Sept. 22, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. -- Lafayette went 3-0 last week, including two shutouts to improve its overall record to a League-best 6-1 and earn three Leopards Patriot League Player of the Week awards.

Freshman Deanna DiCroce was named the Offensive Player of the Week, while Meghan Cicchi was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week and Kelsey Andersen was the Goalkeeper of the Week.

Lehigh's Kim Eng won her second straight Patriot League Rookie of the Week award.

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Offensive Player of the Week (9.14.09-9.21.09)

Deanna DiCroce, Lafayette  Fr., M, Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West DiCroce's offense lifted Lafayette to a 3-0 week, including a big win over Penn State, which sits just outside the nation's top 20. DiCroce scored a goal in each contest and all three were game-winners. She also had an assist in the Leopards' win over Pacific. Her goal against Penn State broke a scoreless tie in overtime.

Defensive Player of the Week (9.14.09-9.21.09)

Meghan Cicchi, Lafayette  Jr., D, Thousand Oaks, Calif./Lawrenceville Cicchi played in every minute of all three Lafayette wins last week, including two shutout victories. Her defense against Penn State, which sits one spot outside the top 20, helped Lafayette win 1-0 in overtime. Lafayette held Penn State to three penalty corners and four shots. The Leopards also posted a 2-0 shutout against Quinnipiac.

Goalkeeper of the Week (9.14.09-9.21.09)

Kelsey Andersen, Lafayette  Jr., GK, West Long Branch, N.J./Shore Regional Andersen recorded two shutouts as Lafayette went 3-0, improving its win streak to four games. Andersen blanked Penn State 1-0 in overtime and Quinnipiac 2-0. She made 13 saves in the three games for a .929 save percentage. She now has four shutouts this season and a 1.05 goals against average, both ranked first in the Patriot League. She has allowed just six goals in 521 minutes. This is Andersen's second Goalkeeper of the Week award in 2009.

Rookie of the Week (9.14.09-9.21.09)

Kim Eng, Lehigh Fr., F, Morristown, N.J./Madison Eng led the Mountain Hawks to a 3-1 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) last week, scoring a goal and two assists. She also notched her second game-winner of the season. She now leads the team with five goals and 13 points. Eng has been named the Patriot League Rookie of the League twice this season.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Anne-Meike De Wiljes, American Sr., D, Hanover, Germany De Wiljes scored a goal and posted two defensive saves, including one in a shutout of California last week.

Austin Thomas, Bucknell Sr., F, Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock Thomas scored two goals and had an assist for Bucknell last week.

Laura Denega, Colgate Jr., MF, Harare, Zimbabwe/Peterhouse Denega scored three goals in two games for the Raiders. She also had two assists for a total of eight points last week.

Courtney Callahan, Holy Cross Sr., F, Acton, Mass./Lawrence Academy Callahan scored five goals, including the game-winner in a double-overtime win over Siena. She also had an assist in the win, totaling nine points for the week.

Patriot League Notebook

Blanking Rally

American senior keeper Alyssa Poorman recorded the 16th shutout of her career, moving her to within one shutout of tying for fourth place all-time in Patriot League history. The record is 33. Poorman picked up the 16th shutout with her first of the season, a 2-0 win over California on Friday. Her season-best mark is eight shutouts in 2008 -- sixth in the League record books -- and Lafayette junior Kelsey Andersen is making a run for that mark. She already has four shutouts this season after picking up two more last week and now has 13 for her career, tied for seventh on the all-time list. She had six as a sophomore last season and three as a freshman.

New Face Shines in New Place

Lehigh opened its new field with a 3-2 win over Georgetown on Sept. 12 with freshman Kimberly Eng scoring two goals -- including the game-winner. The freshman, who also had an assist on the first Lehigh goal scored at the new Ulrich Field, led the Mountain Hawks on the road last week, scoring the game-winning goal and tallying two assists in a 3-1 win at St. Francis. Her back-to-back game-winning performances have earned her two straight Rookie of the Week awards.

Leopards Limiting Opposition

Lafayette leads the League in goals against average with a 0.86 -- and the cushion between No. 1 and No. 2 is very cozy. American is second with a 1.71 and Bucknell is third with a 2.25. Lafayette has allowed just six goals in six games. Goalkeeper Kelsey Andersen, selected as a Goalkeeper of the Week twice this season, has a 1.04 GAA in six games. She's recorded four of the League's five shutouts in 2009.

Keep Track of the Patriot League Through Social Media

In addition to visiting www.patriotleague.org, League fans and followers have plenty of new ways to stay updated and involved during the 2009 season and beyond. The Patriot League has accounts on Facebook and Twitter, and has now started a blog to give more information on the action on the field. All three accounts are accessible through the multimedia link at the right-hand sidebar on the front page of www.patriotleague.org.

Preseason Poll

American was selected to finish first in the 2009 Patriot League Field Hockey Preseason Poll for the seventh straight season. The Eagles, coming off their sixth straight Patriot League Tournament title, earned 49 points and nine first-place votes in the preseason poll, which is voted on by the League's six field hockey coaches and six field hockey sports information directors. Lafayette was selected to finish second with 42 points and three first-place votes. Colgate (34 points), Bucknell (27), Holy Cross (16) and Lehigh (12) round out the League's standings in the preseason poll. American also was recognized nationally by being ranked 14th in the NFHCA Division I Preseason Poll. Bucknell was the only other Patriot League school recognized in the poll, receiving votes and placing just outside the nation's top 20.

2009 Patriot League Championship

The 2009 Patriot League Field Hockey Championship will be held Friday-Saturday, Nov. 6-7 at the site of the highest seed. Two semifinal games will take place on Friday, Nov. 6, with the No. 1 seed facing the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed facing the No. 3 seed. The championship game will be played on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Team Notebooks

American The Eagles, who climbed back into the nation's top 20, went 1-1 last week. American defeated California 2-0 at home on Friday and lost 3-2 in overtime to No. 13 James Madison on Sunday. Anne-Meike de Wiljes led the Eagles in their 2-0 shutout, scoring a goal and recording a defensive save. The Eagles will return to the field at 1 p.m. Sunday when they host Wake Forest.

Bucknell The Bison were 1-1 last week, defeating La Salle 3-2 in overtime on Friday, while falling 4-2 to Villanova on Sunday. Austin Thomas had two goals and an assist in the two games, while Morgan Kauffman, the team's leading scorer with four goals and five assists, notched the game-winner with her penalty stroke tally in overtime against La Salle. Bucknell will host Temple in a non-League contest at noon Sunday.

Colgate The Raiders picked up their first win of the 2009 season, defeating St. Francis (Pa.) 5-0 Sunday. The win ended a six-game losing streak, which included a 5-1 loss to Lock Haven on Friday. Colgate has three contests this week. The Raiders will host Albany at 6 p.m. Wednesday before traveling to Bryant at 1 p.m. Saturday and Siena at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Holy Cross The Crusaders won 5-4 in overtime against Siena on Wednesday to collect their first victory of the season. Holy Cross, however, dropped its next two contests, 5-2 at New Hampshire on Saturday and 3-1 to Yale on Sunday. Courtney Callahan scored five goals and had an assist in the three contests. The Crusaders will travel to Quinnipiac for a 4 p.m. contest on Thursday before hosting Fairfield at noon Saturday.

Lafayette The Leopards went 3-0 last week to improve to a League-best 6-1 overall. Lafayette did not allow a goal in two of the three wins, giving the Leopards a League-best four shutouts. Junior keeper Kelsey Andersen was in the cage for all four shutouts. Lafayette opened the week with a 1-0 overtime win over Penn State on Wednesday, followed by a 4-3 win over Pacific on Thursday. The Leopards closed out the week with a 2-0 win against Quinnipiac at the Lafayette College Invitational Saturday. Freshman Deanna DiCroce scored the game-winning goal in all three contests. The Leopards will return to the field for one League tilt this week when they travel to Monmouth (N.J.) for a noon contest Saturday.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks went 1-1 last week, defeating St. Francis (Pa.) 3-1 Wednesday and falling 1-0 to Cornell on Sunday. In Lehigh's win, two-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week Kim Eng scored the game-winning goal and tallied two assists. Lehigh will return to the field with a home contest against La Salle at 7 p.m. Saturday.