Sept. 11, 2012

Patriot League Field Hockey Release - 9.11.12
Patriot League Field Hockey Central

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - With just two more weekends of play before the Patriot League schedule begins on Sept. 29, teams are getting prepared by getting themselves in the win column.

The six teams concluded the top week of the 2012 season to date on Sunday, as the squads combined for a mark of 7-4 in last week's action. The final day of the week was the highlight, as American beat No. 19 Massachusetts while Lehigh downed Towson, Lafayette shut out Temple and Bucknell went to overtime to beat St. Francis (Pa.) on Sunday.

The top three teams in the presesaon poll were a combined 5-1 last week. American got its first two wins of the year, sweeping games at the Terrapin Invitational by also beating Dartmouth on Saturday. Bucknell had a win on Wednesday against Cornell in addition to the victory over St. Francis (Pa.), while Lafayette won its only contest of the week as its matchup with Rider was postponed on Friday.

Every Patriot League team has at least one victory for the year, as Lehigh and Holy Cross also recorded their first wins last week. The Mountain Hawks topped Towson 6-3 on Sunday behind a hat trick from sophomore Lindsay Metzger, who was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. Holy Cross earned its first win with a 2-0 shutout at Siena on Wednesday.

Patriot League Notebook
THE TOP FIVE @PATRIOTLEAGUE NOTES
*Patriot League teams play four ranked opponents this week, with three of those on Friday and three of the four at home.
*American's win over No. 19 Massachusetts on Sunday was the first over a ranked opponent for the Patriot League this season.
*Bucknell has won seven consecutive OT games since 2010, with two victories in the extra period this year.
*Lehigh sophomore Lindsay Metzger leads the Patriot League with five goals after scoring four in two games last week.
*Lafayette's Deanna DiCroce moved into the Patriot League career top 10 in points (9th, 105) and up in assists (7th, 31) last week.

Tough Weekend Schedule Ahead for Patriot League
Patriot League teams will take on all comers, and that includes four games against ranked opponents this week. Three of those are on Friday, with American at No. 19 Michigan State, Lehigh hosting No. 6 Penn State and Lafayette welcoming No. 15 Drexel. Holy Cross hosts No. 23 Maine on Saturday, while on Sunday Bucknell hosts Ohio State and American faces Louisville or Central Michigan in the second game of the Auto-Owners Insurance MSU Invitational. The Buckeyes and Cardinals have appeared in the NFHCA top 25 this season. Every Patriot League team will play twice this week, with Holy Cross and Bucknell playing both of their games at home.

This and That
Bucknell's Vickie Resh is competing for the United States in the Junior Women's Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, which began on Monday and run until Sept. 23... The top two countries at the Junior Pan American games advance to the International Hockey Federation's 7th Women's Junior World Cup...The USA opened with a 9-0 win over Venezuela on Monday...Lehigh's Sydney Maltinsky-Wilson stands sixth in the nation with 10.20 saves per game...Lafayette's Jessica Deutsch is in the top 20 nationally in both goals against average (14th, 1.25) and save percentage (17th, 0.792)...Lafayette is in the top 15 nationally in both goals per game (15th, 3.00) and goals against average (14th, 1.25), placing the Leopards 12th in scoring margin (1.75)...Lehigh's Lindsay Metzger (5 g, 1 a) and Kim Eng (4 g, 3 a) share the Patriot League lead with 11 points apiece...Metzger leads the Patriot League in goals scored, while Eng is tied with Lafayette's Emily Valeo for the assist lead...No player has more than one game-winning goal in the 12 victories for the Patriot League this far.

PATRIOT LEAGUE FIELD HOCKEY WEEKLY AWARDS

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
LINDSAY METZGER, LEHIGH So., F, Mountain Top, Pa.
Metzger made her 20th birthday a memorable one, recording a hat trick to lead Lehigh to its first win of the year in a 6-3 triumph over Towson on Sunday. It was the first three-goal game for a Patriot League player this season, and the first hat trick of Metzger's career. All of her goals came in the first half as Lehigh built a 5-0 lead, and the six goals scored were the most for the Mountain Hawks since 2004. Metzger also scored a goal in a 4-2 loss to Fairfield on Friday and leads the Patriot League with five goals and 11 points for the season. The sophomore is named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week for the first time.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
GINA HOFMANN, AMERICAN Sr., D, Braunschweig, Germany
The Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year lived up to her billing last week to help the Eagles to their first two victories of the season at the Terrapin Invitational. After helping the defense hold Dartmouth to four shots on goal in a 3-0 win on Saturday, Hofmann came through with the game-winning assist as American beat No. 19 Massachusetts 2-1 in double overtime on Sunday. She also made a number of goal line saves during the weekend. Hofmann is named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for the fourth time in her career, and first since 2010.

GOALKEEPER OF THE WEEK
ASHLEY DALISERA, AMERICAN Jr., GK, Millersville, Md.
Dalisera recorded an amazing .947 save percentage to lead the Eagles to victories over Dartmouth and No. 19 Massachusetts at the Terrapin Invitational last weekend. She stopped all four shots she faced on Saturday in a 3-0 shutout of the Big Green, then came up with 14 saves to lead the Eagles to a 2-1 double overtime win over UMass on Sunday. The 14 saves marked a career high for Dalisera, who earns her first Goalkeeper of the Week award this season and the third of her career.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
JULIE FOSSEPREZ, AMERICAN Fr., M, Namur, Belgium
Fosseprez played a strong midfield in two wins for the Eagles, helping American defeat Dartmouth 3-0 on Saturday and No. 19 Massachusetts 2-1 in double overtime on Sunday. She made big plays in her passing and posed a defensive presence in both games. Fosseprez is named Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the first time.

HONORABLE MENTION
RACHEL MISKO, BUCKNELL Jr., F, Morristown, N.J.
Misko tallied two goals and an assist in three games for the Bison last week, including the game-winning goal against Cornell in the final minutes on Wednesday and game-tying tally with 51 seconds left in regulation in a 4-3 overtime win against St. Francis (Pa.) on Sunday. She also assisted on the winning goal in overtime.

SHELLY MONTGOMERY, AMERICAN Jr., M, Fairfax, Va.
Montgomery scored the game-winning goal in American's 2-1 double-overtime triumph over No. 19 Massachusetts on Sunday.

DEANNA DiCROCE, LAFAYETTE Sr., F, Doylestown, Pa.
DiCroce had a goal and an assist, moving into the Patriot League career top 10 in points in the process, in Lafayette's 3-0 win over Temple on Sunday.

CARLY GRIMAUDO, HOLY CROSS Jr., F, Hopewell Junction, N.Y.
Grimaudo had two goals and an assist in two games for the Crusaders, including the game-winner in a 2-0 victory over Siena on Wednesday.

JESSICA DEUTSCH, LAFAYETTE So., GK, Fairfield, Conn.
Deutsch made six saves in a 3-0 shutout of Temple on Sunday, making the Leopards the first team to hold the Owls scoreless this season.

For more content, including the 2012 Patriot League composite schedule, record book and championship page as well as information from all six schools, visit Patriot League Field Hockey Central