Oct. 2, 2012
Patriot League Field Hockey Release - 10.2.12 
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - The Patriot League preseason poll was turned upside down on the first weekend of League play, and there's a chance for it to happen again on Saturday as the top three teams in the rankings play the bottom three squads.
The League action on Saturday includes American at Lehigh, Colgate at No. 13 Lafayette and Bucknell at Holy Cross. The Eagles, Leopards and Bison were picked 1-2-3 in the Patriot League preseason poll.
The first weekend of League play saw the preseason favorite lose at home and the bottom squad in the preseason rankings win on the road. Lafayette continued its hot play with a 4-1 win at American, the sixth straight victory for the 8-1 Leopards. Holy Cross, which had not won a Patriot League contest since 2009, got on the board early this year when Carly Grimaudo scored in overtime for a 5-4 win at Lehigh.
One game held to form over the weekend, as Bucknell was impressive in a 7- 0 win at home against Colgate.
Colgate and Lafayette will each play a non-League game before they meet in Easton, with the Raiders hosting Cornell and the Leopards welcoming Penn on Wednesday. Bucknell and American have non-League tests on Sunday as the Bison visit Harvard and the Eagles go to No. 4 Princeton, a team they have beaten in each of the last two years.
Patriot League Notebook
THE TOP FIVE @PATRIOTLEAGUE NOTES
*Lafayette, Holy Cross and Bucknell opened League play with wins Saturday.
*The No. 13 Leopards have won six straight games overall.
*Holy Cross beat Lehigh 5-4 (OT) for its first Patriot League win since 1999.
*Lafayette's Brittany Blass and Jessica Deutsch each repeated as Patriot League weekly award winners on Monday.
*Bucknell saw its seven-game overtime win streak come to an end with a 4-3 loss at Rutgers on Sunday.
Lafayette, Holy Cross, Bucknell Open League Play with Wins
Lafayette turned the showcase game on the Patriot League schedule into a statement on Saturday, scoring three goals in the first 15 minutes of a 4-1 win at American. Deanna DiCroce had a hand in each of the early tallies with two goals and an assist as the Leopards won a matchup of the top two teams in the Patriot League preseason poll. Holy Cross earned its first win in League play since 2009 as Carly Grimaudo scored the game-winner in overtime of a 5-4 win at Lehigh. Bucknell got a pair of goals from Leigh Hillman in a 7-0 win over Colgate.
DiCroce Adds to Season, Career Numbers
Lafayette senior Deanna DiCroce has enjoyed plenty of big games and weeks in her career, but the past seven days had to rank near the top of the list. After recording an assist in a 3-1 win over Rider on Tuesday, she tallied two goals and an assist in a 4-1 victory at American on Saturday, the first for the Leopards over the Eagles since 2009. DiCroce added her eighth career Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week award on Monday, two more than anyone else in League history. DiCroce is tied for the Patriot League lead with 18 points this season and sits second with eight assists, while sitting sixth in League history in points (116) and fourth in assists (36).
This and That
Lafayette's .889 winning percentage trails only Syracuse, North Carolina, Connecticut and Princeton as the top mark in the nation...The Leopards are fifth in the nation in goals against average, while Jessica Deutsch is sixth individually with a 1.19 mark...Bucknell's Tayler Siegrist and Lehigh's Kim Eng are tied with DiCroce for the Patriot League lead with 18 points...Siegrist, Eng and Lehigh's Kimberly Metzger share the League lead with seven goals apiece...Lafayette's Emily Valeo leads all Patriot League players with nine assists on the season.
Patriot League Field Hockey Weekly Awards
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
DEANNA DiCROCE, LAFAYETTE Sr., F, Doylestown, Pa.
DiCroce earns her second Offensive Player of the Week award of the season, and extends her Patriot League career record to eight, after totaling two goals and two assists in a pair of wins for the No. 14 Leopards last week. She tallied an assist in a 3-1 win over Rider on Tuesday, and then came through with two goals and an assist as the Leopards opened Patriot League play with a 4-1 win at preseason favorite American on Saturday. DiCroce had a hand in the first three goals against the Eagles, scoring the first tally to put Lafayette up 1-0, assisting on the eventual game-winner and then adding insurance as the Leopards went up 3-0 less than 15 minutes into the game. She is tied for the Patriot League lead with 18 points on the season and is second with eight assists.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
BRITTANY BLASS, LAFAYETTE So., M/D, Mountain Top, Pa.
Blass led the way in two more strong efforts for the Lafayette defense as the No. 14 Leopards held a pair of solid opponents to just one goal apiece last week. She was a big part of a defensive corner unit that faced 12 corners and did not allow a goal in a 3-1 win over Rider on Tuesday. The Lafayette defense permitted just one shot on goal in a 4-1 win over American on Saturday. Blass is named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for the third straight time, and fourth this season.
GOALKEEPER OF THE WEEK
JESSICA DEUTSCH, LAFAYETTE So., GK, Fairfield, Conn.
Deutsch is named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week for the second straight time, and third this season, after allowing just one goal per game in two Lafayette wins last week. She came up big with four saves and led a defensive unit that shut down 12 corner attempts in a 3-1 win over Rider on Tuesday. Deutsch also directed the defense in a 4-1 win over American on Saturday, making an end line sliding stop in the second half to turn away an attack. Deutsch leads the Patriot League with a 1.19 goals against average and .744 save percentage for the year.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
KAYLA SULLIVAN, BUCKNELL Fr., M, Bridgewater, N.J.
Sullivan scored her first two career goals last week for the Bison. She tallied her first marker in a 7-0 win over Colgate on Saturday, then evened the score at 2-2 on Sunday against Rutgers in a game the Bison went on to lose 4-3 in overtime. She is named Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the first time.
HONORABLE MENTION
CARLY GRIMAUDO, HOLY CROSS Jr., F, Hopewell Junction, N.J.
Grimaudo scored two goals, including the game-winner, in Holy Cross' 5-4 overtime victory at Lehigh on Saturday.
ERICA PERRINE, BUCKNELL Jr., GK, Bridgewater, N.J.
Perrine had three saves a 7-0 shutout of Colgate on Saturday, and stopped eight shots in a 4-3 overtime loss at Rutgers on Sunday.
LEIGH HILLMAN, BUCKNELL Jr., F, Dallas, Pa.
Hillman had two goals in a 7-0 win over Colgate on Saturday, then added another in a 4-3 overtime loss at Rutgers on Sunday.
STEPHANIE BURRY, AMERICAN Jr., GK, Louisville, Ky.
Burry allowed just one goal in the second half against Lafayette after coming on in relief, and stopped four shots in a 2-1 win over Monmouth on Sunday.
