Tag: field hockey

Leopards Nab Four All Region Slots

Lafayette led the Patriot League with four all region selections. Lafayette is in the Mid East region along with schools like Penn State, Yale, Bucknell, Syracuse and Connecticut. The other Patriot League school that had multiple selections was American who had three in the Mid Atlantic Region.

Leading the Leopards was no surprise as Junior Lineke Spaans was selected for the first team. Joining her on the second team were Sophomores Josephine van Wijk and Makenzie Switzer along with the Patriot League rookie of the year Stella Malinowski.

Remarkably, all four will be returning to compete for the Patriot League title!!! In addition freshman Katie Gibbs and Junior Laine Delmotte have been selected for the Junior Canadian World Cup team playing in Santiago, Chile this week and next!!

The Leopards will be returning to their team, a group that saw the majority of minutes during their run as runner up in the League. They missed going to NCAA tournament because of a one goal loss in the Patriot League Championship.

By adding a decent freshman class next year and the return of several injured players the Leopards should be favored to take it all next year or I might eat a hockey ball if they are not !!! I can’t wait for spring, as skills improve and we can insert a healthy team to the pitch.

Go Pards!!

Lafayette Just Misses Championship 1-0

Alex Darrah is on it

In a hard fought contest, the Leopards narrowly missed winning it all but for a a goal by American early in the fourth quarter. Lafayette out shot the Eagles and the Eagles out cornered the Leopards, both stats proving both teams executed to their strength.

In an interview with the on camera host, America Coach Steve Jennings revealed he likes to substitute early to preserve freshness for the later quarters. Lafayette was hampered with a shorter bench due to injuries and several walking wounded on the field. It was a courageous effort by all as the Leopards were in reach of the trophy.

Lena Thedrian sprints upfield

Leneke Spaans was circled by three and sometime four America defenders during the course of the game. Lena Thedrian and co-captain India Ralph picked up the slack in moving the ball downfield.

The Lafayette defense was stout, turning the Eagle offense away especially in the first half. However, in the third quarter American turned it up a notch and they were helped by two back to back green cards against the Leopards!!

Josephine van Wijk sizes up American

Clearly the longer American bench was helpful, but I had to be impressed by Lafayette’s spirit and effort in the afternoon. Which brings to mind..what now!???

This is clearly a talented and spirited team with virtually all coming back next year. To my mind a new freshman class of 8 or 9 good players would be enough to bring the trophy to Easton. This team deserves the support of the college and their fans. IF WE ARE AT ALL SERIOUS ABOUT CHAMPIONSHIPS reasonable but vigorous support will put us in a good place next year at this same time. That is what Title IX is all about!!! Live it just don’t talk it!!!

We will be playing American, Boston University, and Lehigh at home…and if I am correct in my assessment…hosting the tournament!!

Field Hockey team cheers on Men’s Soccer team in their shoot out win!!

PS. I was pleased to see our team cheering on the soccer team last night to their shootout win in the quarter finals at home. This is a quality group and I could not be more proud of this group of young women!!

GO PARDS!!

Lafayette Enters The Post Season Capturing 5 All League Honors

Patriot League Tournament Most Balanced In Years

Spaans blows by BU defender

The top four teams in the League standings are still playing this Thursday in the semi-final round of the Patriot League tournament, and anyone is capable of the claiming the championship on Saturday. For example, Bucknell is seeded fourth but all three of their league losses came with one goal margins or overtime shootouts.

Lafayette claimed the number 2 slot, and was tied with Bucknell with a scoring margin of 1.51 positive and with number of shots (86) considering only league play. Lafayette has the stingiest defense of the group by allowing only 5 goals over the 6 games.

In corners earned, American leads the pack with 59, BU has 38, Bucknell has 37 and Lafayette has 30. Bucknell leads with 16 goals, then Lafayette with 14, American with 13 and Boston recorded 12 goals during the PL season.

But the task at hand is the semi-final game tomorrow. Lafayette plays at 2 pm after the American /Bucknell game. Boston has always been known for their defense and how it creates offensive opportunities but the Lafayette defense has been stellar this season.

The Leopards will enter the playoffs after capturing five all patriot honors. Stella Malinowski was rookie of the year, Lineke Spaans ad Mackensie Switzer made first team and Laine Delmotte, Josephine vanWijk, and Stella Malinowski were named to the second team. It should be noted that is three juniors, a sophomore, and a freshman, all returning next year.

During the play by play last Saturday between American and Boston the announcer said how that game could be the preview of the championship game. Lafayette will have something to say about that by captains Spaans and Ralph, and the team. An eleven year veteran coach, Jennifer Stone will have the team ready. This is an intense competitive group that will be on the turf in the coming days!! Couldn’t be more excited for the tournament.

Go Pards!!

Temple Slips Past Lafayette 1-0 In Regular Season Finale

Stella Malinowski takes control

It was a senior day contest at Temple as both teams battled back and forth for sixty minutes. In the end, it was Temple who came out on top with a fourth quarter goal by Tess Muller who placed an impossible angle shot into the goal at 51:48 putting the Owls up 1-0.

Catalina Rubel gets the ball past Temple

The Leopards were not done as they earned one of their 2 penalty corners of the game at 54:08. Temple asked for a video review which came back inconclusive, but in the meantime allowed the Leopard coaching staff to come up with a shot. After several dramatic minutes, play resumed and Lafayette lined up for the corner. Eventually Laine Delmotte took the feed from India Ralph and delivered the shot past the Temple goalkeeper only to have it stopped by an alert Lily Petersen with a defensive save.

Temple used 20 players during the afternoon while Lafayette used 16. Temple outshot Lafayette 8 to 3 but the shots on goal were an even 2 to 2. Lafayette had 2 corners to Temple’s 1 which displayed a game that was basically played between the 25’s. However Temple did manage to get off 4 shots in the fourth quarter.

Mackensie Hall runs past a Temple defender

Lafayette’s 8 game win streak was snapped as both teams are off to their respective League Tournaments. Lafayette will be taking on Boston University at 2 o’clock on Thursday after the American vs Bucknell game at 11 am.

Van Wijk and George Score In 2-1 Victory In The Rivalry

National Ranking Improves to 23!!

Lineke speeds down the field

In a game worthy of its proximity to Halloween, it had everything one could want in a “Rivalry” game. The game had significance in that a loss for Lehigh would knock the defending Patriot League champions out of the playoffs. Lafayette was riding a 7 game win streak and wanted the momentum for the post season and Lehigh had won the last 3 rivalry encounters in close games.

The styles of play could not be more different, Lehigh was a forward leaning team taking aggressive chances while Lafayette played a more elegant skill dominant game. The danger for Lehigh was to over commit while Lafayette had to be aware of interceptions and hard tackling.

Van Wijk scores the first goal

The first half was a probing affair as each side looked for openings, Lafayette was to use either long passes to break open their offense and Lehigh looked for interceptions to get to the circle and set up penalty corners.

At the end of the first half, Lehigh was given a green card, which left the Leopards with a player advantage at the beginning of the third quarter!! But after one minute, a referee got a non contact injury, which required that a new official be called to come and substitute. Thankfully, the game continued after about a 1/2 hour delay. Lehigh retired to their locker room during the delay, while Lafayette was content to stay on the field and practice!

Naomi has first goal of her career unassisted

Once the game restarted, Lafayette executed a game changing effort. At 32:42 Josephine van Wijk broke the 0-0 stalemate with assists from Lineke Spaans and India Ralph during a corner. No one in the stands at that moment thought a 1-0 lead would be enough, and at 40:13 Naomi George fixed that with the first goal of her career, an unassisted strike.

DPC defense was up to the task

That final goal from Lafayette would prove to be needed, as Lehigh would score with about six minutes left in the game. Avery Ice connected with an assist from Julia Gatelein. At 57:53 Lehigh pulled their goal keeper in a last ditch effort it tie the score, but Lafayette rose to the occasion. All during the third and fourth quarters Lafayette continued to attack and had several scoring opportunities go unconnected.

The Leopards were rewarded in the end, with a rise in the Field Hockey Corner’s RPI ranking to 23 in the nation…the highest in the Patriot League. It should be noted that is 23 in ALL of division one The team, their fans and parents celebrated with an outstanding tailgate under a tent in the Lehigh parking lot. The last game of the regular season is Sunday against Temple.

Go Pards!!!

van Wijk Delivers Winning Goal In 2-1 Overtime Win Against Quinnipiac

Stella Malinowski scores tying goal in fourth quarter

So your team has 25 shots vs 11, 12 shots on goal vs 6, and 14 corners vs 6, but must need some fourth quarter and overtime heroics to win the game 2-1. The Quinnipiac defense stood tall for most of the game and protected their 1-0 lead, acquired in the first quarter, for 43 minutes and 57 seconds before Stella Malinowski delivered on a penalty stroke to knot the game at 1-1.

Lafayette got off numerous shots but were turned away by a red hot Cristina Torres, the Quinnpiac goalkeeper. The Leopards were stopped on all their 9 penalty corners racked up in regulation time. During the first quarter, it looked like Lafayette would be well in control until the Quinnipiac defense started to dig in,

During overtime where it is normally 7 v7 most fans would have thought the Leopards were in a good position as passing and shooting lanes would be more open. The first minutes in fact would be 6v6 at the start as both teams had two green cards.

Lafayette played strategically, holding the ball until their card expired and they would be one person up for about 40 seconds. Although they were to generate some offense they still could not get past the Tiger goalkeeper.

As the overtime period ticked on the Leopards were to get a remarkable 5 corners in row. However, at 4:40 into the overtime, Josephine van Wijk was to take a feed from Lena Thedrian and India Ralph scoring the winning goal. The Leopards are now 10-5 and will meet Lehigh who lost 4-0 to Albany today.

Emma Garvey, the Lafayette Goalkeeper kept her unbeaten streak alive, making several key saves against Stella Tegtmier, the Tigers ace midfielder.

Lineke Spaans along with van Wijk had 6 shots. It was Spaans’ drive to the goal that set up the Malinowski penalty stroke.

Without doing a lot figuring, with Boston to meet to meet American and Bucknell to meet Colgate I believe Lafayette will probably meet Boston in the first round of the League playoffs.

Go Pards Beat Lehigh!!

Spaans Lifts Leopards To 4-0 Win

Josephine van Wijk zeroes in on Towson midfielder

With two unassisted strikes to the back of the goal Lineke Spaans led the Leopards to their sixth consecutive win, as the season rapidly growing to a close. They guaranteed a winning season for the themselves, at least a second place league finish, and a ranking in the top 30 in the nation. The last league game is with Lehigh in one week, and the last regular season game with Temple awaits after that.

They will first need to conquer I 95 in Connecticut tomorrow as they travel to a game with Quinnipiac on Sunday. Always a competitive opponent they will put their 9-5 record on the line at 12 noon. It’s unclear whether it will be televised.

India Ralph lines up the shot

Spaan’s contributions are the latest in her season of dreams. She seems to lead and inspire her team to greater accomplishments every week. In a undergraduate dominated team, this Junior athlete uses her speed, skill and intensity to the admiration of team members and fans alike.

The first period, last night, was a series of probing action from both sides that ended in a 0-0 tie. Towson was impressive as they had speed of their own and executed their plan perfectly. Each team at the time had one penalty corner, and shots were divided 2-3. with saves tied at 1-1. It was Spaans who broke the scoring draught, with three minutes left in the first half by breaking away as she went into another gear leaving Tiger players in her wake. Winding up she struck with an unassisted goal to give the Leopards the 1-0 lead after the first 30 minutes.

Spaans and Co get ready for an APC

The momentum began to shift in that second quarter as the home team recorded a 6-3 advantage in shots as the horn signaled the half ended. Analysis from the sidelines energized the Leopards, as Spaans was to lead her team for the rest of the game.

At 8 minutes and 44 seconds into the second half Spaans struck again with a similar break away using a reverse stick shot from the left side of the circle to give the Leopard the 2-0 lead. Three minutes late Stella Malinowski excecuted a beautiful penalty stroke to lift Lafayette to a 3-0 lead.

Lafayette was not done yet as Maddie Evans got her first career goal with the help of first year classmate Lea Good in 4th quarter to finish the scoring for the night. The Leopards were to finish with 25 shots, 15 on goal to the visitor’s 6 shots, and 3 on goal. The Towson goalkeeper needed 11 saves to contain the damage.

The final seeding is not done yet as American meets Holy Cross on Saturday where a win by the Crusaders and a further loss against BU and win against Lehigh next Friday could still put the Leopards in position to host. Lehigh lost to Bucknell 5-0 and next week is their last chance to make the playoffs.

Go Pards!!

Darrah Does It In 3-1 Win Over The Friars

Alex Darrah is on defense closely defending

Over the course of a season, success is often the result of a variety of team members stepping up to the challenge. One of those is Alex Darrah, who today scored two goals against a very talented and aggressive Big East opponent, Providence College. Alex was all over the field and was a key contributor on both sides of the field. The midfielder/ forward has gotten better and stronger as the season progressed, and is now a key contributor for the Leopards.

Both of Darrah’s goals came with an assist from Leneke Spaans who had 3 shots on goal along with her goal at 58:08 as an insurance strike. Alex Darrah had her first goal at 16:20 deflecting a Spaans’ pass at the left post. The second goal came after a Providence goal at 42:02 which tied the score. Alex’s goal came only 1 1/2 minutes later to put the Leopards ahead for good.

Lena Thedrian was a strong factor on defense

It was a total team effort, and there was clearly a 110 pct effort on the field. Names like Thedrian, Switzer, Good, come to mind but it would be hard to leave out every member of this squad who put together a perfect weekend and their 5th straight win. The bench was factor as the intensity grew. There were six Lafayette players who came off the bench and had an appearance in the game, compared to only three from the Friars. Ariel Schumacher had a shot and Catalina Rubel had 30 productive minutes.

Coaching staff instructs during quarter breaks

Emma Garvey got her 3rd straight win with a 78 pct save percentage on the season.

The Leopards were rewarded by receiving a 30th and 31st national ranking by Field Hockey corner. Next week will be a bye week with games against Quinipiac and Towson. There’s a lot to be proud of, and the coaching staff has to be very pleased with more to come!!!.

******. Late last night using the official boxscore they had Alex Darrah with the second goal of the game. This morning it was changed to have Leneke Spaans with the goal. So Leneke had two goals against Providence which combined with her goal against Boston pushed her to the PL offensive player of the week.

Alex had a terrific game and my impressions stand!!!

Go Pards!!!

Spaans Connects For The Game Winner And The Defense Contains For PL Win Over BU

Spaans blows by BU defender

The Leopards defense contained the BU offense for most of the game. While neither team could score in the first half, BU could not even get to the shooting circle. But it was a Leneke Spaans’ early second half goal that was to put the Leopards on top for the rest of the game.

The swift Leopard quickly and unexpectedly took a restart and rocketed a shot from the top of the circle at 31:25. That was to stand up until the end of the game. Lafayette’s defense was to stand tall and turn away the Terrier offense early and often.

They were to intercept passes, tackle with authority, and switch fields with great skill. Lena Thedrian, along with Mackenzie Switzer were all over the field making tackles, and moving the ball to the the offense. Stella Malinowski showed the ability that made her Rookie of the Week. Lea Good was in the face of Boston offensive players while dribbling past defenders. Spaans flew around the Boston defense almost at will as they were stymied by her speed and skill.

Garvey has second shut out in front of NE fans!!

Emma Garvey recorded her second shutout stopping two key shots in the second half as the Terriers started to tilt the field in their favor.

Lea Good shrugs off close pressure by a BU defender

The Leopards had to overcome a green card on India Ralph at the beginning of the fourth quarter. As the clock ran down, Leneke used her considerable stick skills in running out the clock at the corner of the field.

Mackensie Hall breaks free

Lafayette is now 7-5 overall and 4-1 in Patriot League play. They will await the results of the last PL games to see were they will be seeded in the PL tournament. The last PL game will be with Lehigh in two weeks as they enter a League bye week.

Tomorrow they will meet a tough Providence team!!

Spaans And Strong Defense Combine For Unscored Upon Weekend Wins

Spanns avoids the penalty while blocking a Drexel shot

The Lafayette Field Hockey team chose to celebrate Senior Day with another shutout during a cold and windy afternoon at Rappolt Field. Leneke Spaans used a Stella Malinowski feed to tip in a corner effort 5:47 into the first quarter. That was to be the only score of the afternoon while the Leopard defense stood tall keeping the Drexel Dragon off the board.

Lena Thedrian clears the ball from danger

Although managing 5 shots in the first half the Maroon defense held Drexel to two shots in the second half despite being down a player for many minutes, In fact, at one point they were short 2 players for multiple minutes! The game evolved into a physical affair as both teams combined for 69 fouls during the afternoon.

With about 3 1/2 minutes left to play Drexel pulled their goalkeeper to no avail and the Leopard defense stood strong once again concluding the game with a 1-0 win. Lafayette rotated six players off the bench while Drexel only use 2.

Laine Delmotte moves the ball into Lafayette territory

With the win the Leopards moved to 6-5 and 3-1 in the Patriot League and take that record to Boston to improve on that and keep them in the hunt to host the PL playoffs. They will be looking to improve on their winless on the road record as they meet Boston on Saturday and Providence on Sunday.

The Leopards celebrated the accomplishments of their senior class before and after the game. Introduced before the game was Ariel Schumacher, Carley Kreytak, Alexander Conway and Emma Garvey. But more about all four in a later article.