Tag: NCAA Division one

Leopards Sprint To 2-1 Win Over Vermont

Mackensie Hall looks to intercept the ball

Getting the first win of the season is always well earned, and before a home crowd of 357 fans, the Leopards did not disappoint. It was more than a contest that demonstrated skill and athletic ability, but had elements of field hockey strategy as well.

The game opened with both side trying to establish physical dominance as the first 4 or five minutes moved from one side to the other. The Leopards deep bench was to come into play and at the 5 minute mark, fresh legs in the form of Alex Farrah, Mia Freeman, Maddie Evans, Kiley Gallagher entered the pitch. Vermont answered with substitutions of their own and produced the first shot of game that went wide of the pipes. It wasn’t until 11:31 into the game that Mackenzie Hall was to have Lafayette was break the ice with a shot that was wide of the goal.

Makenzie Switzer sprints upfield

The Leopards were to gain momentum when 30 seconds later Josephine van Wijk took her chance at the goal and ws turned away by the Vermont goal keeper Ila Gunner. As the quarter progressed Lafayette was to attack the goal more often with shots and an eventual corner at 12:12. Pressure on the GK continued with van Wijk finding opportunities to pressure the cage.

Kiley Gallagher dodges around the Vermont defender

At the beginning of the second quarter, Lafayette was to find the back of cage at 18:53 as Lea Good, with an assist by Laine Dellmotte were to open scoring for 2024. Leopards fans needed only to wait about six months as all American Lineke Spaans drove the right baseline beating the Vermont defense for an unassisted goal at 25:07. The Leopards were to retire from the first half with 2-0 lead with Vermont on their back heals.

Vermont was to answer by trying to negate the Leopards speed with a zone defense which resulted in a Vermont goal from Marie Dijkstra assisted by Meg Weyer at 49 seconds into the second half. The shot came on a reverse move that had a Lafayette defender shielding Raffi Fragomeni from seeing the ball.

Vermont had signaled they were not going down easy. One had to remember last year’s game with these same opponents, which ended up in a tie at the end of regulation and Vermont eventually winning it in overtime…..not this time.

Lineke Spaans shows her defensive skills

Lafayette redoubled efforts getting four penalty corners to one in the second half. Fragmeni was to was to turn away two shots during the same half. Vermont itself turned away three Leopard shots but couldn’t get by the Leopard defense. As the clock ticked off the last 2-3 minutes of the game Lafayette played an effective game of keep away with Spaans going to the Vermont corner repeatedly, denying Vermont and offensive chance to tie the game. With thirty seconds left, Vermont gave away a deliberate corner stopping the clock hoping for one last chance. Instead of taking the shot Spaans again went to corner ending the game with the 2-1 win.

Sunday will see the Blue Hens of Delaware in Easton. Although the Leopards have a hold on wins at home, Delaware has the edge overall in the series. The Patriot League had a mixed bag Friday night with American losing in overtime to VCU, Boston picked up a 3-0 win against Providence and Holy Cross winning dominantly against Stonehill. Bucknell lost a close one to Miami of Ohio. Colgate succumbed to Rider 5-1. Lehigh plays on Saturday at Monmouth followed by Wagner on Sunday.

Lafayette Field Hockey Prepares for Challenging Opening Week

Spanns powers past her opponent

Columbia had a record of 3-13 last year, but looks to improve in 2024. However, along the way last season, they had several good games. They beat a very good Monmouth team 2-1, Lafayette 3-2, only lost to Princeton 1-2, and New Hampshire 0-1 in two overtimes. However, today, in Easton, the Leopards owned the Lions. I really don’t like to transmit scores in pre-season games, but I will say this, it was the Leopard team I hope we will see mid-season.

Inda Ralph lines up a shot on an APC

I saw speed, stick skills, strength and strong corner execution and defense. Stella Malinowski had the kind of day that earned her Rookie of Year in the Patriot League, Even some of the first year players got into it with Olivia Krey getting her first collegiate goal on a feed from Leneke Spanns in the second half. Junior Gk Raffi Fragomeni looked ready for prime time!!

Launching an attack penalty corner

APC’S were as sharp as they were numerous and DPC’s were solid. Much of the game was in the Leopard offensive end and the Leopards were able to turn the attack into fast break opportunities. Lafayette will give opponents at lot to think about. Yes, there is the ever present threat with Lineke Spanns. but once they try to concentrate on her there will be another Leopard waiting to sprint up the field, deflecting the ball into the goal on a feed, or dodging single coverage, freeing the ball to set up an attack.

There is a challenging week ahead with the regular season starting on Friday against Vermont. After that on Sunday the always dangerous University of Delaware Blue Hens arrive to test our Leopards. Vermont was 8-10 last year with a 3-2 win in OT over Lafayette. Delaware has been a regular preseason opponent for years, but this year the Blue Hens will travel to meet the Leopards at home. Delaware has the edge in wins 19-11-2 although they have been 6-8 at Lafayette. The last regular season game was in 2017. Last year they were 8-9 with wins against ODU, American, and Penn. Lafayette will be their first regular season game.

We are ready…. GO PARDS

THEY’RE BACK

It’s Saturday morning in early August and the Lafayette Leopards are back at work on Rappolt Field preparing for the 2024 Division one field hockey season. The legs are still fresh, the weather was perfect, and as the morning progressed it became obvious their machine like integration from last year renewed itself. This team saw itself go all the way to the championship game last year, and it was apparent this fast paced practice and intensity was showing the elements were still there to demonstrate play-off hockey.

The Maroon and White are returning 5 all league selections including all American Leneke Spanns. As the coaches put the team through its paces there was no doubt that the determination and skill were there…..and maybe more. Asst. Coaches Jop Beuger and Meghan Reese make sure no one was standing still, as continuous drills emphasized ball and body movement, while executing accurate passing and deflections at the goal.

New first year players absorbed information from their new teammates as well as from the coaches. Sweat was certainly visible, despite the relatively balmy weather as the drills delivered fitness as well as skill improvement.

Coach Stone was pleased with her veterans, but being the excellent coach she has demonstrated in the last 12 years, she looks forward to the development of others who will see more playing time and the first year’s players, as they become accustomed to the speed and skill of the college division one game. Stone has challenged her team with an interesting schedule which includes Syracuse, Penn State and Delaware. However, before the season begins there will be exhibition tune ups on August 20th and 25th at Fairfield and Columbia at home respectively. Both games will begin at 1 pm. The first regular season game will be with Vermont at home at 6pm under the lights!!

It’s not like the summer and spring have been idle for the Leopards. Much of the team has been practicing and playing internationally. Three Leopards participated in the Junior Pan Am games, Stella Malinowski, Laine Delmotte, and Katie Gibb. Raffi Fragomeni looked ready to defend the cage as she saw significant action last year!!

The Patriot League will be challenging with American defending their championship arriving at Rappolt Field on Sep 27 in the eighth game of the season. The first League game will be on the 20th of Sept in Worcester with Holy Cross at 4 pm. The away games with the Crusaders as well as the away games with Bucknell and Colgate always seem to be tough affairs.

There always will be THE GAME with Lehigh as they will try to avenge their one goal loss last year. This year the RIVALRY will be on home turf on Friday evening Oct 11 at 6 pm. Boston arrives on homecoming Oct 25 to avenge their loss to the Leopards in the semi final last. year. The last regular season game will be up north at Colgate on November 2nd.

Challenges abound but it looks like an exciting season for Leopard field hockey. I would not be surprised to see our heroines in the mix a for championship when its all over. The talent is there, the bodies are willing and the fans are hungry. GO PARDS!!

The Leopards Finish Spring Training Solidly

Spring training is a time for coaches to experiment and observe. They use it evaluate players, try new schemes, refine skills, and encourage fitness. In the end, the team will finish their semester and depart for a summer of rest and decompression before beginning pre-season workouts. For some, it will be a time of healing, and strengthening as they prepare their bodies for the stress of a strong division one schedule.

Although not announced or finalized, the fall schedule will not be an easy one. Aside from the normal rotation of Patriot League foes, the team will face, from what I can glean, a slightly higher level of out of conference foes, as well as some new opponents, who have been improving lately. There will be no powder puffs this fall.

The new class is not yet announced, and indications are there will be a few last minute additions. Key additions will no doubt include a second goalkeeper. Lafayette was forced to either play without a goalkeeper this spring, or use Coach Maura Schimp as the fill-in keeper. ( By the way it looks like she has lost none of her all league skills, in her impressive time in goals). It also provided an interesting perspective to coach our defensive players on the field during games this spring.

A high priority was to sort out the Leopard’s defensive schemes, and in that regard, the effort was a success. Play against nationally ranked teams, like Syracuse and St. Joe’s was successful. Penn’s skill and progress was evident, but the Leopards were up to the task, as it was against Monmouth in the second game of the spring. The Lehigh game showed that the Rivalry is still alive!!!

The spring finale against Temple was evenly contested, and Leopard’s intensity was there in front of the cage especially in the second half. Peyton Guinter, who sat out most of the season last fall due to injury showed she will be a player to be contended with. Her goal was a gritty shot as she attacked the ball in front of the cage. It was the first goal of her college career. One concern in the game was the lack of offensive corners by Lafayette.

Stella Malinowski looked like she is returning to her “rookie of the year” form as did all Patriot Leaguer Josephine van Wijk. Co-Captain India Ralph was in mid season form as was Lena Thedrian who was all over the field contributing.

Summer will find the responsibility for training on the individual players, and perhaps the level of preparation will determine whether this team will vie for a championship. The talent is there.

Lafayette Plays In Four Team Spring Event

Josephine van Wijk breaks free against Syracuse

In a tough environment of cold windy weather, against good competition Lafayette held their own. Fans should also be lauded for coming to the event battling weather, traffic and construction. Parking was sparse and directions were useless, but came they did!!

First up for Lafayette was Syracuse who pushed the Leopards by accelerating their game tempo. Defensive improvement has been a theme this spring and the defense held up well allowing a single goal off a scrum in front of the cage started with a rebound. The Leopard’s had several offensive opportunities but couldn’t finish given decent shots. In this game scores can occur off of set pieces or capitalizing on mistakes from you opponent. The aggressive style of the Orange lent itself to several counterattacking opportunities that fell short.

The second game was with Monmouth whom the Leopards were meeting for the second time in a week. Monmouth was not as effective on the attacking side but manage a goal in the last second of the 30 minute game during a corner.

The third game was with Penn and it was then the Leopards were to find a goal off of a steal at midfield. Lafayette seemed more comfortable despite blowing winds. It was at this point we decided to take off for center city to take my grandson to his mother who was giving a speech in Philadelphia.

DPC Engages!!

Next week will have the Leopards tangling with the Owls of Temple at their field for the last contest of the spring, Weather during the week looks to be temperate, so I see a strong opportunity for the Leopards to do well. They lost to these same Owls in the last game of the regular season last year 1-0. Push off is at 5:30 at Temple on Friday!!!

Lafayette And Lehigh Combine For Continuation Of Spring Preparation

Lafayette and Lehigh met this evening in a practice game, as the spring preparations continue. The game was played under game conditions with the exception that Lafayette borrowed a Lehigh goalkeeper to substitute for Raffi Fragomeni who is still nursing a minor injury. There was very little for her to do, as the Lafayette offense had significant minutes on the Lehigh side of the field.

There was no official accounting, but Lafayette clearly had more shots and corners. If one were to count goals, Lafayette scored two, and one goal was called back. The first goal was a stroke in the third quarter, breaking a scoreless tie.

Both teams battled the elements as a brisk cold wind kept both fans and players alert. Neither team was in mid season form, but I thought Lafayette clearly benefited from last week’s game with St. Joe’s. Lehigh has been improving lately and they had their moments of skill and speed, but clearly the Leopards seemed more comfortable with one another.

For a spring game, there was a decent crowd from both sides. The field’s original scoreboard is still inoperable, but I understand a new scoreboard has recently been approved.

Other news from around the league has Bucknell raising money for video referral, leaving only two Patriot League teams without it…American and Holy Cross. American will be at Lafayette this fall, and the Leopards will travel to Holy Cross, which means the Leopards will play only one Patriot League game without video referral this fall!!!

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.