Tag: Lafayette College Sports

Spring Games Are A Work In Progress

As much as any fan observing their team, I really want them to “win” every contest. But springtime is about more than winning. It is in fact a time of reconstruction! We have lost a talented senior class and we have yet to see our new additions. So while observing any of the these spring “games” we must be cautious and look at them in a different way. For many team members they are in new positions, and are still trying to know their place as well as their teammates place on the field.

Passing at the high school level, for example is delivering the ball to where their teammate is, while at this level, division one, it is delivering the ball to where your teammate will be. It all about creating and finding space!

There is no doubt this edition of Leopard Field Hockey is individually talented, the question during this spring is how they are beginning to mesh together as a team!

Today, they were to be playing in Delaware, but unfortunately Delaware and Columbia were to come up with an insufficient number to field a viable squad. Temple stepped up and invited St. Joseph’s, Yale and Lafayette to play several 1/2 game simulated scrimmages. Each squad is trying to accomplish the same things, evaluate players, try different offensive and defensive sets, and give their team a chance to test their skills against another team. In this case, three other teams.

Not surprisingly, St. Joseph’s with their larger bench probably was the biggest challenge of the day. Temple, Lafayette and Yale were more or less equal at this stage of the spring.

I am still impressed with the underlying skill of our Leopards, but clearly there is more work to be done. The corner defense looked improved from last week and the midfield showed more cohesiveness as the games progressed.

Like many teams, there were several missing pieces. Two players were playing for the under 21 Canadian national squad and several minor injuries are keeping some off the pitch.

I am enjoying the determination and spark of Ellie Barton. She seems to leave it all on the field. Aimee Hoefnagel and Josephine van Wijk are showing more leadership every minute they play. Alex Farrah shows some confidence. I could hear Raffi Fragomeni directing her teammates from the cage. I could name every individual on the team who are playing more like the elite athletes they are.

Tuesday night they will meet last year’s Patriot League champion, the Brown and White of Lehigh. That, my readers, might be a good time to put it all together. GO PARDS

Stone signs Maura ( Jacobs) Schimp To Be Assistant Coach

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Maura Schimp joins Lafayette Field Hockey as an assistant Coach. Coach Schimp may be better known by Patriot League fans as Maura Jacobs, the stand out goal keeper for American University who graduated in 2018 as the PL goalkeeper of the year. After graduation she was selected as an asst coach for the St Louis University Billikens where she has been ever since!!

Aside from her regular duties at St. Louis she coached goalkeepers, tournament club teams and gave private lessons with the AIM Field Hockey Club.

She is a native of New Cumberland Pa. and earned her bachelors degree in Public Relations and Strategic Communications. She also has a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration and Student Personnel Administration. She holds a level one certification from USA Field Hockey.

This is a key hire for Stone and welcome addition to Lafayette Field Hockey. Schimp added.” I am very grateful to join Coach Stone and the incredible team of field hockey athletes at Lafayette College.” She is excited to return to the Patriot League. Welcome back Maura!!!!

Drexel Stymies The Leopards For The Eighth One Goal Loss For The Season

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Lafayette has played eleven games decided by one goal…eight of them were losses which Drexel was the latest. It was a 2-1 loss in which the Leopards tried to rally back in the forth quarter. With the score 2-0 and less than 5 minutes left in the game, Josephine van Wijk took an assist from India Ralph and Catalina Rubel. Coach Stone had just pulled her goal keeper that reaped a penalty corner with which van Wijk delivered a goal, on a direct shot to right side of the cage.

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India Ralph finds some space

This was a typical Coach Denise Zelenak game with Drexel, using a swarming defense, setting up a fast break with open attackers sprinting and getting off one on one shots on goal. Drexel executed their tactics perfectly at 16:14 in the second quarter and 31:39 in the third quarter.

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Mackenzie Hall chases down a Drexel mid

However, Lafayette was to manage a rally in the fourth quarter getting all four of their corners of the game, and managing seven of their 8 shots in the final quarter.

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Lafayette goal keeper, Emma Garvey was to have 4 saves against Drexels 6 shots on goal. Coach Stone played 11 from her bench, getting 22 in the game.

There are number of Patriot games tomorrow including Lehigh vs Bucknell. The Leopards will be taking on number 5 Penn State in Happy Valley on Sunday.

Leopards Lose A Close One

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One team gets 20 shots, 12 on goal, 9 corners and forces the opposing goalie into 10 saves. The opposing team gets 6 shots, 5 on goal. One team had the better bench, evidence by 5 bench players making contributions, while the other team only substituted 2 players all game. One team had their leading scorer stymied the other team had 8 players taking shots. However, it was Lehigh who had the 6 shots etc. It was Lehigh who won 3-2. Abbe Brown, Lehigh’s second leading scorer had the hat trick.

The last five minutes saw the Leopard’s pull their goalkeeper in a vain attempt to tie the score but they were stymied by fouls and impatience! The Mountain Hawks used a high work rate and fast starts on fouls to keep the ball in play. The Leopards did what they needed to do only to be frustrated by shots hitting the post and other missed opportunities to score.

It was a frustrating game for this fan to watch as the game ended in another 1 goal short loss again this year and especially to the Mountain Hawks.

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Leopard freshman Josephine Van Wijk had a very good game tying the score on a corner early in the second quarter, assisted by Hannah Findley and Lineke Spanns. Abbe Brown from Lehigh put the Hawks ahead early in the first half but Sydney Woolston got the second goal of her career in the fourth quarter.The game winner was made by Abbe Brown with her hat trick about 5 minutes left in the game and seconds left on a Leopards yellow card. At that point the leopards pulled their goalkeeper.

Findlay Scores Game Winner And Fragomeni Is 100% In Goal To Give Leopards 1-0 Win

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First year players Hannah Findlay and Raffi Fragomeni combined to put a “W” in the record book against the University of New Hampshire. But this was a team effort, as the Leopards put up 16 shots, 13 of which were on goal, while New Hampshire could only manage 9 shots, 4 of which were on goal. All 4 shots were turned away by Fragomeni in her best outing of year! Penalty corners told much of the same story with the Leopards having an edge 8 to 6.

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The first period was basically a stalemate with each team spending time inside each other’s shooting circle, getting off 4 shots each. It was the second period that the Leopards got into gear outshooting New Hampshire in the second and third period by putting up 12 shots. It was in the second period when Findlay found the back of the cage 19:08 into the game! Molly McAndrew and Tara Hamilton got the assists as McAndrew used a tip to give the ball to Findlay and she reversed sticked it past the opposing goalkeeper.

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Leneke Spanns and Josephine van Wijk dash towards the goal

The Leopards kept the pressure on all game. McAndrew had 5 shots all on goal, Lineke Spanns had opponents chasing her while she got of 4 shots, 3 on goal. Sidney Woolston got in on the effort with one shot at goal. Catalina Robel had a nice game getting 2 shot as well. Findlay had one shot making it count for the game winner!

Standing on the sidelines I could hear the team talking and helping to defend the very quick and skilled New Hampshire team. The emergence of depth by the Leopards will change how other teams defend Lafayette. They can no longer just mark one or two players, or high press because there are clearly threats all over the field.

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This cohesion could not come at a better time as the Leopards will continue their Patriot League schedule on Friday against the Bucknell Bison, who lost in a shootout against Providence today after a very solid win against Holy Cross. The Leopards will follow the Bucknell game with a game against Princeton on Sunday.

This will be an intensive week, as Bucknell will be a significant challenge with their new coach, and one Patriot win under their belt. Both teams will have there eye on the prize, which is the chance to play in the League tournament. Four wins will guarantee a slot, three wins maybe, only two wins will probably eliminate teams. The winner of the 4 team tournament will go to the NCAA national tournament.

A Letter To Our Field Hockey Team

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Dear Field Hockey Leopards,

Today, I saw real championship grit and determination from you! You were digging ever deeper on every possession, making tackles, basically thwarting the number 21 team in the nation! You held them scoreless for a half and didn’t bow your head after they scored but came back to tie it up. You weren’t intimidated by their 5 corners in the first period and made adjustments to hold them to only two in the second half.

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You came back to score in the third quarter, taking 6 shots in that quarter, more than they had. You were even in corners in that half as well. Yes, not only did you belong on the field with them but a rubber match with them may not end up the same.

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There are seven teams in your league and I believe you are capable of beating any or all of them. I believe in your character. I saw one of our captains playing through injuries, other players putting everything on the line and expending their last drop energy in the effort. I can’t believe this overtime game will change your mindset.

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You are MY team….and I am very proud!!! On to New Hampshire and reengaging the Patriot League with Bucknell on Friday night… and we will be there…..you can bet on it.

Lafayette Thwarted By Quinnipiac 1-0

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Stats themselves don’t win games, it’s who scores the most goals at the end of 60 minutes. The Quinnipiac Bobcats won their third game of the series between the two schools by making a first period goal at 9:53 into the game count. The Leopards outshot the visitors 11-5. of which 6 were on goal to 2 for the Bobcats. Corners were almost even with The Bobcats edging the Leopards 7-6.

Lafayette had two corners at the end. The last one occurred with 17 seconds left. Lafayette went into it’s standard corner attack lineup but the Bobcat goalkeeper Cristina Torres was able to turn away the bouncing shot preserving the 1-0 win.

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Even broken down by halfs Quinnipiac seemed to have a disadvantage in the the first half, still being outshot by the Leopards 5-3 and being dominated in shots in the second half 6-2. Corners for the Leopards were 5-2 in their favor as well. The big difference was the 6 saves by the Bobcat freshman goalkeeper Cristina Torres.

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The first half goal was by Eva Velldhorst, who was featured all game long, collecting all 5 shots for the Bobcats. However, it seemed to me that the duel of the evening was between Stella Tegtmeier and Lineke Spanns who collect 3 shots on the evening leading the Leopards. Ariel Schumacher had 1 shot and Felecitas Hannes, Hannah Findley, and Catalina Rubel had 2 shots each.

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Tegtmeier seemed to mark Spanns closely one on one, matching her speed for the most part. The. battle seemed epic for most of the game.

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The Leopards will now move on to Fairfield who lost to Drexel tonight 3-1. The Stags are now 1-4 having also lost to Monmouth 1-3, Villanova 1-3, and Albany 1-2. Their only win came against Patriot League’s Holy Cross 1-0. Drexel used a penalty stroke and a goal with 15 seconds left.

Wake Forest Routs Lafayette 6-1

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For those of you who are regular readers of this blog know, I seldom pull my punches. This was not a good game for the Leopards. The good news about tonight’s game is, I know they are better than they were today in Winston Salem. Molly McAndrew did get on the board for the first time this year, five minutes into the second quarter, making the score 3-1 at the time. It was still possible for the Leopards to make a run. However, it wasn’t until 1:45 into the second half that McAndrew was to get a second shot at the Wake goalkeeper.

Wake used their usual high press to pin the Leopards into their half of the field most of the game. Lafayette looked stunned in the first quarter when only 2:06 into the first quarter the Deacons managed to get their first corner ( their first of 9), and converted it into a score. Wake would score 2 more making it 3-0 after 12 minutes.

It looked like the Leopards might recover after Coach Stone make a change at GK and McAndrew hit her goal making it 3-1. The Leopards got possession with 28 seconds left in the half, and tried to make a run at the goal. The Wake press was to get the ball for the Deacons, and eventually a penalty corner, leading to a score making it 4-1 at the half with only seconds left.

The stats were all in Wakes favor, shots were 23-5, corners were 9-0, though they managed only 3 in the second half. Scoring was spread around to six different players. Besides McAndrew for Lafayette, there were three other shots, 2 from Laine Delmonte and 1 from Catlina Robel.

The Leopards will lick their wounds and travel to Richmond to meet VCU on Sunday. I am sure the team will rededicate themselves, and look like the competitors I know they are!!! It’s time to learn from mistakes and put it behind them.

Simone Hefting Nabs “Defensive Player of the Week”

Simone anchored a defense that allowed a mere goal apiece in the two games this weekend. It’s not the first time she was honored as she has been named innumerable times before for the same award. She was also named defensive player of the year as well as all league and pre-season defensive player.

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India nails the goal for the opening score

The Lafayette defensive three of Sydney Woolston, Simone, and India Ralph have become the mainstay of a defense that now leads the league. Defense has always been a feature of Leopard Field Hockey It is not only the wall against opponent’s scoring, it is the start of the Leopard’s offensive scheme. The center back position has yielded many stars and school award winners for best athlete and scholar athlete. Inevitably, the defense emerges as a scoring asset on corners and strokes because they may have the strongest and hardest shots on the team. They can propel the ball down field with accuracy and can be the beginning of a fast break.

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Sydney is an immovable force at defense

Simone hails from Den Bosch, Netherlands and attended Stedelijk Gymnasium. She is an International Affairs and Psychology major at Lafayette. Sydney Woolston is a civil engineering major from Berlin, N.J. and went to Eastern Regional High School. In high school she played multiple sports and was captain of her track team. India Ralph is the sophomore of the bunch coming all the way from New Plymouth, New Zealand and attended Sacred Heart Catholic College/ Saint Kentigern College and was their team captain. She also played on a club team that won national championships. She scored the opening goal on Sunday on a penalty stroke!!

The three have molded into an integrated, united unit that deserves to be lauded in a special way. Coming to Lafayette from three distinctive cultures, they are a something special to see. I Think They Deserve A Special Nickname. I Thought They Might Be Called ” The Fearsome Threesome”.

If anyone has a better idea please comment and I’ll consider it!!!

Lafayette Succumbs To Temple 1-0

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Temple used its deep bench to help it overcome the heat, defeating the Leopards 1-0 for the first time in two years. Lafayette let its game be played between the 35 yard lines, while Temple was more effective penetrating that barrier and the circle resulting in the only goal of the game from Temple in the second quarter. Both teams were only able to manage 2 shots each in the first quarter, but Temple was to become more effective in the 3rd quarter with an 8 to 1 advantage in shots. Their shot production was aided by a 5-1 advantage in penalty corners in the same quarter.

For the entire game Temple outshot the Leopards 14-5 and had a 9-2 advantage in corners, and a 12-3 advantage in shots in the second half alone. Lafayette had 17 players see action, while the Owls had 21 players see minutes. The Leopard attack was shut down with Midfielder Lineke Spanns getting the only two shots on goal the entire game from the field. In total shots, defenders and midfielders accounted for 3 shots. Simone Hefting had one while Spanns had her two and Findley had two on one corner.

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In trying to even the game Spanns was to show her abilities, taking the ball from the center and down the side in the fourth quarter, using her gifted athletic talents and heart!!

Defender Sydney Woolston was there all afternoon collecting two defensive saves in the process. Emma Garvey acquitted herself well in her first start of her career getting 3 saves for the game.

Patriot League did not have a great day

Boston University had the only clear win of the day with a 2-1 win against Providence. However, they were outshot 7-5. They came from behind with Peyton Anderson getting the winning goal in the third quarter.

Twenty one ranked American lost to unranked Michigan State 3-1 despite playing a statistically close game.

Bucknell was impressive nearly pulling the upset against ninth ranked Louisville. A third quarter goal by Louisville broke the 1-1 tie and hold on for the win.

Holy Cross lost 6 minutes into overtime to Stanford after evening the score at 1-1 in the third quarter.

Lehigh battled back against Lock Haven overcoming a 3-0 deficit at the half. Lock Haven came out on fire scoring their first goal 28 seconds after the start of the game. They had a 6 to 4 advantage in corners. Lehigh got their second goal with two minutes left in the half. They will play Temple on Sunday at Temple.

Colgate has not finished their game with Merrimack as their game was halted because of weather at the start of. the second half. The game will restart on Saturday with Colgate ahead 3-0.

Bryant arrives at Lafayette on Sunday after losing 4-1 to LaSalle on Friday.