Lafayette College Field Hockey

The 2018 Schedule for Lafayette Field Hockey was posted on http://www.goleopards.com last night. Although essentially the same as that announced to the team last spring, there were several key changes. The game with Fairfield University which was initially tagged as a scrimmage is now the opening game of the season on August 24th at home at 6:30. Last year Lafayette played at Fairfield and came away with a 4-0 win, so the Stags will be looking for revenge as both teams look to start the season on a successful note.

Seven days later the team hits the road for Richmond, Va, to the home of the Spiders, hoping to reverse the 5-3 loss last year at home. That game will have an August 31st 3 pm start. The Leopards will stay in Virginia and travel down the road to Williamsburg to be ready for a September 2nd  meeting at noon with the Tribe of William and Mary, a team not met for over a decade.

On September 7th, at the friendly confines of Rappolt Field, it will be Lafayette’s turn to host Temple, as they will be anxious to reverse the 4-1 win by the Leopards on the last game of the year last year.

Two days later it’s on the road again to Hamden, Conn at the home of Quinnipiac for a noon showdown with Maine, the first game ever between the two teams. This is just a warm-up for a huge Patriot League game five days later, with Lehigh at home at 7pm. The Leopards will be hot to get revenge for the 1-0 overtime loss to the Brown and White in Bethlehem last year.

It get no easier, as two days later, national power Albany will be in Easton to take on our favorite team on the 16th at 1 pm. After that its Drexel away on 21st, Liberty at home on the 23rd as a warm up for a crucial match with likely Patriot League favorite Boston University. The last time the Terriers were on Rappolt Field turf, they lost to the Leopards in a shoot out 2-1. We need everyone to be on board for that game on the 29th at 12 pm.

October opens up with Villanova, and the Leopard first trip to the Wildcats new field for a 5 pm match.  On the 6th its back to Patriot League action in upstate New York to meet the Colgate Raiders for a must win game in Hamilton at noon. Two days later on the eighth, it’s back to the home turf for a meeting with Penn, who is the Leopards second most played team. That game will be a rare 4 pm start.

On the 13th its Patriot League action with another key game, at Holy Cross in Worcester. The Leopards will need these Patriot League wins to qualify for the end of season tournament and chance to dance in NCAA playoffs. The 12 o’clock start will be much anticipated.

The Leopards will have their first back to back game as they play Providence in Rhode Island on the 14th at 1 pm. It will be another first meeting for the two teams.

On Oct 20th it’s American who will test the Leopards at home at 12 o’clock as our team will try to solidify their status with a Patriot League win. Two days later it will by our second meeting with the Ivy League, as the Leopards will travel to central New York for a 4pm meeting with Cornell in Ithaca.

Finally, the regular season finale will be at Bucknell at 2 pm on Oct 27th in what promises to be a crucial game. There always seems to be something at stake when we meet Bucknell, and we expect that will still be the same scenario when Leopards step onto the Bison’s field at 2pm. Bucknell went to the final Patriot League championship game after beating American in the semi final in  a shoot out 2-1.

Hopefully it’s the second season for the Leopards as the Patriot League tournament will be held at the regular season champion on November 2nd and 4th.

As usual there are no easy games to take for granted, but fans will be treated to good competitive Division One hockey. Go Pards!

 

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If its the beginning of July it’s camp time for young field hockey players. Rappolt Field and the campus of Lafayette College is hosting two camps this year as young aspirants sample the college  environment while polishing their skill for the upcoming season. For the first three days, it is individual training where campers get close one on one instruction from the Lafayette coaching staff as well as past and present college stars. In the evening, they get a chance to test their skills in pick up games against top talent. Next week there will be a camp where high school teams work as a group against like players, to get a jump on the fall season.

Today, I visited the morning session of the individual camp, and the participants were hard at work on the astroturf raising their field hockey IQ. The treat for me was to see at least five of the six incoming Leopards in action up close. They already know each other and the current team through recruiting and they now get a chance to be on the field with their new teammates in the camp setting.

Aside from drills which are used during the regular season, they received instruction and measured for overall fitness. They hear lectures from sport psychologists and live in the dorms as they will ,beginning in four weeks.

 

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My sense is that perhaps for the first time they are beginning to appreciate the discipline and hard work it will take to be a Division One athlete. The six new student athletes will be tested as athletes and as students. I saw future chemical engineering majors, neuroscience majors, and a plethora of other academic disciplines represented. But also in four weeks, the six will be matching their skills with nationally ranked division one athletes from across the country.

Lafayette will have on field, athletes from four countries including multiple states. It will be the coaching staff’s duty to blend that talent into one smoothly functioning team. The upperclassmen have returned from an undefeated foreign tour as well as an extremely successful spring season. Fifty percent of the incoming class represented themselves at Spooky Nook, the US field hockey training center in national tournaments.

I have that first week in August circled as the team will hit the turf to begin formal preparations for the fall season. Slightly more than one week later on August the 14th they will be playing Monmouth in a scrimmage followed on the 24th for an evening scrimmage at home against Fairfield University.

The real season begins with a trip to Virginia to meet Richmond University on the 31st at 3 pm. After that its a quick trip down to Williamsburg on the 2nd of September to meet William and Mary at noon. The first home game will be against Temple on September 7 at 7pm before traveling to Quinnipiac to play Maine on the 9th. This will all build to a very important game with archival Lehigh on September14th to avenge last years 1-0 overtime loss, this time at Rappolt Field under the lights with a home crowd in attendance. More on the schedule later this month. In August, I plan as usual, to give a review of the league which in my opinion will be better from top to bottom.

Our players continue to train and plan to arrive in top shape with a lot of experience to be on the field come the opening whistle!! GO PARDS!!!!

 

Amanda Magadan was named last night to the 18 member US World Cup team. This is the second biggest stage for  field hockey and held every four years. The 18 member squad will travel to London, England on July 14th to begin competition on July 21 and ends August 5. Currently the US team is ranked 7th in the world . Schopman stated in her announcement. ” Selection was very difficult for us as a staff this year, we have so many player with different  strengths that all add something to the team.”  She added, ” Choosing 18 means leaving players at home, that worked as hard as anyone which is never easy.”

The event is made up of 16 women’s teams that is broken into four pools. The team is in pool B and will play their first game against Ireland at 1800 London time on the 21st of July and will be live streamed for fans.

Amanda is a 2017 graduate of Lafayette College after an outstanding four year career as a Leopard. Aside from being a captain she was an all league, all Patriot League tournament and all American selection. She was also an all academic league selection and was named the Arthur Ashe Scholar.

She has not lacked world championship experience having been on the team that won the  Gold in the 2017 World League Semifinal in Johannesburg in 2017, Silver at the 2016 Women’s Junior Pan American Games, Bronze at the Pan American Cup.

Amanda’s best words of advice …”When you think you are tired, keep going,” ” What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside you,”…Ralph Waldo Emerson.

In two weeks on July 14 at Spooky Nook in Lancaster,Pa there will be a send off event, where the team will sign autographs and meet and greet their fans. There will also be a raffle and silent auction to get valuable signed merchandise and other prizes.

 

 

 

 

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The heat and humidity became two more obstacles for the participants at the Young Women’s National Championships (YWNC) at Spook Nook. The hot summer Lancaster sun was unforgiving at 95 degrees, even as the evening progressed. Both Welch and Delahanty played their third game in as many days with the best young players in the country, all competing for a coveted spot on the national squads. However, teamwork was still evident and winning was on the mind of all these young athletes as they performed in front of multiple evaluators.

Liza was first up with a noon game, and despite a strong effort, her team suffered a 3-0 loss. Theresa began her game at 4:45 and both teams showed the wear and fatigue of three full games in three days. Both of our Leopards played multiple minutes and were involved in key elements of the game.

“T” helped her team hang in to the very end, but suffered a 1-0 loss off a goal by the opposing team in the forth quarter which dribbled past the defenders and ultimately the goalie. Defense was key and the battle was intense as there were several close chances in scrums in front of the goal. In the end, it was a well fought game under adverse conditions.

Today will mark the fourth and final games at 12 noon under no less forgiving circumstances. It will be the last  chance to win, and one last chance to impress the multiple evaluators on the sidelines. Best of luck to our stalwart Leopards!!

 

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I traveled once again to Pennsylvania Dutch Country, to the National Training Center for USA field hockey to see our Leopards essentially try out for the US Team. The U-19 teams had finished their 4 day tournament and I was able to see two of our first year players at the 3 o’clock game. At 5:30 it was the turn of the high performance selectees to show their skills in a series of games under international rules. The games were played in four 15 minute quarters with the clock stopped for corners.

 

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The players were selected from around the country, from predominately Division one college teams, and sprinkled with recent graduates from the same schools. Leopard seniors Liza Welch and Theresa Delahanty showed their fans in the stands they belonged. Former players Cody Hunsicker, Meg Lillis, Rosie Shanks and asst coach Sara Dalrymple were there for support, along with a group of parents.

It was Liza Welch who was to show her talents early in the first game as she rifled a goal to give her team the early lead.  Liza continued her goal scoring streak which started in South Africa several weeks earlier. On a two on one break Liza moved to her left side and on the run reversed her stick placing the ball between the goalkeepers legs. There are only about 16 players per team and both Liza and Theresa were starters on their respective squads. Theresa’s game started at 7:15 under the “Dome” and was a highly entertaining and closely contested contest worthy of the players that were there.

The passing was crisp and the teamwork amazed, given that each team had only 1 hour of practice before stepping onto the artificial pitch. The tempo and skills could well have been seen at a top five Division One game.

In Theresa’s game which ended in a 0-0 tie there was no less action. The players were fit and ready and there was plenty of offensive action and defense was on display along with some outstanding goalkeeping. Theresa was to find herself in the action often during the game at her midfield position, and showed a preview of what to expect this fall. constantly moving from defense to offense favoring her style of play,  using speed and aggressiveness  which fit well with this team of all stars.

All in all it was a great evening to get warmed for the coming season which will begin in the first week of August.

It was not only at Spooky Nook that saw our Leopards on a national stage. Audrey Sawers, a Leopard sophomore midfielder from Canada was selected to try out for the equivalent Canadian tournament. She was selected after an equally intense process and at this writing is  preparing  to demonstrate her talents on a national Canadian stage in the coming weeks. in Ontario.

It’s been an exciting beginning to the summer which we all hope will lead to an even more productive fall. GO PARDS

 

 

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Having already been culled from a high performing group, three Lafayette incoming freshman are training and playing at the home of USA field hockey at Spooky Nook. Alix Talkow, Hailey Abbott and Molly McAndrew took to the turf for their first exposure to Division one field hockey. Virtually every player in the Under 19 division are already playing, or have signed an NLI to play this fall at the college of their choice. The competition was intense, as this is part of the selection process for the various USA teams.

Lafayette field hockey fans will have reason to be pleased. I saw good speed from the two field players ( Talkow and McAndrews) and good athletic ability in goalkeeper Hailey Abbott. McAndrews showed a big hit that will no doubt be useful to head coach Jen Stone. Talkow showed a strong sense of the game, using her speed to break open on several fast breaks.

All three players were playing on teams made of primarily New Jersey athletes while the competion is as close as Pennsylvania and as far away as California. The stands were filled with parents and college coaches, who have been here all week looking over the talent, hoping to spy that next all conference and all American player.

The weather has been ideal, providing a wonderful stage for these athletes to be evaluated. For this fan, who is waiting for the real games to start, it was a shot in the arm and a peek into the future.

Tomorrow, the crossover games for the U-19 players will wrap up the week’s future’s tournament, just as the Young Women’s National Championships will begin. Three Lafayette athletes were selected to play in that tournament.

Meanwhile, having just returned from South Africa the rest of the team will be sharpening their fitness and skills for a return for campus preseason practices in early August.

 

Three Leopard first year players will report to Spooky Nook in Lancaster,Pa today to begin practices for the National Futures Tournament (NFC). Practices begin today and games will be played Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, the 24th,25th and 26th. The tournament is the premier championship event for USA Field Hockey’s Futures Program and Olympic Development Pipeline.  The NFC brings together the top female field hockey players  selected from 4,700 athletes across nine regions for a high level multi-day tournament style competition.

The USA Field Hockey High Performance staff will select top talent to represent the United States in other elite programs. The three selected who will wear the Maroon and White this fall are GK Hailey Abbott, Midfielder/ Attacker Molly McAndrew, and forward Alix Talkow. Abbot and Talkow  will play on the same   team (London), while McAndrew will play on the Athens team.

As of today London will play at 10 and 12 pm Sunday the 24th, 8:30 and 11:30 Monday the 25th and Tues at 10 am the 26th before playing a final game to decide standings that afternoon.

Athens will play 9am and 12 pm on Sunday the 24th, 7:30 and 12:30 on Monday the 25th and Tues at 8 am before the afternoon championship games.

All three of course, will be in the under 19 division where they will be with others who have already committed to attend various colleges and universities. According to Lisa McCoy, USA  Field Hockey’s Director of Futures and International Events,” We are excited to welcome this year’s selected athletes to the NFC. It is a great opportunity for athletes  to perform their best with great competition while cultivating new friendships.”

Admission is free and the championship games will be live streamed on Tuesday the 26th. These three recruits join our three Young Women’s National  Tournament selectees ( Theresa Delahanty, Lisa Welch and Sarah Park) who will begin practice next week and play in their own championship the following weekend.

Preseason for the Leopards begins in early August and these events along with the Leopards recent South Africa tour will ensure everyone arrives in shape and ready to learn and play. The first scrimmage against collegiate competition will be at Monmouth at 1pm on the 14th of August, less than 60 days from today.

 

 

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The list of names for the 2018 Young Women’s National Championship (YWNC) was announced tonight and three Leopards were among the elite athletes named. Theresa Delahanty, Sarah Park and Liza Welch will be at Spooky Nook on June 25-29. The YWNC serves as a high-level international structured competition which is a selection avenue to Junior National Camp  and an opportunity for selection to the 2018-19 U-21 Women’s National Team and the U.S. Women’s National development team. Spooky Nook is the national training center for the US National Team.

As far as I can tell no other current Patriot League teams  named more than three players. Bucknell had three named Sarah Dimock, Olivia Harris, and Kaelyn Long. Ally Hammel from Boston University also was named. Taylor Blood who graduated from BU this spring is also on the list. All the invitees were notified via official notification today!!

Delahanty is the senior co-captain and an engineering major from Washington Crossing. Welch is a senior forward from Sutton, Massachusetts and a chemistry major and Park is a junior goalkeeper from Collegeville, Pa. majoring in chemical engineering. All three just returned from a team trip to South Africa where the Leopards were undefeated. Both Welch and Delahanty scored two goals in three games. One game was played to a 0-0 tie.

Amanda Magadan who graduated in 2016 is a member of the US National Team and is preparing for the World Cup in London in July.

Congratulations to our Leopards and Best of Luck in the games.

After this sojourn, they are all international athletes, world travelers, and Lafayette ambassadors. They have embraced a different culture, touched children, experienced elephants, rhinos, zebras and springboks in their native habitats. They have seen historical sites and sampled a new geography. It was a trip to remember while sharpening their hockey skills and bonded closer as a team.

Their last visit was a view of Capetown as they saw it on the first days, high from a mountaintop. It will be an enduring memory which can recalled at reunions of the future.

Their next gathering as team will be in less than 60 days. Only they will have added to their numbers with a new incoming class. On August the 14th they will be visiting Monmouth for their first preseason game and we can all witness for ourselves the results of the trip.

These trips are designed so that every field hockey player at Lafayette gets to have a similar experience. This coming season, the team  will be playing for the Patriot League championship and to participate in the national tournament. The new players will be tested as never before, as the skill, speed and strength of their opponents and teammates will be more than they have ever experienced in their athletic careers to date. The league is improving every year, and as our veteran players know, every game must be contested as a key game!

Lafayette will put one of its most experienced teams on the turf this season and I am looking forward to an improved team chemistry. They are well led by three great captains who will motivate our Leopards to play their best. The sixty days will go by fast and in the meantime I will review the rest of the league and perhaps divert from time to time on other subjects including the US World Cup team.

So I will alert most you as I write in the near future.  I can’t wait for the new season. I am sure our Field Hockey Leopards are already thinking of it as well, as they fly home today. Welcome back ladies!!!