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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
With apologies to Charles Dickens, I suppose you could say ” It was the best of halves, it was the worst of halves. VCU got off to a two goal lead on three shots in the first half of the game despite the Leopards getting the first shot at 6:28 having ticked off the clock by Catalina Rubel. Lafayette also had the only corner of the game for both sides at 7:50. VCU drew first blood at 14:31 and the second goal happened in second quarter at 21:41.
In the second half VCU only managed to get off two shots one occurring as Molly McAndrew first got on the board for the second goal of the weekend and the season. Unfortunately, the one goal margin was only to last for four minutes as VCU connected on their only shot of the fourth quarter.
However, the Leopards were not done as they battled by getting off 6 shots in the quarter one of which was a connection by Lineke Spanns at 56:14. Coach Stone pulled her goal keeper but try as they might, they could not get to the circle to deliver a tying goal.
Lafayette had nine shots to VCU’s five according to the official score keeper. (I didn’t know if her name was “Defarge.)”. Alright I’ll stop now, but there was only one corner in the game and the VCU goalkeeper was forced to make seven saves.
The last quarter did have our Leopards diving for balls and chasing players and balls to the sidelines, all elements of play needed for a winning team. Quinnipiac comes to town on Friday and we’ll see if lessons were learned. A win would follow with a full game like the fourth quarter today!! Go PARDS
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.
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.
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.
The 2022 field hockey season kicks off for the Leopards at 4 pm Friday as second year Temple coach Michelle Vittese brings her 28 players to Rappolt Field for the opening game of the season for both squads. She will have 3 graduate students, 7 seniors, 5 juniors, 7 sophomores, and 6 freshman.
Last year’s Temple squad finished 8-11 while competing in the Big East with a 5-5 record. The Owls lost to three Patriot League teams, Lafayette, Bucknell, and Lehigh. Their biggest win came against the University of Connecticut in the last game of the season. Their season ending RPI was 36. They ended their season having made the Big East tournament with a 2-4 loss to NCAA runner up Liberty University.
Temple leading scorer and all league Julianne Kopec
No doubt they will be trying to improve their offensive production having scored 21 goals with GPG average of 1.11 on 9.3 shots per game. Temple also generated 94 corners. They will come with two goal keepers one of which had no minutes while the other had about 30 minutes in the cage. The Owls will be depending on their upper class leadership of 10 seniors including 3 graduate students. Their leading players are two preseason all league picks, graduate student and Back Nienke Oerlemans who led the league in defensive saves, and their leading scorer sophomore Julianne Kopec. The midfielder scored 6 goals for season as a freshman!
Temple scored most of their goals in the second period last season. However their defense only allowed 9.9 shots per game. Temple like Lafayette had two preseason contests, one against Delaware and the other against Monmouth. I have no information on the outcome.
The Owls are picked to finish 4th in the Big East, behind Libery, UConn and ODU. Lafayette did play Temple in a spring scrimmage. Their trip to Lafayette is one of their few road games. They will be home for 11 contests. After Lafayette, Temple will play Lehigh on Sunday while Lafayette will be at home with Bryant. The Temple game will be on ESPN plus!!
I normally put no credence in preseason picks and awards. Ten years ago Lafayette had back to back championships and in neither year were the Leopards picked to win the conference. Today, the Patriot League SID’s and coaches picked Lafayette to come in second, “typically” losing by 5 points to American. I do note Lafayette had three preseason all league picks, Molly McAndrews, Simone Hefting, and Leneke Spanns. Hefting is the pick for defensive player of the year. NO OTHER TEAM HAD AS MANY ALL CONFERENCE PICKS!! It does show the respect the league has for our personnel. Bucknell is picked third and Lehigh is a close fourth. All of this doesn’t matter after the push off of the first game.
As I described in an earlier article, Lehigh perhaps, has one of the easiest out of conference schedules in the League. American has a very tough schedule in the early going, and then meets Lafayette as both teams will open their League schedule. The top four teams will meet at the end of the season to decide a champion and who will represent the League in the NCAA national playoffs. The team with the best in conference record will host.
The key games in the league is of course those first three games with American, Bucknell and Lehigh. American features their excellent sophomore goalkeeper Bryn Underwood, Bucknell has the offensive preseason player of the year Lily Neilson, Lehigh has an all conference pick Sarah Bonthuis.
This is not to say the Leopards should ignore Boston, Holy Cross and Colgate. Boston can be tough, and I remember clearly, losses at Holy Cross and Colgate. Holy Cross and Colgate can be very tough on their home turf.
No one wins a championship taking their opponents lightly. So there are weeks of hard work and intensity ahead. As of this writing the Patriot League is picking Lafayette Field Hockey as having the best Lafayette team to win a championship. We all know its a HILL….lets climb it. It all starts on the 26th at Rappolt Field.
For a first competition, and just a scrimmage, there was a lot to be pleased with and much to be improved upon. First the score which really ended in a win for the Leopards with Lineke Spanns and Molly McAndrews providing the fire for the afternoon. The defense looked solid and happily the goalkeepers showed their skill and mettle all afternoon. The format was a regular game with an overtime. The Leopards put in the winning goal during the extra minutes. After that there was a practice session of shootouts and both the Monmouth goalies and the Lafayette goalies showed true division one skills.
From this fan’s point of view, it was the growing maturity of the younger players playing this very fine CAA opponent that caught my attention. Sophomore Laine Delmotte showed me how much she was missed last year. She was sidelined with an injury but showed us all how ready she is. She has strong skills and sees space to deliver the ball with intention. India Ralph returns and showed why she was so valuable last year. Newcomer Josephine van Wick demonstrated extraordinary skill and a field sense in the game. Her classmates Aimee Hoefnagel and Hannah Findlay could drive opponents mad as well.
Soph Lineke Spanns, was of course a big factor, especially when Monmouth tried everything to stop her. Lineke makes everyone else better. The back line is solid with Sydney Woolston and all league Simone Hefting providing a wall.
I was especially gratified to see the Video Replay system in action and it worked in the Leopards favor during the third period. There are still some glitches to be worked out, but should be shipshape by the time of the first game.
All in all it was a good afternoon with fodder for everyone. I am sure Coach Stone will be refining the rough edges as the week progresses.
On to Albany on Sunday for a stiff test before it begins for real!!!
They arrived from far and wide!! They began their journey from New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, New Jersey, Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas, Connecticut, California, and Maryland and landed in Easton. Now begins the hard work of becoming a team with this eclectic group of elite athletes. The Leopards got all the way to the championship game last year only to be denied by a one goal margin. They return a mix of experience and young enthusiasm that hopefully will be able to make that extra step.
I was able to stop by to watch Coach Stone and her assistant Ashley Mendonca put her charges through a series of drills, building a base of skills that will have Leopards attacking the season as strong as they possibly can be.
There were several aspects of practice that brought a smile to my face. First, by and large they looked fit and ready. I was especially pleased to see Tara Hamilton on the field playing with her usual intensity after a long rehab due to an injury last year. Molly McAndrew’s stick work looked as clever as ever. Sydney Woolston looked fearsome as she resumes her roll in that very awesome defensive backfield. Simone Hefting showed her leadership and skills that will help lead this version of Leopard Field Hockey. Felicitas Hannes looks ready with a shot that rockets off her stick. Shea Balderson will display her veteran skills stopping opponents in their tracks. There will of course be Lineke who will do her impression of the “Flash,” while opponents watch stunned!!
The Three GK
The rest of the Junior, Sophomore and Freshman classes will amaze us and befuddle opponents. Coach Stone also has a competition going in goal with three talented athletes who could man the door to the cage. The most experienced is Senior ( covid semester allowed) Becca Harbert. Then there is Emma Garvey the Junior who had a productive spring. Raffi Fragameni is the Freshman rounding out this talented trio!!!
Their first competition is August 17 against a very good Monmouth squad. Go Pards!!
Schedules just don’t randomly happen, but are manufactured by Head Coaches, and it reflects what the Head Coach feels about what team they can be competitive with. It also tells us what a Coach thinks about what they need to prepare for it’s conference games. A schedule in Division One may also tells us the amount of money a team may be able to spend. It also reflects the games outside of conference they can take that will not hurt their RPI, should they get to the NCAA tournament, and their ability to get an at large bid.
Spanns speeds away from a Brown player
Most teams will play up to 18 game regular season schedule, plus two exhibition games, before their conference tournament. The Big Ten, for example, with a conference of 9 teams will play 10 out of conference games. The Patriot League with 7 teams could play 12 maximum out of conference games.
This year Lafayette will play 12 out of conference games, American will play 9, Lehigh will play 12, BU will play 10, Bucknell will play 11, Holy Cross will play 11, and Colgate will play 12.
BU, while presumably repairing their field, will play all their games on the road. The league games that would have been at home, looks like they will play at Harvard or BC. I will assume they will also be practicing at BC. and Harvard. It’ll be a challenge.
Hefting was there when needed
American will be playing Queen’s College in their first year as a Division one school. Queen’s is hosting the US team at their Charlotte playing facility in the off-season. There is one other team entering Division One, Stonehill in Massachusetts, who will be playing Colgate this season.
How strong are the Patriot schedules??? It is an important question since the seeding for the NCAA tournament will depend on the RPI of the winning team, and the possibilities of an at large bid. American had an RPI of 12 at the end of last year’s regular season and played Iowa with an RPI 4 ( nearly pulling off the upset). Lafayette with an end of season RPI of 25 played Rutgers tough with an RPI of 1.
One would hope the league itself would work to improve its overall RPI, and try to improve its chances for an at large bid. This coming season the league average RPI is 45.4 for out of conference games ( derived from last year’s RPI numbers)
There are three teams who are playing an out of conference schedule with last year’s RPI over 50, Lehigh 55, Holy Cross 59, and Colgate at 53. There are four teams playing an out of conference schedule with RPI’s below 40, Lafayette at 38, American at 37 ( assigning a score of 80 to Queens), Bucknell at 39 and BU at 36!
Last year’s RPI for the League at the end of the season was 46. So the out of conference average is about right, but there is an extreme difference between the top and bottom teams. Therefore, there is a lot to be gleaned from schedules even before the first push off of the season. Let the games begin!!!!
