Tag: division one sports

Crusaders March To Lafayette In Key Patriot League Match up

In a match that is key for both Lafayette and Holy Cross, Saturday’s meeting could mean a lot to making the four team Patriot League playoffs. The Leopard’s must shake off a disappointing loss to American and hold off a Crusader effort to not leave with no wins in the League. Although an 0-3 record would not eliminate the Crusaders, it would make it an up hill climb with American, Lehigh, and Colgate yet to play. The Leopards on the other hand could finish Saturday with a 2-1 record with Colgate, Boston, and Lehigh to play. One more additional win for Lafayette would make it easier to assure a spot for the post season and one more additional loss would put Holy Cross on the sidelines.

Lafayette has played 3 top 25 teams on the way to a 3-5 overall record and beaten Bucknell, to arrive at a 1-1 record so far in the League. Holy Cross has lost in a close game with Bucknell 2-3 and suffered a four goal loss to Boston University. My take is beware the desperate opponent, so nothing should be taken for granted. Games with the Crusaders have for the most part been competitive affairs. Last year the Leopards came out ahead 1-0 up in Worchester.

The statistical differences are interesting and show opportunity on both sides. Goaltending seems to be a strength for Holy Cross with Brooke Ross having a 76% save percentage on a team that has given up 23 goals with 165 shots against them. Raffi Fragomeni has give up 17 goals against tough competition and on only 77 shots.

In Holy Cross’ most recent game the pattern was the same as they gave up 11 shots and 2 goals to lose 1-2 in overtime. Lafayette has given up 40 corners but earning 46. Holy Cross has given up 76 corners but earned 41. The Holy Cross shot percentage is 14 percent and opponent have an equal success rate with more shots. Lafayette’s shot percentage is 17 percent while their opponents have been 22 percent.

Lafayette certainly has the horses to have an impact. Leneke Spaans still leads the league in assists while Josephine van Wijk is among Patriot League leaders in goals with 6. Maquire Sturgis number 6 is the Crusader leading scorer with 3 goals in 8 games.

Look for the Crusaders to try to use a high press, long passes and short ariels to get past the Leopard defense. That seems to be their MO. Lafayette will use their deep scoring bench to wear down the Crusader bench and defense. Multiple shots and corners will tip the balance no doubt. In the last game against Byant they used only four players off the bench, I would expect the Leopards to be able to put close to double that number in quality players on the field.

No doubt it will be an intense match with the contest’s first period a struggle for either team to get the first goal. Noon Saturday for all you homecoming attendees!!!

Go Pards!!

Leopards Win Statistical Battle But Fall 2-3

Columbia played a game 24 hours previously, and had only three substitutions. Lafayette had 21 shots to Columbia’s 9, 11 on goal to 7 for the home team , 8 corners to 3 for the eventual winners. Columbia drew first blood with a goal at 20:15 which stood up for the remainder of the first half.

On the back of 5 shots and 3 corners in the third period Columbia scored two more goals at 31:15 and 37:16. That was to be it for the Lions as the Leopard’s combination of Katie Gibb to Lineke Spanns to Josephine van Wijk got into gear and scored 2 goals within six minutes of each other, making it a one goal game at the end of the third quarter.

With Spanns and van Wijk getting into it in the fourth quarter, the Leopards were to get off 9 shots and 4 corners to Columbia’s 1 shot and 0 corners. Instead, the Columbia GK managed 7 saves during the 4th.

Given the threatening weather we decided not to make the trek to New York, but watched in on ESPN plus.

The season begins a new phase with the first game of the Patriot League season this Friday night against Bucknell. Bucknell beat Kent State today scoring 2 goals with 4 minutes left in the game to win 2-1. So forget the last several games and start a brand new season on Friday!!!!

Who In The Patriot League Is Playing The Tougher Schedule?

We all know its early to be judging relative strength, and how do you compare Lehigh’s 3-1 record to Lafayette’s 1-3 record or American 2-2 record. Strength of schedule is certainly a factor in those type of observations. Lafayette and American have certainly chosen the harder path. Using the NFHCA rankings those two teams have played more top 20 teams than any other PL Team. In fact, by Sunday Lafayette will have played 3 top teams with the addition of Syracuse. more than any other PL team to date. This week Syracuse is ranked 7th in the Coaches poll, and will be the highest ranking team played by PL members based on current rankings.

Colgate, Holy Cross and BU are the three PL teams who have not played a top 20 team to date. BU will be playing Boston College this week end. Lehigh and Bucknell have played OSU. Lehigh lost 5-2 and Bucknell played them tough in 1-2 loss in Columbus Ohio.

Lafayette’s game with UMASS, according to reports and the stats, looked to be very close. Can Lafayette pull the upset against Syracuse? Syracuse will play Cornell tonight.

The all important PL games will start next week as the Leopards will meet Bucknell on a night game at Rappolt Field. In the meantime the Leopards will play Columbia on Sunday and it should be an indication if this young team has come together. Bucknell this week will tangle with Towson 3-1 and Kent State 1-3. Kent State has had the harder schedule and will be playing Penn State before they meet the Bison.

This weekend’s action could be interesting!!!

Spaans, van Wijk, and Rubel Provide Opening Day Fireworks in 5-0 win.

In a display of speed and power the Leopards delighted an opening day crowd with an offense not seen for years by the home folks. I have to admit I was a little concerned after I wrote the pregame piece on the Seahawks. They are a reconstructed team with 5th year and graduate students, and sprinkled with a group of international players. But from the opening push, my doubts were put to rest as a clinic using amazing athletic skill, and speed was evident in the Leopards tonight.

It was only 5:10 into the contest when Leneke Spaans, with the sun at her back, delivered a strike over the head of the opposing goal keeper. The last time I saw a strike like that was 50 years ago while in the navy, when an F-14 came out of the sun at supersonic speed, and delivered a payload on the beach. Leneke set the tempo for this team and it was clear it was to be followed later on, by a group effort on both sides of the ball.

Leopards fans had to wait for 18 and 1/2 minutes for Catalina Rubel’s contribution to the score, with a rebounded flick that made the score 2-0. Five minutes later Josephine van Wiik took a feed from co-captain India Ralph during a penalty corner, giving the home town folks a 3-0 lead. Alex Darrah had taken a shot, which was saved by Sam Block, the Wagner goal keeper, eventually leading to another penalty corner after a video review. Wagner had an unsuccessful video challenge themselves on the goal and the halftime score was left at 3-0.

After halftime Spaans again struck at 32:36 with a reverse chip making the score 4-0. The scoring was not to end until van Wijk made it 5-0 after a Katie Gibb feed on a penalty corner.

It was not just offensive fireworks that brought the win home, the defense and midfield kept the Seahawks at bay. Lena Thedrian, Katie Gibb, Laine Delmonte, and Stella Malinowski were busy intercepting passs and turning around the Wagner attack. Have no doubt, this was a team effort no matter who was in the game. Raffi Fragomeni recored her first shut out in the win turning back Wagner with two saves on four shots.

The Leopards took 15 shots to Wagner’s 4, and had 5 corners to Wagner’s single corner in the second period. Each team used 16 players in the contest. Sunday, the Leopards will take on Ohio State at 3:30

After coming home I watched some of the Ohio State vs Lehigh contest, which Lehigh lost 5-2. I didn’t think Lehigh was as bad or Ohio State as dominant as the score may indicate. Ohio State scored in bunches and used the press effectively. They deflected ball into the cage and often had an attacking player positioned at the post.

Around the league Boston lost to Michigan State on the back of early scores in the first period by Michigan State. Holy Cross beat Stonehill in a driving rain in double overtime, Colgate lost a heartbreaker to Central Michigan 3-2, Bucknell had a disappointing loss to Drexel 4-0 and American looked very strong in beating Ohio University.

Sunday American will welcome Penn State ( they a lost to Virginia tonight), and Bucknell will stay in Philly to take on Temple. Lehigh will host Ball State on Sunday. The Leopards will of course tangle with Ohio State at 3:30 on Sunday.

Wagner Brings 31 To Open Season At Lafayette

On the back of a 12 person recruiting class the Seahawks of Wagner bring a large contingent to face the Lafayette Leopards on Friday at 7pm. In addition, coach Niki Miller has tabbed last year’s goal tender, Daisy Ruhle as an assistant coach. Ruhle had a very credible 76 pct save percentage. However finding a new GK was not the only task Miller had in reconstructing this team that tied for the regular season title with Rider last year.

The Seahawks finished the season at 11-7 and 6-1 in the NEC. They are a preseason pick for second this year tied with Rider and behind Fairfield, last year’s tournament champion. Of the 46 goals scored last year the top 5 scorers ( accounting for 35 goals) are no longer on the team which explains the large incoming class which includes three goalkeepers including one from the Netherlands. One interesting stat was the number of offensive corners ( 146)

Number 8 Laura van Hamburg a graduate student from the Netherlands looks like their top returning scorer. Altogether, I count 5 graduate students on the roster!! There are 10 freshman on the roster 4 from western Europe.

Opening games are always intense competitive affairs and I expect much of the same this time. The Leopards seem to be working well together. The question I suppose will be the relative size of the benches friday night. This is the first game between the two schools and each will want start the season with a win!! Early goals will be a key stat on friday as will avoiding giving up corners giving the Seahawks scoring chances.

I would expect both teams to defend their 40 and try to stop circle penetrations. The Seahawks are a scouting enigma given their turnover. I would hope a nice home crowd will weigh heavy in the Leopards favor!!

Leopards End Preseason With Hard Fought Stalemate With Delaware

Katie Gibb and Mackenzie Hall were in the middle of it all afternoon

Delaware arrived at Rappolt Field prepared for a competitive outing and that’s exactly what they got in the 2 1/2 hour game like scrimmage. The Blue Hens drew first blood in the first half but the Leopards showed a diversified attack and a tenacious defense to eventually go to a 2-1 lead in the second half. Delaware tied it all up with less than a minute to go.

India Ralph and Lena Thedrian were there on defense

The two then practiced a 7 v7 showdown and that ended with no score for either side. It was then to the inevitable shoot out and quite frankly it was a that point I lost track of the scores. The school was experimenting with a new digital scoreboard at the end, which got pushed by the wind and shut down.

I will not go into scoring details but the team and coaches should be very pleased. This was indeed an opposing team in Delaware which played well and could be nationally ranked at the outset of the season. By the second quarter the Leopards looked connected and played like veterans. The Spaans,van Wijk duo was a factor all game. Katie Gibb and India Ralph advanced the ball from the defense. Mackensie Hall was in the mix…especially in the second and third quarter. Lena Thedrian again showed leadership.

The GK duo of Emma Garvey and Raffi Fragmenti were on it all game.

The Leopards now have a week to rest and prepare for Wagner on Friday and Ohio State on Sunday. There are several players who are dinged up but expect they will heal and contribute in due course.

The Future Is Now As USA Field Hockey And Partners Break Ground In Charlotte

USA Field Hockey used the opportunity of a “High Performance Summit” to break ground on the new field for the US National Field Hockey Team. The field is expected to be ready for use this fall, in time for several international games against Canada, South Africa and others. For about a year, the team has been practicing at Queen’s College in Charlotte, N.C. The new field will be 25 minutes to the north on the campus of the University of North Carolina Charlotte. The Belk family, UNCC, and the State of North Carolina in partnership with USFH have been working on the project for several years. This is an effort by all to encourage the attracting of Olympic teams to the city of Charlotte. There are several sports already training full time.

Field Hockey will be the first team olympic sport to set up permanent residence in the city. The United State Performance Center co-founded by Ike Belk and David Koerner have provided the management and development expertise to attract the resources in North Carolina to make it all happen. In addition, they are providing medical and training staff for the team. The campus already houses the strength and conditioning staff for USPC which is directing the US Field Hockey women’s team in its daily fitness and nutritional efforts.

So it was on May 18, 2023 the first phase of construction was marked by a ceremonial ground breaking attended by USFH officials, Chancellor Sharon Gaber, various political officials from the State of North Carolina, members of the Belk family, the team and coaches. Shovels in hand with appropriate hard hats….work was ceremoniously begun!!!

The turf will be made of Polygras Paris GT Zero, which will be the same turf used for the Paris Olympics next year. The material used is a derivative from sugar cane which produce ethanol that is used in the production of the plastic artificial surface. It will need significantly less water to play on and is recyclable. It will be the third new surface installed in the world to date.

There were words of inspiration and instruction delivered by Ike Belk, and David Koerner. Chancellor Gaber noted the partnership and cooperation by all. Coach David Passmore and team Captain Amanda Golini thanked everyone for the facility and were humbled by the inspirational teamwork that brought us to this point and how proud they will be representing the state, the city and the country.

Simon Hoskins the Executive Director of US Field Hockey remarked how this moment is a step into the future for the game of Field Hockey.

The Patriot League was well represented with national team members Amanda Golini, Alex Hamel and Natalie Konerth.

High Performance Summit

All during this the week the women’s and men’s national team coaches met with the top coaches in the country to discuss training methods and the “game” in general. In residence were coaches from all over the country, many of whom provided the training for our current National Team athletes.

Coach Stone was in attendance and I was to visit with my good coaching friends that Pam and I have acquired over the many years that we have been connected to the sport. Our roles as Chairman and Trustee has allowed us to share our enthusiasm for the the game. We were pleased to attend events with Coaches Missy Maharg Carla Taglienti and Pam Stuper and made some new friends like Tracey Fuchs. The enthusiasm of all these Coaches and their dedication is amazing. We all shared our determination that US Field Hockey will have the best chance to succeed in the Pan Games,the Paris olympics and beyond.

GO USA

Leopards Sink On Tenth One Goal Loss Of The Season

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It must be some kind of record to lose 10 games by one goal. Sadly, that’s what happened to the Leopards up in New Haven against the Bulldogs of Yale. The early periods look promising for the Leopards as they were able to accumulate playing time in their part of the field. They had 10 shots but the Bulldogs started to build towards the end of the first period. Using a scrum after a corner they managed to poke one in at 25:28 in the second period.

From then on Yale pretty much shut down the Lafayette offense as they only managed to get off 3 shots to Yale’s 11 in the second half. The Leopards were also hampered by one green and two yellow cards meaning they played 12 minutes of the game short handed.

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McAndrews managed to get off two shots on goal, while Simone Hefting and Josephine Van Wijk did get 3 shots each. Yale and Lafayette had 7 corners each.

Yale’s defense played well in the second half, shutting down the Leopard offense and especially surrounding Lineke Spanns at every opportunity.

The Leopards will travel to Hamilton, New York next Saturday for a game with Patriot League foe Colgate.

Lafayette Shuts Down Boston University 2-0

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Leneke Spanns speeds through the Terrier defense

Lafayette enhanced its reputation as a “Giant Killer,” by knocking off the only remaining undefeated team in Patriot League play 2-0. This season is remarkable for the Leopards rising to the occasion against high ranking teams. Early this month they beat then ranked number 7 Princeton in overtime. Last Sunday number 4 ranked Penn State nearly fell in double overtime to an inspired Leopard squad.

This time it was Boston University who arrived at the Leopard’s Lair 4-0 in league play and left 4-1 after 60 minutes of play. No one can deny it’s been a trying season with 9 one goal losses. This afternoon they proved how dangerous they could be!!

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India Ralph turns it on in front of the Terrier bench

Boston had 9 shots during the afternoon with only 2 on goal. The Leopards showed their prowess by responding with 12 shots, 8 on goal. The Terrier goal keeper was forced to make 6 saves while the shutout destined Lafayette goalkeeper, Raffi Fragomeni made 2. Boston did manage 4 penalty corners (2 in the final period) which were turned away by the defensive penalty corner group.

The crowd of 221 fans were treated to an excellent game from both sides. The skills were on display. and the officials were on top of the game. In the first period there were 4 shots from each side. The quarter closed in a 0-0 tie. The first shot of the game was at 1:33 with senior Felicitas Hannes delivering the blow that went wide. One minute later Terrier Amalia Preece was to get off a shot for the red side, and was blocked by the Leopards.

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Simone Hefting lines up a pass

The intensity on each side was evident with the Lafayette defense led by Simone Hefting showing they came to play. Josephine van Wyck was to also get off a shot during a first period corner, as her presence was obvious all game long.

Two minutes later Lineke Spanns, who demonstrated her skill, speed and heart all game long challenging the BU defense, resulted in her first of three shots in the game. However, it was during a corner at 17:08 when the Leopards drew first blood with Molly McAndews finding the back of the cage during a scramble in front. She was assisted by Spanns and Felicitas Hannes. ( see the picture at the top of this article). Molly was to have a team leading 4 shots during the game.

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Josephine van Wyck defends

The rest of the period saw back and forth action with Lafayette getting off 2 more shots while blanking the Terriers for the remainder of the period.

Despite renewed energy by Boston, they got only one shot during the third quarter, while Lafayette got 4 more. One of those shots was to come from Lineke Spanns at 40:32 on a reverse stick to the right corner after dodging and speeding past several Terrier defenders.

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Six of our seven seniors are all smiles after a big win!!

That was to be the last score of the afternoon. In total Molly McAndrew had 4 shots, Leneke Spanns had 3, Felicitas Hannes had 2, Josephine van Wyck had 1, Simone Hefting had 1 and MacKenzie Hall had 1 on goal.

All in all it was a team effort which ended on stout defense of a corner by Boston and Simone Hefting being awarded a green card with 19 seconds left, I believe for putting the ball in play with delay.

Lafayette will be traveling to New Haven to meet Yale tomorrow at 2 pm.

Leopards Find Their Offense In 4-3 Win Against Richmond On Senior Day

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Seniors Felicitas Hannes, Sydney Woolston, and Simone Hefting played key roles in a 4-3 Senior Day win against the Spiders of Richmond University. In a back and forth game during a threatening cold, cloudy day, Sydney Woolston opened a lead with a goal at 5:42 in the first quarter. It was Sydney’s third goal in as many games on 4 shots taken. With seconds left in the same period Richmond took a rebound with midfielder Regan McCrossan knotting he score at 1-1.

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Leopard senior Felicitas Hannes duplicated the feat with a rebound from of her own putting Leopards up 2-1 at 19:01 in the second quarter. However, again with six seconds left in the half Richmond was to tie score at 2-2 with a reverse from the left side.

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Junior Emma Garvey took over goal tending duties in the second half. Hannes was to again be in the action by passing to first year player Catalina Rubel putting the Leopards ahead again, 13 minutes into the third quarter. The lead to was last eight minutes as Lindsey Frank found the back of the goal tying the game once more in the forth quarter.

The game winning heroics were reserved for senior Simone Hefting assisted by Hannah Findlay and Lineke Spaans who scored 6 1/2 minutes to go in the game. In addition, Captain Hefting was to have a defensive save doing the game. The Leopards accumulated 12 shots, resulting in 4 goals, 3 assists and 3 corners during the match.

It was a day of mixed emotions as we realized these seniors were playing their last games as a Leopards. However, they showed their mettle and character by not getting down and playing hard to the end. It also demonstrated the strong bench of the Leopards as 8 bench players saw significant action.

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After the game, the team, parents and friends were treated with a post game party where memories and gifts were exchanged to make the day more memorable.

Lafayette has games to play with three PL opponents as well as sixth ranked Penn State and Drexel next week end. Yale at Yale is also scheduled as the regular season closes.