Tag: Patriot League

Naomi George via Linda Nova Deliver Winning Goal Against Brown

It was a unexpectedly gritty contest on a perfect sunny afternoon, that wasn’t decided until seven minutes were left in the game. In only the second game between the two schools, it devolved into a struggle that was to be decided by one goal. The last meeting was similarly decided by a single goal years ago.

Lena Thedrian was to open the scoring 18 minutes into the contest by using her drag off a penalty corner assisted by Olivia Krey and Katie Gibb. As her rocket crossed the goal line, the feeling was this was to be the opening that would flood Brown’s cage much like last week’s game against William and Mary.

There were several chances early on that were missed. In fact, shots favored the Leopards 4-1 in the first period, although in the second period shots were an even 3-3. However, the Leopards by the end of the half, were up 4-0 in corners. But the longer the Brown Bears hung around the more intensely they fought back.

The third period saw a momentum change as Brown began adding penalty corners 3-2 and another 3 in the fourth. Addie Kahn made 6 saves during this stretch. Inevitably with 10 minutes to go in the game Grace Almeida from Brown delivered a tying strike during a scrum in front of the cage, it was 1-1.

It was then that the Leopards showed why they are a ranked team! Linda Nova intercepted the ball, and sprinted towards the shooting circle dodging opponents along the way. As she entered the circle she reversed her stick and shot toward the goal where Naomi George, her training kicking in, delivered a deflection into the cage.

Brown was not done as they pulled their keeper. With less than two minutes to go Lafayette gets a yellow card and all of the sudden Brown is up two player in field. The defense kicks in. Finally, with seconds left Lafayette get control and the clock runs out with a Lafayette victory and 14 wins on the books.

In the meantime in Worcester, Mass, Holy Cross has won their game against American in a shoot out! The Patriot League field is set. It will be Lafayette, Boston, American and Holy Cross. The seeding is TBD. Lafayette plays Boston on Friday which will determine who will host. Holy Cross will play Colgate on Saturday and American will play Lehigh. A win by Colgate will give Holy Cross the 4 seed, who will play the one seed. A win by Holy Cross gives them the 3 seed and they will play the two seed. The winner of the PL tournament will go to the NCAA national tournament.

Lafayette Has Record Day Against Lehigh 11 to 0

Lafayette rolled in an afternoon league and rivalry game against Lehigh. It seemed like Lehigh could do little to stop the steamroller that was the Leopards. The Leopards broke a League and School record that stood since 2002 for the most goals in a single game. That game was against University of Albany in which Lafayette prevailed 10-2. That game was 24 years ago, and Jen Stone, the current Lafayette coach, scored 2 goals that day.

This time it was Rosalie van Gool who scored 9 points with 3 of the goals occurring in the first half. She added three assists in the second half adding to one in the first half. The goal scoring spree was joined by Stella Malinowski with 1, Katie Gibb with 2, Laila Pasic with 1, Lena Thedrian with 2, Emma Maher with 1 and freshman Katie Jackivicz 1 with her first collegiate goal.

Scoring was opened by van Gool with only 2:43 gone in the first period with assists from Gibb and Thedrian on a corner. In fact all three of her hat trick goals were on penalty corners. By the end of the first period it was obvious what the outcome would be with a 4-0 lead. Scoring actually did slow down with 2 goals in the next two quarters finishing with 3 in the fourth . The last score came from Katie Gibb’s second goal with the assist from van Gool at 57:41.

More evidence of Lafayette’s dominance was the 37-2 shot advantage and the 15-1 edge in penalty corners. Lehigh’s goalkeeper had 14 saves, while Lafayette’s Addison Kahn needed to make 2 to preserve the shutout. Lafayette is undefeated at home and in the League.

The home record will be challenged by three games against William and Mary, Brown, and Boston University. The games will be this Sunday, Sunday the 25th, and the regular season finale on Oct 30th, which could definitively determine the home field for the PL tournament. Lafayette has locked in a place in the post season, as has American. The Leopards have also locked in a share of the regular season championship. If Lafayette beats BU, the home field goes to Lafayette. A regular time loss might give the Eagles home field again……….but first things first!

Mental Toughness Is Built In October

As we moved to this past weekend in the schedule, we realized how it would demonstrate the mental toughness to challenge for the championship. The Leopards, as they continued to win and climb in polls were beginning to to paint a large target on their back. No longer was Lafayette looking for the upset, but others were looking to upset the Leopards. A win would set the agenda and tone for their season.

This was no more obvious than the battle between American and Lafayette friday night. It was a struggle between rivals for the regular season title and the home turf for the Patriot League tournament. No doubt each coach, Jennings and Stone peeked at earlier season games for a clue to success on Friday. Additionally there was the national rankings as an additional painted target!!!

For most of us fans, it was given that the end result would go to who could successfully navigate the details and make the least mistakes. For most of game it was this cautious respect that would dictate play. The game was played at the midfield interrupted by forays to the circle as openings showed themselves. Goal tending was crucial as Addisson Kahn turned away four shots and Teagan Harmon from American turned away two in five periods of play.

At the end of the fifth period both teams were left standing at 0-0 and would go to a shootout. American had accumulated seven shots ( mostly on corners) and Lafayette had tallied five. Each had two corners apiece. American’s second penalty corner in overtime was a crucial turning point in the game. It was after that it became clear that a shootout was likely.

Each coach, at the end the overtime period would designate their shooter for the overtime, but it was Coach Stone who was to change her Goalkeeper to Campbell Lemmick, a second year player who had yet to record minutes in any college game. Stone knew that Campbell had the quicker feet required to the task. Addison had done her part and the cage was ceded to the sophomore.

Stella Malinowski and Lena Thedrian each made their goal Gools, when American Emila Winkler was to stopped by Lemmick. Van Gool was stopped as well along with American’s Sam Kokx. Lea Good stepped to the line beating the American keeper making it three to one. Nora Tremble, American’s last hope was denied by Lemmick’s leg pad putting the win in the Lafayette column.

The first challenge ( and most important win) was to go to Lafayette who now is undefeated in League play. Sunday in another overtime battle the Leopards were to go down 3-2 to Penn State. It was clear this was again well contested but Lafayette was to come up short. It was an upset but the Leopards will still have a challenge ahead against League rival Bucknell on Friday. A loss by Bucknell could go a long way to eliminating them from the post season and putting Lafayette in the driver seat with a 4-0 record in the league, with five straight home games for the rest of October.

It will be a do or die test for Bucknell as Lafayette will need to beat them on Bison turf!! The Leopards have the heart and skill up for the task!!

Is It All In The Numbers??

10/02/2026…The date I have circled since mid-summer. The game with American is always a crucial part of the regular season. This year, it occurs mid-season with the Leopards as the nationally ranked team. Depending on which rank you subscribe to, the American Eagles will have to arrive on Leopard turf to face the number 19 ( NFHCA poll), number 7 ( NCAA and Field Hockey corner calculated RPI rank), or number 17 (ACR rank) national team rank. The Eagles’ RPI is 32.

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American got off to a slow start this season losing their first 3 games to California, Stanford and Richmond. Since then they have added W’s over App State,William and Mary, Towson, Bucknell, Lock Haven, and Maine. Last Sunday they lost to Providence. American comes to Easton with a 6-4 record, but 1-0 in the Patriot League. Lafayette of course is 8-1 with a 2-0 record in the League.

No doubt the outcome of the game will go a long way in determining the home field for the League tournament ( and a high RPI will have beneficial effect on an ultimate seeding in the national tournament).

But lest their be any doubt, American will come well prepared with both coaching staff’s having viewed hours of game tape to develop a plan. The last two games by Lafayette saw their opponents using most of their resources to jam the shooting circle and hold the score down hoping for a game winning opportunity. That was a strategy used by American’s in their 1-0 win against Bucknell, where they were to find the winning goal with 30 seconds left.

Looking at the raw stats, seems to favor a defensive battle. American’s offensive stats are boosted by beat downs against William and Mary (8-0), Towson (6-1) and Lock Haven (6-0). Eliminate those scores and their goals per game stat is reduced considerably.

Lafayette’s defense looks good per game goals against (.78) leads the league and American is 1.3. Addison Kahn’s save pct is .80 compared to Teagan Harmon’s save pct of .639. The amount of penalty corners per game is similar.

American uses their defense to start their offense so the task for Lafayette will be to contain American to their side of the field and try to maintain possession and get to the shooting circle.

The weather will be perfect, and these games are always well contested. I hope there is a big crowd to tilt the field the Maroon and White way!!

Lafayette On A Mission…. 7-1…. Holy Cross Next

Leopards surround VCU player

Winning two games this weekend Lafayette made significant statements that they are patient, purposeful, and determined. They are focused on the end result but their eyes are always looking forward to the most important objective….the task at hand. That was not more evident than in the first game of the weekend, against league opponent Colgate. It was an exercise in believing in the process.

They were not looking to self promotion or trying to run up a large score by padding individual accomplishments. Colgate came with a reasonable game plan throwing their resources into a high press and a strong defense hoping to get a winning goal in a low scoring game. The Leopards persisted eventually finding the opening goal by Rosalie van Gool assisted by Lea Good and Katie Gibb at 42:26 into the game. It was then lanes opened for Katie Gibb assisted by van Gool and Lena Thedrian seven minutes later to add an insurance strike. Cool and surgical was the play as the Leopards took home their first League win of the season.

The Leopards had 21 shots to the Raider’s 5. They also managed to keep the play in their offensive end for most of the game. Addie Kahn had two saves preserving the first of two shutouts this weekend.

Sunday’s game with VCU was equally surgical with VCU determined to end their long road campaign with a win. Having played a challenging schedule ( including a loss to Northwestern), they tried as well to pin the Leopards back in their end. It was Katie Gibb who opened the scoring at 12:59 assisted by Stella Malinowski . Stella had a goal of her own at 39:31 delivering on a penalty stroke. The game got a tad physical, but the Leopards prevailed with another 2-0 win on their record.

Stella gets ready for a penalty stroke

Lafayette was rewarded with an number 11 national RPI rating from Field Hockey Corner along with a 19 ACR rating. We await tomorrow’s ranking from the NFHCA. Rankings aside, this team will focus on the next important task.. the game with Holy Cross on Friday!!.

Lafayette Emerges Into Top 25 In One Rating After Successful Weekend

Lafayette moved to 5-1 after beating Rider 3-0 on Friday and dominating Drexel in Philadelphia 4-1. In Friday’s Lafayette was to take 36 shots scoring 3 times while Rider only was to only get off one shot the entire game. Malinowski opened the scoring for the Leopards with a stroke 6:48 into the game. Maddie Evans was to follow with a strike two and minutes into the second quarter assisted by Katie Gibb. Lena Thedrian hit on one of her rocket drag flick on a corner assisted by Oliva Krey and Gibb. Jade Regan, the Rider goalkeeper came up with 16 saves for her 60 minutes in cage.

Sunday’s game with Drexel had a 4-1 result but the Leopard’s had a different path to get there. Lafayette scoring came in the first, second and fourth quarter from Katie Jackivicz assisted by Maddie Evans, the second came from Laila Pasic minutes later, the third came from Elsa Wood to give the Leopards a 3-0 lead at the half. The third quarter was scoreless which let to a fourth quarter where Linda Nova added fourth insurance goal!

The two goals by first year players Jackivicz and Wood were the first of their careers and a warning to future opponents this team can score from anywhere. Passing was exceptionally accurate and receptions came on the run. Most of the play was in the Leopard side of the field and Drexel never seemed to slip into their fast break offense.

The Leopards appeared in Field Hockey Corner ranking 24 in Field Hockey Corner’s ACR method. They appear on anther ranking based on RPI which is 50 pct weighted by strength of schedule at 28.

Stars On A Team Or A Team Of Stars

Lafayette has certainly gotten off to a good start to the 2026 championship season. The only blemish is a 0-1 loss to the number one team in division one, Northwestern. To date they have a 3-1 record ,and along the way individual efforts have highlighted that record. Certainly and foremost could be the performances of Addie Kahn the Leopard goal keeper whose outstanding performance against Northwestern earned her goalkeeper of the week for the Patriot League last week, but her performance continues on with an outstanding game against Cornell stopping not one, but two penalty strokes preserving a 2-1 victory. She currently ranks 18th nationally in save percentage.

Another shining star on the Leopard lineup is Lena Thedrian whose goals per game, 1.25 ( which includes a hat trick against Temple), puts her ranked 9th in nation and second in the conference. Kate Gibb is ranked 7th in the nation in assists with at least 1 per game. Lena is ranked 14th in points per game.

The team itself is ranked 6th in country for defensive saves. The most important stat of course isthe won loss record of 3-1, which was against quality opponents. It does not getting any easier with Drexel, Penn State, Delaware, and Brown as future non conference foes.

However, there is always the in conference competition. Bucknell is off to its first 4-0 start in decades, BU has demonstrated a strong offense, Colgate has dangerous energy and there is always American lurking. Each game will be a”championship” game ,and Holy Cross and Lehigh will be looking for that playoff spot as well.

The prize in the conference battle of course is home field for the conference tournament. Hosting is a big advantage, as each field has it’s own characteristics. It’s been years since Lafayette was the site….it would be sweet if this year would see activity out there in late fall.

There is a whole team wearing Maroon and White and I suspect this team of stars will be making their mark in the record books.

Leopards Return From Impressive Performance In Chicago To Face Temple At Home

The Leopards flew back from Chicago with a 1-1 record having faced two opponents, one of which was the two time National Champion. The game was a solid 2-1 against Kent State at Northwestern’s field. Kent State scored their only goal with minutes left in the fourth period. Lafayette had just scored earlier on a Stella Malinowski strike which was disallowed. The official refused to recognize the Lafayette call for a review which they were entitled to. In my opinion it was a good goal. Lena Thedrian and Malinowski scored the previous two goals.

The following day was occupied by a baseball game at Wrigley Field and a visit to the “Bean,” in downtown Chicago. During the bus ride the coaches were hard at work on the game plan for Northwestern.

The game itself was a defensive tour de force by Lafayette. It was highlighted by PL goalkeeper of the week Addison Kahn, who had 15 saves all weekend, earning a season 88 pct save percentage.

The 0-1 loss was filled with impressive performances as Lafayette’s veteran defense held back Northwestern’s offense for 58 minutes led by captain Thedrian who had defensive saves as well.

The Leopards will don their home uniforms this Friday at 6 as they take on the Temple Owls who are also 1-1, having beaten JMU 2-1 and losing to Maryland 1-3. The Temple goalkeeper was not as successful as Kahn as she arrive in Easton with a 69 pct save pct. Goals were scored by Riley Gallagher, Lucia Magro and Brooke Weaver. Both Lafayette and Temple faced 31 shots this season. Coincidentally, both teams had 15 shots over the weekend.

Malinowski grabs the ball

The Owls and the Leopards are no strangers, since they have faced each other many times over the years including spring scrimmages. Make no mistake this will be an intense contest as either team would like to leave the turf with a winning record. I would hope the Leopard faithful will be out in force to tilt the energy towards the Leopards.

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Leopards Finish Preseason On High Note

In five days the Leopards will be playing for real. It’ll be a non conference game with Kent State on Friday August 28 2;30 CT. Today, they finished their preseason with a home game against Wagner. There was a lot for coaches to be pleased with, especially with a dominant performance by the offense. I don’t know if it would be wise to identify goal scorers etc, but suffice to say the Patriot League coaches got it right in their preseason selections.

Stella Malinowski can make her presence known

However, one could add to the story, the progress made by the first year players, and the improvement of the returning squad members, as well. Today I saw excellent speed and good skills against a team that at the end of last year was ranked ahead of Kent State.

Corners were well executed with Lena

The hockey was as sound as it was exciting to watch. As they step on that plane Thursday, I don’t see how they can be better prepared. In a cautious observation, first games can be difficult and I remind everyone of last years game with William and Mary…a game that should been a W, The second game on Sunday may be a different story but the Leopards should not look ahead. The most important game is always the next one.

I think Lafayette fans are in for a treat this fall and the team deserve every bit of support. This is a serious minded battle tested group and it will be fun to watch this all come together. Wagner opened with a press and Lafayette handled it in way that should give concern to opponents, League and Non League. It time to set the tempo early.

I have my tickets in hand for Chicago and I hope the return trip will be with a smile on my face. The first game will NOT be televised and Sunday’s match will be on the Big Ten network.

Go Pards!!!

Leopards Continue Preseason Prep

The 2026 Leopards continue to work under hot late summer conditions preparing for the coming season which is only one week away. They traveled to Monmouth and got taste of intense high level hockey. Monmouth showed their skill and experience by jumping out to a first quarter two goal lead, surprising Lafayette fresh off the bus ride from Easton. However, this is a gritty team and they battled back and soon would get help from first year Elsa Wood nailing her first goal in a maroon and white uniform.

Following Elsa’s lead, senior Katie Gibb would even the score in the second quarter. Monmouth would eventually add one more goal, but this was a good afternoon as the upper classmen showed the skill that brought them success last season while the first years gained confidence.

As each day goes by the team is starting see where they are on the field and where their teammates are. Lena Thedrian deserves special mention as she had 3 defensive saves during the afternoon. Her work last year merited recognition as the preseason defensive player of the year. She was selected along with Stella Malinowski and Rosalie van Gool to the Patriot League preseason all league team. Lafayette was recognized by being picked second in the Patriot League poll…American was picked first by the coaches.

In 25 years of watching Leopard hockey, I have never seen us picked first. The first League game is September 18 th at Colgate.