With seconds left on the clock, Josephine van ‘Wijk scored the tying goal to send the game to overtime with assists from India Ralph and Leneke Spaans. Spanns had two assists and 3 shots during the game. Van Wijk was busy all game long getting 2 goals on 4 shots, three of which were on goal. Lafayette had 11 shots to Vermont’s 13 shots. Corners were 7-8 Vermont’s favor.
Looking from a fan’s perspective, both teams looked like they were waiting for the other team to make an error, which led to a lot of play horizontally rather than vertically. Both teams scored in the first period, with Vermont scoring early.
Vermont came out more aggressively in the third quarter and were rewarded with the lead for all but the last 30 seconds of the game. Their press was to earn them the ball for most of the half. Lafayette pulled their goal keeper with 3 minutes to go and van Wijk and Spaans put the aggressive move to good use to score.
The Catamounts put to rest any theory that a slow overtime was planned. They went right to goal and scored ending the match at 3-2.
The Ohio State Buckeyes brought their 33 player squad to the Leopards and were able to execute a sustained press using 22 players to bottle up the Lafayette offense for most of the game. It was a hot and humid afternoon and the Ohio State coaching staff were able to substitute liberally to reenergize a very aggressive press which kept the Leopards off balance.
Lea Good controls the ball
Ohio’s Makenna Webster struck first using an assist by Anne Marie Krebs at 26:52 into the game, only to be followed by a second goal two minutes later, to give the Buckeye’s a 2-0 lead going into the first half. Using the strength of 6 corners and 12 shots the Buckeyes were countered by the Leopards who were only able to muster 2 shots and one corner during the first half.
In the second half, the Leopards were able to get off 6 shots to Ohio State’s 2 in the third quarter, one of which connected at 32:53. Stella Malinowski, a Lafayette first year scored the first Lafayette goal at 43:54 to earn the first goal of her career while closing the gap to 3-1. OSU finished the scoring with a goal at 46:57.
Mackensie Hall moves the ball upfield
Saves were the same at 5 a piece and the majority of the goals were made off of scrums in front of each cage. The tone was set early on, as OSU made their fist substitutions in the fourth and fifth minute of the contest, bringing in 7 players off the bench which provided the energy to sustain the close guarding of Lafayette’s playmakers. Malinowski was able to get off 4 shots, 3 on goal to lead the Leopards, including her score. Freshman Lea Good and Sophomore Catalina Robel provided the balance of shots in the game.
The Leopards will have gained experience, as they travel for the first of two away games in New England against the University of Vermont (1-1) on Friday followed by UMass Amherst (2-0) on Sunday. Vermont bested Sacred Heart 6-2 on Friday and lost to Syracuse 9-1 on Sunday. UMass finished the weekend undefeated by beating Albany 3-2 in double overtime and Quinnipiac 2-1. They will be playing Harvard on Friday before meeting the Leopards.
The rest of the Patriot League had mixed results as Bucknell lost to Temple 2-1, American lost in overtime to Penn State 3-2, Colgate beat Rider 2-1 in overtime and Lehigh beat Ball State 4-3. Holy Cross did not play and remained with zero defeats based on their 1-0 overtime win on Friday.
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.
There is one thing for certain that can be said for preseason ranking….in no way will they be the same at the end of season. Each conference has nominated their predicted order of finish, and I am sure each team has justifiably ignored it as fan fun!! So far Lafayette has played in preseason games, the number one and number two teams in the CAA. The Leopards will be playing the number 2 team in the NEC on Friday.
The SID’s and coaches in the Patriot League have picked Lafayette for fourth and American first. However, nothing is more motivating for a team than to be under appreciated. Do rankings matter??? Ultimately, they could, as RPI is a strong factor in seeding for the national tournament. I happen to think this may be the year we may see two, maybe even three Patriot Teams in the top 25. I like Lafayette’s chances, and both American and Boston look strong with decent schedules. All three will be playing preseason ranked teams early on. Lafayette will play number 8 ranked Syracuse in early September.
The top twenty teams (preseason) are: UNC, Northwestern, Maryland, Michigan, PSU, Virginia, Iowa, Syracuse, Louisville, Princeton, Saint Jo’s, Wake, Harvard, Liberty, UConn, Boston College, ODU, Albany, and Duke. In my opinion, I think ODU is under rated and UNC could be challenged.
Ohio State, who finished sixth in the Big Ten last year will be bringing their 32 person squad to the Lehigh Valley to take on Lehigh on Friday and Lafayette on Sunday. There are several new coaches on the list of note, at UNC, PSU and Syracuse.
There is also a new tournament for the IVY League this year which could generate a surprise at the end. Winners of conference tournaments get automatic bids and at large bids will be decided by an evaluation committee. I thought last year ODU ( the regular season Big East conference champion) should have been in, but was defeated by Liberty in the conference tournament.
Meanwhile Lafayette has named their leadership for the season and picked two strong juniors in Leneke Spaans, and India Ralph. Anyone who has watched these two play, will recognize their leadership. They enjoy the respect of their fans, teammates and opponents.
Penn State’s Jemma Punch (23) during the game with Lafayette. The No.5 Nittany Lions defeated Lafayette, 2-1 in double overtime at the Penn State Field Hockey Complex on Sunday afternoon Oct. 9, 2022.
Photo by Mark Selders
Everyone starts evenly this Friday but 50 % will be 1-0 and 50% will be 0-1 at the end of the day. A good start these next two weeks will change the above list for sure!!! BU, American, Lafayette and Lehigh will be meeting Big Ten schools this week end. Victory by the Patriot League would be a statement!!! GO PARDS
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!!
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.
Yes, I know it was only scrimmage, but I saw a lot to like this afternoon. I am a homer, but in 20 plus years of watching Leopard Field Hockey this seemed to me to be the best first outing of the season. They were fast, aggressive, tough on defense and especially impressive with the integration of our first year players. The Leopards scored 3 goals during the 4 quarter practice contest. Goals were scored by Alex Darrah on a scramble in front of the goal, Ellie Barton on a nifty reverse stick shot after a feed by Mackensie Hall, and finally Lineke Spaans rocketed the go ahead goal in the last quarter.
Leneke and the ball
Lineke was a threat all game long while she did her usual impression of the “flash.” She will be scary to opponents this season! In addition, Josephine van Wijk showed terrific skills moving the ball through the midfield and into the scoring circle. First year player Lena Thedrian was a force on defense, but also was a key contributor in starting the offense. By my observation she had 2 defensive saves!
Mackenzie Switzer showed great maturity and field presence. I’ll leave it there, and save the surprise for future opponents. However, rest assured there is more to tell. The best part is their team attitude…they are mentally tough!!!
Defense was all there as Switxer and friends defend the goal
This was no easy team in Monmouth. This afternoon they were picked as the number 2 preseason picked in the CAA. On Friday, the Leopards will meet the number one pick, Delaware. There are more surprises to come in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, the Leopards were picked to finish fourth in the Patrtiot League. Lineke Spaans, and India Ralph were picked as all conference preseason picks. The order of finish picked by coaches and school athletic PR officials is American, Boston, Bucknell, Lafayette, Lehigh, Holy Cross, and Colgate. We shall see!!!
Aylin Aufenacker Field Hockey vs. Fairfield 8-26-2022
The Leopards head for the Jersey shore for a scrimmage with Monmouth University on Tuesday. The field is named in honor of the donor’s favorite race horse to answer the obvious question in the title of the article. The Leopards have a had good history with Hawks having won 12 out of the 14 times the two teams have met. Of late Monmouth has been an improved team by landing in the top 25 and moving to the CAA. During last year they acquired a won loss record of 10-9 with a loss of 1-3 to Drexel in the CAA tournament.
They played an ambitious schedule which include UConn, Delaware, Rutgers, Syracuse, Harvard, Boston College, and Princeton. Their worst loss was 1-6 against Princeton and best win was 8-0 against Sacred Heart. In all, they outscored their opponents 45-33.
The last meeting with Lafayette was in 2019 in which the Leopards prevailed 2-1 in double overtime. At the time the Hawks were ranked 25 in the nation. Against Lafayette they have a 1-4 recored at home. All the games have been close affairs for the most part with the last 4 meetings showing total goals in Monmouth’s favor 5-6.
Field Hockey vs. Delaware 9-4-2022
Of the 45 goals scored last year 24 were scored by their all American Annick van Lange scoring 24. She will be on the field Tuesday but this time as a student coach!! The next two highest scorers with 5 each from last year will return. Jess Tucker a junior, number 22 from New Zealand, and graduate student Aylin Aufenacker number 10 from Hamburg, Germany will be looked upon to step up this season.
In the goal, the Hawks will be replacing Phileins Hazen who had a save percentage of 78.8. The roster shows two freshman goal keepers, Jessie Eiselin from Amsterdam and Maeve Clarke from Beverly Ma.
Coach Carli Figlio likes to run a fast break offense and I’m sure she will be trying to recapture her offensive explosiveness during the scrimmage. It should be a challenge for the reconstructing Leopard defense.
Weather is expected to be good for a 12 noon start. Both should be excited as they try to establish their personalities early on!!
It’s three days before the first competition of the season and for two hours of practice I saw a very skilled group on the pitch. They all seemed fit and ready to learn and from my perch on the sidelines this practice was all about establishing a tempo of play. There is no doubt that this group has the skills. In years I have been watching the Leopards this may be one of the more collectively skilled teams that we have seen on the field.
Each drill emphasized moving and reacting, imprinting in muscle memory the actions necessary to move the ball down the field. What was most amazing was the ability of first year players to integrate into the system. Secondly, it is clear there is a commitment to succeed and to win on the field. This is an ambitious squad with some obvious ability to be led. And there are clear leaders on the field!!
Much like the football practice I witnessed several days ago there is a clear crisp plan and timing to practice with very little standing around. The team is responding with the intensity of winners! During my playing days, in football and lacrosse, preseason was two and sometimes three sessions a day. Today it seems there is an assumption of fitness and an emphasis on learning.
As hard as the team is working, there are efforts in the background to provide the support needed to be a Division one representative. You may have to trust me on this, but there are significant efforts afoot on venue, and background support as well. It’s all a race to August 25 and the first game weekend with Wagner and Ohio State.
Let there be no doubt there is dedication and hard work which will result in success. That is part of the educational experience for all involved.
I made a short trip to Easton and saw a Lafayette Campus in the process of rebuilding on many fronts. The path leading down the hill from the campus is being rebuilt, there is a new dorm rising on a building site off of McCartney street, and out at Metzger there is construction on a new stadium for soccer rising. The soccer stadium should be ready for the first home game, but there is still lots of work to be done. The soccer stadium is the first of the physical enhancements scheduled for Lafayette’s athletic facilities.
Still to come will be a multi story structure for Lacrosse which will be adjacent to the field hockey field and I am told it will house and support some elements of the hockey program. Eventually, there will be a new press box for field hockey and perhaps a Jumbotron scoreboard. Already, field hockey has the only video referral capability in the patriot league. It is my belief we could see some of those improvements at some point this season! Perhaps even a third asst coach by September.
However, it was not only the physical plant that is in the process of changing. Teams have already started arriving and practicing. Football and soccer teams have been hard at work for the last week. In evidence on Saturday were current and future field hockey players engaged in a clinic. Formal arrival is in three days but no doubt many of our Leopards are hard at work preparing for a challenging preseason. The first preseason game is August 15th at Monmouth only 11 days away!!
Meanwhile at work was the football team training in shoulder pads and helmets as they become accustomed to the August heat. Their first game is nearly one month away but their practices are crisp and run with military precision. If the effort and enthusiasm is any indication, this could be an interesting season on the gridiron.
Meanwhile, it was great to see our field hockey Leopards on the field giving direction and instruction at a clinic for younger players. I was impressed with Lineke Spaans’ teaching skills as the participants held on to every word from last year’s athlete of the year.
Impatience, is my current mindset. I am ready for the season to begin with all sports, and I am especially ready to see some of those one goal losses from last year turn to multi-goal wins.
Lafayette College Field Hockey 