The Marquis de Lafayette visited the United States in 1824 as a guest of President James Monroe. While in Philadelphia, 200 Eastonians including James Madison Porter met him. He was so impressed he set off to work to establish a College in Lafayette’s name. A group of prominent citizens led by Porter met at White’s Hotel to begin the process.
On March 9,1826 the governor of Pennsylvania signed the charter officially establishing Lafayette College. Each year on or around March 9, alumni get together at parties all over the world to celebrate their alma mater and toast the Marquis.
This year there will be an event on March 7 at the Bucks Club, 2600 York Road , Jamison, Pa. 18929. It will be a cash bar with small food. The highlight will be the attendance of Head Field Hockey Coach Jennifer Stone. The Field Hockey team could rightly be called the most successful team at Lafayette. They are regular participants in the annual Patriot League tournament and as champions represented the Patriot League in the national NCAA tournament.
This year, the team had a league leading, 5 all Patriot League awardees including an All American selection, Leneke Spanns. National teams are no stranger to Lafayette athletes as the captain of the US Olympic team will have alumna Amanda (Magadan) Golini leading the squad in this year’s Paris Olympics. Alumna Audrey Sawers is a member of the Canadian National Team. There are currently 3 players on the squad who were selected to the under 21 Canadian national team.
There is no doubt next year’s team will be in the hunt for a championship!!
The event is from 5:30 to 7:30. The host is Bill Messick class of ’68 Messy12@aol.com. You can also contact Alumni Engagement at 610-330-5040 or alumni @lafayette.com to make a reservation!! See you there.
Over the course of a season, success is often the result of a variety of team members stepping up to the challenge. One of those is Alex Darrah, who today scored two goals against a very talented and aggressive Big East opponent, Providence College. Alex was all over the field and was a key contributor on both sides of the field. The midfielder/ forward has gotten better and stronger as the season progressed, and is now a key contributor for the Leopards.
Both of Darrah’s goals came with an assist from Leneke Spaans who had 3 shots on goal along with her goal at 58:08 as an insurance strike. Alex Darrah had her first goal at 16:20 deflecting a Spaans’ pass at the left post. The second goal came after a Providence goal at 42:02 which tied the score. Alex’s goal came only 1 1/2 minutes later to put the Leopards ahead for good.
Lena Thedrian was a strong factor on defense
It was a total team effort, and there was clearly a 110 pct effort on the field. Names like Thedrian, Switzer, Good, come to mind but it would be hard to leave out every member of this squad who put together a perfect weekend and their 5th straight win. The bench was factor as the intensity grew. There were six Lafayette players who came off the bench and had an appearance in the game, compared to only three from the Friars. Ariel Schumacher had a shot and Catalina Rubel had 30 productive minutes.
Coaching staff instructs during quarter breaks
Emma Garvey got her 3rd straight win with a 78 pct save percentage on the season.
The Leopards were rewarded by receiving a 30th and 31st national ranking by Field Hockey corner. Next week will be a bye week with games against Quinipiac and Towson. There’s a lot to be proud of, and the coaching staff has to be very pleased with more to come!!!.
******. Late last night using the official boxscore they had Alex Darrah with the second goal of the game. This morning it was changed to have Leneke Spaans with the goal. So Leneke had two goals against Providence which combined with her goal against Boston pushed her to the PL offensive player of the week.
Alex had a terrific game and my impressions stand!!!
The Leopards defense contained the BU offense for most of the game. While neither team could score in the first half, BU could not even get to the shooting circle. But it was a Leneke Spaans’ early second half goal that was to put the Leopards on top for the rest of the game.
The swift Leopard quickly and unexpectedly took a restart and rocketed a shot from the top of the circle at 31:25. That was to stand up until the end of the game. Lafayette’s defense was to stand tall and turn away the Terrier offense early and often.
They were to intercept passes, tackle with authority, and switch fields with great skill. Lena Thedrian, along with Mackenzie Switzer were all over the field making tackles, and moving the ball to the the offense. Stella Malinowski showed the ability that made her Rookie of the Week. Lea Good was in the face of Boston offensive players while dribbling past defenders. Spaans flew around the Boston defense almost at will as they were stymied by her speed and skill.
Garvey has second shut out in front of NE fans!!
Emma Garvey recorded her second shutout stopping two key shots in the second half as the Terriers started to tilt the field in their favor.
Lea Good shrugs off close pressure by a BU defender
The Leopards had to overcome a green card on India Ralph at the beginning of the fourth quarter. As the clock ran down, Leneke used her considerable stick skills in running out the clock at the corner of the field.
Mackensie Hall breaks free
Lafayette is now 7-5 overall and 4-1 in Patriot League play. They will await the results of the last PL games to see were they will be seeded in the PL tournament. The last PL game will be with Lehigh in two weeks as they enter a League bye week.
Coaches and asst coaches are being hired, athletes are preparing for a challenging preseason, fields are being prepared, clinics are executed, travel is arranged and schedules are finalized. But there is one area most participants forget about and that is umpire preparation.
The game is not possible without competent well trained umpires.The speed and wide ranging movement of the game demands fitness, as much as a deep understanding of the rules and skills of the players. There is a constant need for replacement, as older umpires retire. Recruitment and training is a key ingredient for a successful and safe experience for fans and athletes alike.
Sean Rapapport was recently appointed Head of Umpires for US Field Hockey and he gave a presentation to the Board of US Field Hockey describing his efforts on recruiting and training of umpires. He also described some points of concern he has as the sport expands.
In general he was pleased with the available talent and recently he used some of the more senior players at the Nexus tournament as umpires in the younger divisions. He was extraordinarily pleased with their performance and was encouraged with the hope when many of the athletes finish their playing careers, perhaps they might choose umpiring to stay connected to the game.
Officials attention on skills
He got into details on the use of certain skills and potential issues. As an experiment at Nexus, he took a random collection of 10 under 16 athletes and had the group execute a reverse stick. Remarkably, 8 out of the 10 would have been guilty of a back stick violation. He demonstrated using film show how an umpire can detect the back stick violation, confirming it with how the ball bounces after striking the stick.
It is that kind of detail which is included in the training of a new official, and a caution to coaches and players to execute skills according to the rules.
It is one of the many elements for a successful experience for fans, athletes and coaches, that umpires are prepared. Let the games begin!
Seniors Felicitas Hannes, Sydney Woolston, and Simone Hefting played key roles in a 4-3 Senior Day win against the Spiders of Richmond University. In a back and forth game during a threatening cold, cloudy day, Sydney Woolston opened a lead with a goal at 5:42 in the first quarter. It was Sydney’s third goal in as many games on 4 shots taken. With seconds left in the same period Richmond took a rebound with midfielder Regan McCrossan knotting he score at 1-1.
Leopard senior Felicitas Hannes duplicated the feat with a rebound from of her own putting Leopards up 2-1 at 19:01 in the second quarter. However, again with six seconds left in the half Richmond was to tie score at 2-2 with a reverse from the left side.
Junior Emma Garvey took over goal tending duties in the second half. Hannes was to again be in the action by passing to first year player Catalina Rubel putting the Leopards ahead again, 13 minutes into the third quarter. The lead to was last eight minutes as Lindsey Frank found the back of the goal tying the game once more in the forth quarter.
The game winning heroics were reserved for senior Simone Hefting assisted by Hannah Findlay and Lineke Spaans who scored 6 1/2 minutes to go in the game. In addition, Captain Hefting was to have a defensive save doing the game. The Leopards accumulated 12 shots, resulting in 4 goals, 3 assists and 3 corners during the match.
It was a day of mixed emotions as we realized these seniors were playing their last games as a Leopards. However, they showed their mettle and character by not getting down and playing hard to the end. It also demonstrated the strong bench of the Leopards as 8 bench players saw significant action.
After the game, the team, parents and friends were treated with a post game party where memories and gifts were exchanged to make the day more memorable.
Lafayette has games to play with three PL opponents as well as sixth ranked Penn State and Drexel next week end. Yale at Yale is also scheduled as the regular season closes.
The Albany Great Danes proved to be a perfect opponent for the last competition of the preseason. Albany loves to press and are very fast and skilled. It required the Leopards to up the pace of their game, make definite speedier passes, and quicken their decision making. The veteran defense of Woolston and Hefting were up to the challenge as they turned away much of the aggressive Dane attack in the first half.
The Lafayette offense on the other hand took longer to adjust, and especially for our first year players, it was a early season baptism. The half time score was 0-0 as Lafayette’s defense held off Albany’s offense. However, the Leopards had a difficult time mounting a counter attack.
The third quarter showed more scoring action. It seemed as though Simone Hefting scored on a looping shot that banged off the goal’s backboard early but was called back by the officials. Albany then scored two quick goals only to be answered by a deflection by Sydney Woolston during a corner. In the overtime period, Molly McAndrew scored the lone goal. Lafayette clearly won the shootout with McAndews adding another and Josephine Van Wik scoring one right behind her. Leneke Spanns added an additional goal!!
The day was hot, and the trip was a long one, and I have to admit the Leopards looked a little fatigued. Coach Stone used the opportunity to get a look at all her players that were available as Catalina Rubel made her first appearance of the preseason. Freshman Goal Keeper Rafi Fragomeni made several key saves in the first half.
Coach Stone gives helpful advice to Leneke Spanns
Friday is the first game of the regular season as Temple arrives in Easton. First games are always difficult to handicap, as both teams will be trying to get off on a strong start for the season. Temple will be ready as no doubt will Lafayette.
As this is orientation week, hopefully there will be a strong showing in the stands by our newest Leopard students.
More about Temple later this week as “excitement” builds!!
Amanda Magadan ’17 needs your vote to get Sportswoman of the Year. Captain, All League and an All American at Lafayette Amanda has been playing with the US National Team for the past several years. She has earned over 110 caps while playing in the Field Hockey pro leagues over the years. As captain of the US Team she is leading the team to earn a spot in 2024 Olympics in Paris.
The award is sponsored by the Women’s Sports Foundation and Amanda is one of 10 finalists in the team category. Voting counts by recognizing 50% from the general public and 50% from the Foundation. The public voting ends on August 22nd and will be announced on Oct 12th.
The biggest number to me during the last two games was the average number of caps….US 35 vs 110 for India.
After winning a hard fought game against China on Sunday, hopes were high about FIH games Tuesday and Wednesday against India. It was the India match last year that knocked out the US Team from contention for the World Cup. The high scoring two day affair, last fall, saw the US fail to qualify by one goal. Ironically, Janneke Schopmann the then US Coach is now the Indian coach.
This week’s contests saw a reconstituted US Squad depleted by retirements and in a rebuilding mode. The Indian squad will move on to the World Cup and the US will return home after a weekend match with Belgium to continue reworking and improving the squad.
Experience is a key factor in international hockey and as of last week Captain Amanda Magadan was the only player with over 100 caps. That is to say this team is not without spirit and talent. But after 3 years of pandemic and an NCAA structure that inhibited new, talented players to make a commitment to the National team, the opportunities for young women are finally becoming available.
The NCAA made it possible for college players to extend their careers an extra year and delayed a normal transition the national team. Many players decided decided to retire as well, adding to the task of rebuilding. USA Field Hockey has realized the need for retention and recently moved to increase incentives to stay.
Patriot League now has three players on the team…Amanda. Ally Hammel from BU, and Natalie Konerth from American.
Soon the cycle will begin again, after the World Cup games, competition begins for the Paris Olympics. For Lafayette fans Audrey Sawers is a member of the Canadian National Team who will play in the World Cup next week.
Meanwhile at Lafayette, camp and clinics will be in full swing in July getting ready for August preseason. The first preseason game is August 17 against Monmouth!!
Hailey Abbott combines with teammate forming a wall by the goal
Still nursing wounds both psychic and physical, the Lafayette Field Hockey Team used their depth and skill to get an emotional win against a senior day opponent. Temple. TheBig East foe pulled out all the stops but Lafayette prevailed in a 1-0 defensive battle. The Leopards led in most categories, including penalty corners 6-3, shots 14-9 and Hailey Abbott again coming up big when it counted with 4 saves, 3 in the fourth quarter.
Mary Gould and Felicitas Hannes get into position
Lafayette’s one goal came at 18:17 into the game after a Leneke Spanns shot which rebounded off the Temple goal keeper and alertly planted in the cage by forward Molly McAndrew. The game was a team win. Lafayette used their considerable depth to get the win . Audrey Sawers had 5 shots, Spanns, McAndrew,Ralph and Alex Darrah had 2, while Alex Talkow contributed 1.
Lafayette greets ex teammate Grace Angelella
The senior day events were notable in that Grace Angelella, Lafayette alumna was using her covid year to play and acquire her masters degree at Temple. As such she was participating as a senior in an Owls uniform. As she was introduced both the Lafayette team and their fans gave her a rousing cheer as her name was announced. Grace had one shot on goal during the game. After, there were hugs and high fives. The game was competitive until the end with Temple getting off their last shot with ten seconds left.
The unsung heroes and gutsy performance awards go to Sydney Woolston and Shea Balderson who stepped up when needed, showing great courage and determination.
Molly McAndrew gets ready to defend
The Leopards have three games left before the Patriot League playoffs and despite the late season injuries there was a great opportunity to improve on team depth and experience. The last league game of the season will come this Saturday against Bucknell, a co-member of the field of four for the playoffs along with American and Lehigh. What is still left to be decided are the final seeds between Lafayette, Bucknell and Lehigh. A loss on Saturday will place the Leopards in the bottom seed and will meet American in the first game on November 4th. A win will throw the seeding into tie breakers, as all three would be 4-2.
Filine Gerbrandij sees Felicitas Hannes
Here are the League tie breakers as written:
In the case of multiple ties ( more than two teams tied for the same sport), the following process will be used: Note, the entire process for multiple team ties must be completed. The Patriot League does not revert back to the two way tie formula once the multiple team tie has been resolved.
Records between the tied teams will be evaluated to determine if one team won more contests against the other tied institutions.
Asssuming a Lafayette win over Bucknell , all teams remain tied with a 4-2 record with one win each between the three against another
IF a tie still exists a comparison of records will be conducted for each team starting with the highest seed not involved in the tie and continuing through the lowest seed if necessary.
I assume this means PL record, but if it includes the entire record, the Leopards by far prevail with the best record, Lehigh second and Bucknell last. The Leopard would play Lehigh. Bucknell would play American.
At that point the sport specific tiebreaker kicks in
Comparison of records versus out of League common opponents.
Temple is a common opponent and all three teams beat Temple. Villanova is a common opponent. Lafayette was the only team of the three to beat Villanova. Lafayette would then be a 2 seed. Move on to other tie beakers at this point
Goal differential between the tied team ( capping at +/- 4)
Lehigh’s loss to Bucknell puts them at a disadvantage. Lehigh would then play American in the first round.
Goal differential in all League games.
Again Lehigh at a dissadvantage
NCAA RPI rating.
At that point only Bucknell and Lehigh left.. advantage to Bucknell with Lehigh’s weaker schedule a disadvantage. Lehigh plays American, Bucknell plays Lafayette.
So I let you figure it out…but the prevailing requirement is a win against Bucknell to avoid a game against American in the first game.
The Patriot League field for the post season tournament is set as result of yesterday’s games. American beat Holy Cross giving the Crusaders 4 losses, Colgate lost to Boston giving them four losses. The best Boston can do is 3-3 and the worst Lafayette, Lehigh and Bucknell can do is 3-3 but all have beaten Boston breaking any tie breaker. As a result the field is American, Lafayette, Bucknell and Lehigh.
But the final seeds must still be decided. American must still play Boston and Colgate. Should they lose both and Lafayette wins their last two with Bucknell and Lehigh, Lafayette would host. If Lafayette were to lose the last two and American wins one of their two games, Lafayette would meet American in the first round. One win for Lafayette would give them a 2 or three seed and they would play Bucknell or Lehigh.
There are a number of scenarios that can be played with but one thing is for certain the four teams are set. The remainder of the regular season is still to be played with Drexel arriving today followed by an arch rival game with Lehigh at Lehigh on Friday night. Temple at Lafayette follows with Bucknell at home on Saturday and then a game in New Jersey against the number 3 team in the nation Rutgers. The tournament follows the following week end!!
Today is senior day. Usually, I highlight the seniors during the week previous but this year I will do that next week with Lehigh on the way!!
Lafayette College Field Hockey 