive to watch, as Richmond was stymied for most of the game. American got off a dominating 19 shots to Richmond’s 9 and earned 10 corners to Richmond’s 4 in the process. Three of the goals came in the second half and American’s new first year players played a significant role.

Sunday was a different outcome as Saint Joe’s fifth year coach Lynn Farquar solved the press and outlasted the Eagles 2-1. Coach Farquar has done one of the nicest jobs coaching, these past five years, by taking a non-descript St. Joe’s program and making it a nationally  ranked power this year. The game was fairly even with the deciding goal occurring in the second half. Shots were even at 9 while American out cornered the Hawks 7-5. It was in the midfield that the game was won as St.Joe’s directly attacked the press by out dribbling the Eagles one on one and then launching hard, long, penetrating passes, keeping American on their heels. For a moment, this looked like the Beth Anders teams at Old Dominion, Farquar’s alma mater.

Colgate

Colgate won two but the competition was certainly not of the caliber that other Patriot League teams faced. But a win is a win and this Colgate team needs to learn how to do it. Congratulations, especially for Sunday’s win which was a come from behind effort.

Boston

Boston traveled to New Hampshire for a tournament and took home the iron, beating two respectable opponents Northeastern 4-1 and host New Hampshire 4-0. Scoring a league leading 8 goals will put the other Patriot League teams on notice. They have perhaps the toughest schedule in the League and their offense will serve them well. I did not see any of their games

Holy Cross

The Crusaders traveled to Maine and the Bears mauled them 9-1, taking 36 shots to do it while Holy Cross managed only 4. The difference in corners was equally gruesome as Maine got 18 to the Cross’ 3. Is Maine that good….maybe? Holy Cross has a fine goalie as she was able to stop 19 but when you’re inundated with 28 SOG how can she be faulted?? I wouldn’t want to be a Crusader at this week’s practice with Northeastern next up!!

Bucknell

This was a real surprise to me as Bucknell traveled to Longwood and lost 2-1. But as I checked the box score I had to check twice. The game was played in front of 2,073 fans. That is NOT a miss type. That had to be a factor in the game as stats were very close. In short, it was shots in Bucknell’s favor 14-11 and Longwood got the nod in corners 7-6. Longwood scored the winning goal in the second half and the record setting crowd, I am sure, had something to say about the defensive effort toward the end of the game. Impressive!!

JMU was less unexpected but I thought the Bison would give them more trouble. It was 3-0 in a “not” close game………..I’m still shaking my head… 2073 fans in FARMVILLE, VA…. Maybe the Bison were too!!

Lehigh

The Mountain Hawks only scored one goal in two games and dropping both of them. In the first game against Lock Haven the 1-0 loss hid the domination of Lock Haven who put up 23 shots to Lehigh’s 6 and out cornering Lehigh 10-1.

The second game stats were better with Lehigh taking 19 shots to Sacred Hearts 11 and leading on penalty corners 15-8.  All good, except for the score which ended 2-1 in Sacred Heart’s favor. Lehigh scored their only goal with 4 minutes remaining.

Lafayette

I have already written about Lafayette’s 3-1 loss to Fairfield. The stag’s bus did not return to campus until after midnight but they rallied on Sunday to beat Villanova . The Leopard’s will take on Richmond on Friday in Richmond’s home opener. Richmond lost to Rutgers handily on Sunday. All three… Lafayette, Richmond and William and Mary, who will play this weekend will be looking for that first win of the season. First game Friday at 3 pm.