Tag: Student Athletes

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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!!!

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!!!

GO PARDS

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.

The long wait is over and as I write this the schedule is published and allows us to plan our “field hockey treks” for this fall. The first competition is less than a month away and as I assess the schedule there will be some exciting hockey this fall with interesting and challenging opponents. The exhibition schedule opens at the beach on Aug 15 against a good Monmouth squad. Monmouth in recent years has changed conferences and their schedule has been beefed up in the process. They are a quick team that relies a lot on the fast break and will be a great preseason challenge for our rebuilding defense. Just 3 days later the challenges don’t get any easier as the Leopards host the Blue Hens of Delaware. They are always a tough opponent who will test our offense.

After that early preparation, Wagner comes to Rappolt Field a week later for the opening game of the season at night under the lights at 7pm. It will be time for the Buckeyes of Ohio State at our field that following Sunday at 3:30. We are the second game for Ohio State in the Valley as they will be playing Lehigh Friday afternoon. It will be interesting to see the comparative scores. I plan to attend both games.

The road beckons again on Friday the 1st of Sept as the Leopards will travel to Vermont for a first ever game with this team. They have a new field and are celebrating with a 12 game home schedule. The New England Labor Day weekend swing ends on Sunday with UMass at Amherst.

The Schedule doesn’t get any easier as Friday will mark the ACC’s Syracuse University Orange return to Lafayette for a 6 pm game. Sunday the 10th it’ll be a trip to the BIG APPLE and the Columbia Lions who have been improving in the Ivy League.

The Patriot League opener arrives on our home field on Friday at 7pm as the Bison of Bucknell show up. This is a game the team should be looking forward to and the Leopards will look to avenge the one goal loss last year. This is always a competitive match and this year will be no exception. A win for either team launches the pathway to the post season and a trip the NCAA’s. Four wins against Patriot League opponents will be needed to make the League tournament. The regular season league winner will host.

We will catch our breath and get ready for 1pm Sunday and Fairfied ,who actually was a Patriot League member a decade ago. The first Saturday game for the Leopards will be against American in DC, home to many Field Hockey alums. The noon time game as always will be key to title hopes and hopes to host the PL tournament. The Leopards lost by one goal in overtime last year!!

The Patriot League will again be on our mind as Holy Cross comes to town the following Saturday at noon. The Crusaders always seems to get up for the Leopards!!

The Patriot League challenge continues the following Saturday, October 7 with Colgate. By the end of the game we should be able to plot our post season chances and what might be needed to be done to get there.

Twenty five hours later Drexel arrives as the Leopards will try avenge the one goals loss from last year. It’ll be back on the bus as our heroes make a second trip to New England, first meeting League rival Boston University who will want to avenge their 2 goal loss in Easton last year. They will playing on their resurfaced field.

The Leopards will stay in New England and after an overnight rest will meet the next challenge, the Provdence Friars at 1 pm. The last game with them ended in a loss, so this could be a very competitive game.

The schedule again switches to a Friday night game at 6:30 with Towson on the home turf to be shortly followed by a noon away game with Quinnipiac in Hamden CT. They will be under new coaching this season!!

The Patriot League regular season ends appropriately with Lehigh at Lehigh. Lehigh has consecutive victories of late and this game regardless of the records, holds drama for each team. Lehigh will be the defending League champion. It will be a key contest in any case. It is a Oct 27 7 pm start that no doubt could define the season!

The regular season ends with a home game with Temple on Sunday at noon, hopefully with both teams looking at a post season! The PL tournament is Thursday November 2 and Saturday November 4th at the site of the regular season champion.