Tag: Women’s Athletics

Not The Outcome We Wanted

Stella Malinowski and Josephine van Wijk surround a Boston player

It was a game well anticipated….a chance for our Leopards to add another ring to the finger, but Boston had other ideas. It needed a record setting effort by Boston and they got it. Boston always brings a stout defense, and they delivered, but they also got a record hat trick from Caroline O’Brian, that the Leopards failed to halt when needed.

For a while it looked like the Leopards would pull it out…a goal by. Maddie Evans in the third tied things up, but answered by O’Brian 6 minutes later…then 9 minutes later a goal by Malinowski only to be trumped by O’Brian with only 2 1/2 minutes to go in the game. This was the first time a 4 seed won the tournament and the first time there was a hat trick that did it.

I delayed writing this blog because I wanted to reflect on this and the upcoming tournament. First of all the Leopards left it all on the field and all praise to a marvalous senior class who led us here. Mackenzie Switzer, Carolina Rubel, Ellie Barton, Josephine Van Wijk, Peyton Guinter, and Raffi Fragomeni, who thrilled us with their courage, skill and determination for four years. They earned their rings from last year, something a majority of teams in Patriot League cannot say.

To the team, you prevailed through training, injuries and other adversities, for that you have our admiration and thanks. We are proud to be your fans!!

Josephine Van Wijk unloads a shot against Bucknell

To our amazing freshman, sophomores and juniors, you will challenge again I am sure, using this game as motivation. The League is getting better and the challenges will certainly be there, but I know you are up to it. To our coaches, who will hit the recruiting trail to replace and strengthen an extraordinary squad, our good wishes.

For the moment to Boston, congratulations on overcoming a difficult season. Best of luck and carry the League Flag with pride!! Boston will move onto Fairfield for the play in game, and I suspect after that. Princeton.

The success of the Ivy League this year has come as a shock to the power schools. Harvard, Princeton, and Yale will continue playing, pushing out teams like Maryland and Michigan.

A black mark to the Patriot League for asking the Lafayette team to leave the pitch after the game. The optics made it seem like they were bad sports. Several American players in the stands corrected the impression by noting the League had demanded the loser leave the field….terrible optics!!!

The success of the Ivies shows that excellence is possible, even at the Patriot League level with all its demands!!

Lafayette Punches Ticket To Championship Game

Josephine Van Wijk unloads a shot against Bucknell

In an action packed four quarters of field hockey, Lafayette College defended their title like the Champions they are. It was a match that has become a standard when these two teams, Lafayette and Bucknell, meet. For the last 9 meetings these two team dueled to a one goal result with Lafayette getting the advantage.

The first half ended 0-0 with Lafayette turning away five Bucknell penalty corners, with Katie Gibb meeting Kira Laclercq’s near the top of circle shots. Laclercq took every penalty corner opportunity but could not solve the Leopard penalty corner defense.

Katie Gibb and Lea Good moves against Bucknell

The game was played at consistent high intensity. Action moved from end line to end line testing the boundaries of fitness and skill. As Bucknell seemed to turn the action their way Lafayette defenders were there to intercept or tackle a Bucknell player recapturing the ball.

Lafayette used their strong bench, eventually testing the Bucknell depth. Eighteen Leopards made it into the game which Bucknell managed to sub in only three players from their reserves.

The relentless pressure eventually gave way to a two goal second half that was to break the tie with two goals at 33.53 and 42:26. Stella Malinowski drew first blood with a scrambling unassisted goal. While a scrum developed and multiple player were on the turf the Lafayette forward found the handle to deliver the first goal of the game.

The second goal was delivered nearly ten minutes later by the ubiquitous Katie Gibb in much the same matter. The Leopards used the two goal lead to control the fourth quarter until the Bisons decided to pull their Goalkeeper with nearly half the fourth quarter gone.

Katie Gibb scrambles to score!!

With two and one half minutes left the Leopards suffered a penalty stroke call, which Leclercq executed bringing the score to 2-1. Lafayette was to control the rest of the period to making their ticket reality, with a date to meet Boston in the final on Saturday.

Boston stunned American with 1-0 win in the first game. Despite being out cornered, the Boston defense was to stuff the strong APC’s, which is the foundation of American’s scoring.

The games were played with recently installed video review. By my count it was used at least 8 times between the officials, and calls by the teams during both matches. That leaves Lehigh the only team without review at their site.

Lafayette and Boston remain in DC to prepare for Saturday’s 1 pm meeting!!

Lafayette Gets Come From Behind Victory 3-2

Katie Gibb scores winning goal with one minute left in the game

With several players nursing injuries the depth of Lafayette carried the day in a 3-2 thriller ending in a strike by Katie Gibb with less than one minute left in the game. Katie put in 60 minutes and was very involved in the offense all game. However, it was Junior Maddie Evens who got off the first shot of the game at 4:09. which was stopped by the Raider’s Claire van Kempen who had 8 saves during the day. The second shot came from Lea Good 2 1/2 minutes later again to be stopped by the Raider GK.

Lea Good put the Leopards in the lead in the first half

It was early in the second quarter when Lea was to find the back of the cage scoring a goal with the help of Linda Nova at 21:36. That goal was to stand up through the first half with the Leopards in the lead 1-0. with a 7-0 lead in shots and 1 penalty corner to none.

Two and one half minutes into the third quarter Colgate came alive as they got off three shots, two of which found the back of the net. The first came as it deflected off the glove of Fragomeni, the Lafayette goal keeper. Three minutes later the Crusader attack struck again to make it 2-1 on a fast break and the Leopards found themselves behind for the first time in the game.

The Leopards were to have success challenging Colgate one on one. It was one such drive up the middle of the field by Josephine van Wijk that set up the Leopards for a scrambling goal to tie the game. With 40 seconds left in the third quarter van Wijk charged towards the goal with Lena Thedrian and Sophomore Laila Pasic putting themselves in position. Thedrian got hold of the ball as Colgate tried to organize eventually passing to Pasic who tipped it in for the tying score.

The intensity increased throughout the final quarter as both teams had opportunities. Colgate and Lafayette had 2 penalty corners. With one minute and three seconds left and facing overtime Lafayette earned their last penalty corner of the game. Again, with a scramble in front of the cage Rosalie van Gool found Katie Gibb who delivered the winning goal with 50 seconds left on the the clock.

Van Wijk used her considerable skills to wind down the clock and seal the 3-2 win.

By virtue of the win the Leopards have now secured a place in the Championship tournament. Ironically, halfway through the game Lehigh lost to Holy Cross securing a spot even before Gibb’s final goal.

So there is still a mathematical chance for either Holy Cross, Boston University, Bucknell and Lehigh to qualify. Lafayette will play Boston next Friday in their final regular season game on Friday in Boston.

American took a large step in securing home field by beating Bucknell. Lafayette would need American to lose its final two league games for Lafayette to host. It is a shame should American host the championship it will be played without video review. In the American v. Bucknell game there several times that video review would have been helpful. It’s time for the League to mandate video review for championship matches. American is NOT qualified to host an NCAA Tournament game without it, as is Lehigh!!

Lafayette Celebrates Senior Day With 5-0 Triumph Over Dartmouth

DPC unit locates the ball

A second half surge sealed the deal on a 5-0 dominating win for Leopards over visiting Dartmouth on a beautiful day for senior celebration. The first half saw the score knotted up 0-0 maybe just to give the fans a little tension. But we all should have known better. After introducing the seniors and their families, the game opened with Dartmouth providing a stout defense for Lafayette’s 9 shots and 3 penalty corners. They successfully jammed the circle and cut off any clear space for Lafayette to operate.

After the half time break, giving the team and the coaches time to come up with a solved strategy, the goals began to come. At 2 1/2 minutes into the second half, Junior Maddie Evans took a feed from senior Josephine van Wijk who had penetrated the defense and started the ball rolling with a nifty deflection into the cage.

Senior Van Wijk penetrates the circle

Lafayette did not have to wait long for the second goal, as less than two minutes later, freshman Rosalie van Gool was to get the first of two goals on the afternoon by freezing the keeper and delivering a solo strike to the back of the net. Her second goal was also unassisted 3 minutes later. that 3rd quarter was to see the Leopards collect 9 shots and 2 penalty corners.

The home team was not done as the fourth quarter was to see more goals from sophomore Mia Freeman from Downingtown with help from Junior Lea Good, and the final goal came from senior Josephine van Wijk with the assists from Junior Stella Malinowski and Junior Katie Gibb.

The stage is set for Senior Day festivities

After the final whistle fans, and the team retired to Kamine Field house to celebrate and honor our amazing seniors Makenzie Switzer, Catalina Rubel, Ellie Barton, Josephine van Wijk, Peyton Guinter, and Raffi Fragomeni. The Juniors roasted the Senior with inside barbs ( most of which I will ignore or don’t want to know).

Juniors entertain fans with a roast of senior teammates

The Leopards ended the day with an 7-3 record and a crucial game upcoming with American in DC on Friday. But that’s for another day…..

Leopards Pounce On Lions In 2 OT Win

It’s a full house of 700 fans

You would think an overtime time win filled with drama and action would be easy to write, but as I type this I find it hard to convey how this was a team effort! Yes there were some individual heroics, which I will describe later, but I want to leave the reader with the impression of how much every player, and every coach, contributed to the outcome…there were no small efforts this afternoon.

Penn State opened the afternoon ranked 16th in the nation. The Leopards had just won an important league game at Lehigh two days before. From the first push off, there was every indication to the capacity level fans in attendance that they were going to be treated to a special event.

The first quarter saw Penn State fend off the first attack and shot by Lafayette’s Lea Good at 1:24 into the contest. However, it only took the Lions 6 minutes to first challenge the Leopards, with a penalty corner which was blocked. The Leopards quickly responded by clearing the ball up field, and earning a corner of their own 30 seconds later. Lena Thedrian, with an assist by Lea Good and Katie Gibb delivered a hard shot to the lower right hand corner putting Lafayette up 1-0. It was then revealed that this was to be no ordinary contest

Lena Thedrian delivers the strike to open Leopard scoring

The Leopards were to lead in shots 3-2 in the first quarter as Penn State was to redouble efforts to get control from their opponents. Raffi Fragomeni was to collect two saves in that half and five during regular time. But at 21:04 Penn State was to even the score as they found an opening to tie the score which was to hold up til the end of the half. The Leopards were to turn away several later attacks and press the Lions on there on. The defensive penalty corner team was especially effective turning away three corners.

The third quarter showed no slowing of action as Penn State was to get 2 more shots and the Leopards responding with one of their own. One shot was to be a penalty stroke which was earned on an unlucky foot penalty during a defense in front of the goal. It was 2-1 at that point.

Fatigue was beginning to show in the fourth quarter as cards were being issued to both sides. However, even then, Lafayette looked in better shape. Lafayette used 11 substitutes and Penn State used 7. Coach Stone was to pull her goalie with five minutes to go as Maddie Evans came in for Fragomeni, With 45 seconds left in regulation time, Lafayette earned a corner. Penn State asked for a video review which was unsuccessful. Stella Malinowski had taken the shot. In a scrambled melee in front of the goal Lauren Kurek found the ball and delivered the tying goal with 37 seconds left on the clock.

Fragomeni returned for the final seconds and we went to overtime.

Fragomeni and the defense was outstanding as, during the two overtimes they turned away six Penn State shots which included a five minute period of working off a 5 minute penalty corner suffered by Stella Malinowski. Kiley Gallagher was especially active as was Josephine van Wijk who was able to penetrate the defensive end of Penn State challenging them. The working off of the yellow card was heroic and seemed to inspire the team and their fans!! Penn State was to get off six shots but only earned one corner which was successfully defended. Lafayette had 3 shots and 2 corners.

The game went to a shoot out. Stella Malinowski got the first goal and Penn State got their first after a retry. All the subsequent shots by Lafayette and Penn State were missed or turned away. Raffi Fragomeni was to show her experience by aggressively turning away three shots and swiping away the ball. On the fifth try by Lafayette’s Lea Good, she connected. Penn State’s Joji Purdy was cut off by Fragomeni on their last try and the team stormed the senior goalkeeper in celebrating the win.

Leopards Leap Over The Hawks 3-0

In a perfect evening setting, the Leopards attack penalty corner unit scored three times, combined with another shut out from Raffi Fragomeni, to roll to a Patriot League 3-0 win. Fans had to wait until the second quarter for the first points to be scored. With 10 seconds left to play in the half Patriot League preseason offensive player of the year Stella Malinowski earned the goal, with a strike assisted by Mia Freeman ( who also had thee shots of her own during the game).

The third period was hotly contested, though Lafayette had 7 shots to Lehigh’s 3. Coach Stone used her deep bench, substituting 11 players to Lehigh’s three, and clearly by the fourth quarter the Leopards began to wear on the Mountain Hawks. Until the fourth quarter the 1-0 lead was becoming wearisome. However, three minutes into the fourth quarter Josephine van Wijk, who may have had the best game of her career, made it 2-0, off a penalty corner with the assist of Lea Good and Katie Gibb. Josephine was all over the field, and was slashing through the Lehigh midfield leading the offense all evening.

The coup de grace was a goal by Kiley Gallagher assisted by Lena Thedrian on a penalty corner with no time left on the clock. The Leopards also dominated the stat sheet with 21 shots to 5, corners 7 to 3, and Fragomeni had a perfect 2 save evening, while Kate Burgess the Lehigh goalkeeper was forced to save 10 shots.

Afterwards, the Leopards and their fans retired to a well deserved tailgate at a discreet location near the field to receive congratulations from their fans. Although fan attendance was only 384 there was a solid contingent of enthusiastic partisans there to motivate the team!!

The next game will be at home on Sunday against Penn State. The Leopards will next pit their league record against Bucknell on the 26th at 6pm. They are scheduled to be recognized at the Lafayette Princeton game the following day after receiving their championship rings!!

Leopards Battle With Number 5 Syracuse But Stumbled In The End

Josephine van Wijk speeds past Syracuse

Yes, in the end it was a 2-5 loss but our Leopards for much of the game were going toe to toe with perhaps the toughest opponent of the regular season. At 1:57 van Wijk stunned the Syracuse visitors with goal putting Lafayette up 1-0. Wijk delivered without an assist and expertly drove the ball passed the stunned Orange goal keeper. It would take Syracuse 5 minutes to find the equalizer from Graduate Student Bo van Kempen with the assist of Pati Strunk and Lana Hamilton.

First year Rosilie van Gool puts Lafayette ahead 2-1

The tie held up until Roselie van Gool with the help of Lea Good and Katie Gibb put Lafayette ahead 2-1 at the half. At that point, Syracuse led in shots 11-4, but Raffi Fragomeni stood tall having six saves to 2 for Syracuse. Lafayette showed much of the determination and skill that emerged in the preseason. I was also impressed with the play of Lena Thedrian whose strong presence in the backfield and was starting much of the offense with long accurate passes.

However, it was the two penalty strokes by Van kempen in the third and fourth quarter that was to prove the Leopards undoing. Despite all that, there were moments that showed the Leopards determination and heart. I saw long strong and accurate passes, a defense that sparkled at times, and effort that if continued will serve this team well for the 2/3rd of the the season to go!

This first third of the season has prepared for the Leopards for a championship run at a second League championship. I still believe this team has extraordinary talent that will be refined when the “second act” begins its quest to host the championship tournament. That second act opening curtain is against Lehigh at Lehigh on Friday night. What a better way to start than to get that W against the “Brown from Bethlehem.” SIX PM BE THERE!

I will preview the game later in the week!

Leopards Coast In 6-0 Victory Against Longwood

Lauren Kurek fights for her goal in the first perio

Lafayette remains undefeated and unsecured upon this young season and the Leopards left Farmville, Va with a convincing 6-0 victory. The offense was active, having scored the 6 goals on 28 shots and an 8-4 advantage in penalty corners. The Leopards wasted little time getting their first score. Rosalie van Gool scored a mere 3 minutes into the game executing a penalty corner from the top of the circle with Stella Malinowski and Linda Nova providing the assist.

Eight and one half minutes later first year Laren Kurek took an assist from Malinowski and scored a gritty goal off of two deflected shots to put Lafayette up by two goals.

The second period was much the same story as the Leopards had a 9-0 advantage in shots and 2-0 advantage in penalty corners. The result was a goal from Maddie Evans assisted by Kurek.

Shots continued in the third quarter as a 6-0 advantage in shots translated into a nifty goal at 35:23 by Lea Good as she eliminated a defender in the circle and took a reverse stick shot to make it 4-0.

The coaching staff substituted liberally and the result was 2 additional goals in the fourth, At 46:01 Linda Nova stole the ball inside the circle and delivered a strike..5-0. Lea Good got her second goal of the afternoon off an assist by Josephine vanWijk. at 58:10.

All game long Lafayette demonstrated teamwork and speed especially considering the long bus ride to Virginia!! There were several players on the sideline nursing injuries from the previous week’s play. There is no reason to believe they will not return to action soon.

The Leopards will take a two hour ride to Williamsburg to meet William and Mary on Sunday. They have an 0-3 record having lost today to VCU. After that meeting Lafayette will encounter the meat of their schedule, with Temple, Syracuse and Penn State on the horizon. One should not forget our rivalry game with Lehigh on the 19th.

In Patriot League action BU dropped a heartbreaker to Vermont in overtime, Lehigh lost to Wagner 0-2, Holy Cross lost to Providence 1-2, and Bucknell beat St Francis 3-0. Colgate and American were not active today.

Stags Travel To Lafayette To Meet In Opener On Friday

First year coach Laura Gebhart will bring her roster of 25 to Rappolt Field to challenge the PL champion Leopards on Friday at 6 pm. Both teams qualified for the NCAA tournament last year by winning their respective conference tournaments. Both lost in the first round by one goal. Fairfield to Delaware 2-1 and Lafayette to national runner up St. Joseph 1-0.

The Stags will return a veteran squad with 6 newcomers, as far as I can tell. Payton Rahn, their starting GK with a .87 goals against average and 30 saves, returns as a graduate student fifth year. Lafayette GK Raffi Fragomeni had a .77 save percentage. Leading Fairfield scorer number 17, Konni Hofman also returns for her senior year, as will second ranked scorer 5′ 9″ Alice Pifferi from Newark, Delaware number 21. Their second ranked scorer, Rylee Laloup number 5, had 7 goals as did Hofman

Last year, the Stags had 48 goals on 278 shots for 2.29 goals per game average. Their opponents had 25 goals on 174 shots for a 1.19 goals against average. The Leopards had 42 goals on 292 shots while opponents had 23 goals on 173 shots. So on paper, it looks like a low scoring game with whomever brings their offensive production to be the eventual winner.

Lafayette had 137 penalty corners while Fairfield had 140 corners. Lafayette allowed 104 while Fairfield allowed 105. Expect aggressive Stag play as they suffered 25 cards during last season.

Lafayette probably had a higher RPI but Gebhart seems to have spiced up their OTC schedule by adding UCONN and several Ivy teams. Last year, they lost to Lehigh 0-2 and beat Holy Cross 5-0. Their away record was 3-6 and home record was 8-2 while they were 1-1 at neutral sites.

It’s an appropriate game, on a favorable venue for the Leopards for an opening season contest. I expect a good turnout for this Friday night , hoping for an early aggressive start by the Leopards.

Pards Roll In Second Exhibition Game

Flying Upfield

In the second game of the preseason Lafayette avenged a spring defeat by the Monmouth Hawks. On the backs of an already stout defense Lafayette came from behind with only 1 minute 49 seconds left on the clock. The Leopards had pulled their goal keeper with 4 minutes to go in the game and were able to take control with about 2 minutes left turning around a Monmouth attack. The Leopards managed to get to the attacking circle earning a penalty corner.

Rather than try to be fancy, the feed from Linda Nova. went directly to Lena Thedrian who delivered a rocket to the back of the net, the game ended after regulation time and they went to overtime. At about 4 minutes in to overtime Laila Pasic tipped in her second goal of the preseason sealing a victory.

Katie Gibb goes for the ball

Since this was practice game, play continued for the remainder of the 10 minute period. Both teams retired and began to set up for shoot out practice. Although it wasn’t as sharp as they would have liked they put in more goals than the Hawks.

Olivia Krey stands up Monmouth player

Lena Thedrian again had a very good game making multiple defensive saves while scoring the equalizer with less than two minutes left. Sophmore Laila Pasic continues to find the back of net in this preseason.

Lauren Kurek puts it into high gear

I don’t want to diminish the effort by the rest of the team as all games are a team effort and our Leopards continue to look deep and skilled. However, this is not the regular season yet and these game don’t count and the team is going to get better……and so are their opponents.

Next up is Albany on Sunday, another stern test for the Leopards!!