Oct. 12, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. — Both American and Bucknell have jumped out to a 2-0 start in League play and they will face each other in a rematch of the 2008 League Tournament title game this Saturday.

Bucknell is coming off of a 4-3 win over Lehigh, while American defeated Colgate 5-1 in its last League contest.

Kelly Bruvik scored two goals in the Bision's win to earn the Offensive Player of the Week award, while American’s Anne-Meike de Wiljes was named the Defensive Player of the Week for her performance against Colgate and No. 4 Princeton.

Bruvik’s teammate, Tayler Siegrist, was named the Rookie of the Week, while Holy Cross senior Kelly Casey was named the Goalkeeper of the Week for her 12 saves in a win against Lafayette.

Complete Release in PDF Format

Offensive Player of the Week (10.5.09-10.11.09)

Kelly Bruvik, Bucknell Jr., F, Skillman, N.J./Stuart Country Day Bruvik led the Bison to their second League win of the season, scoring two goals against Lehigh in a 4-3 win Saturday. Bruvik fired seven shots on goal in the contest as the Bison went 1-1 on the week.

Defensive Player of the Week (10.5.09-10.11.09)

Anne-Meike De Wiljes, American Sr., D, Hannover Germany De Wiljes, the reigning League Defensive Player of the Year, had an assist in the Eagles’ 5-1 League win over Colgate and a goal in their 3-2 loss to No. 4 Princeton. With the assist, she has 26 for her career, which is tied for 10th on the League’s all-time list. In Eagles win over Colgate, de Wiljes helped the defense hold the Raiders to seven shots. Her assist in that game came on the game-winning goal. De Wiljes has been named the Defensive Player of the Week twice this season.

Goalkeeper of the Week (10.5.09-10.11.09)

Kelly Casey, Holy Cross Sr., GK, New Egypt, N.J./New Egypt Casey was strong in goal for the Crusaders last week allowing just two goals in a win over Lafayette and a loss to Columbia. Casey made 21 saves overall, including 12 in the Crusaders’ win against the Leopards. She posted a .912 save percentage for the week.

Rookie of the Week (10.5.09-10.11.09)

Tayler Siegrist, Bucknell Fr., D, Madison, N.J./Madison Siegrist had a goal and an assist from the defensive position in the Bison’s 4-3 win over Lehigh Saturday. Siegrist help the defense hold Lehigh to just five shots in the game. This is the second time Siegrist has been named the League Rookie of the Week. She also has earned a Defensive Player of the Week honor.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Melissa Casale, American So., F, Lawrenceville, N.J./Lawrence Casale scored two goals in American’s League win over Colgate, while adding an assist against No. 4 Princeton Sunday.

Christine Weiss, Bucknell Jr., D, Bethlehem, Pa./Southern Weiss scored from the defensive position the Bison’s game-winning goal in a 4-3 win over Lehigh.

Kim Eng, Lehigh Fr., D, Morristown, N.J./Madison Eng added to her League-best scoring marks with a goal and two assists. She now has nine goals and seven assists on the season.

Kelsey Andersen, Lafayette Jr., GK, West Long Branch, N.J./Shore Regional Andersen recorded the 15th shutout of her career last week. She is now sixth on the all-time League list. 

Patriot League Notebook 

Crusaders Cross Up Leopards

Lafayette lost its second League game in as many weeks, falling to Holy Cross 2-1 in a stroke-off Saturday. The Leopards, selected to finish second in the League, sit in fifth place after two weeks of League play. Holy Cross, which was picked to finish fifth, is currently in third. American, the defending League champion, and Bucknell are tied at 2-0 atop the League standings and they will square off in a rematch of the League Tournament final last season. The Bison led that contest at halftime, but the Eagles scratched their way back into the game and left with their sixth straight League title. The Bison also will look to end American’s streak of 45 consecutive wins over League opponents. Bucknell will host the pivotal matchup at 10 a.m. Saturday. Lafayette will host Lehigh and Holy Cross will host Colgate in the other League contests Saturday.

Fresh New Look

Lafayette and Lehigh boast the top two point scorers in the League — and both are freshmen. Lehigh’s Kim Eng has led the League in points for weeks, now with 25 — seven better than Lafayette’s Deanna DiCroce, who is second. Eng has a League-best nine goals and seven assists, while DiCroce has eight goals and two assists.

Rough Road

American opened the season with a 4-5 record in non-league games with six of the nine being played against Top 20 teams. The Eagles capped their gauntlet of a first-half schedule with a 3-0 loss to No. 1 Maryland on Sept. 29. They’ve also lost to No. 11 Michigan State, No. 14 James Madison and No. 17 Indiana. They also lost to No. 4 Princeton on Sunday. American has one more non-League game scheduled for later in the season that will prove to be tough competition. They’ll host Iowa on Oct. 31. The Hawkeyes are currently receiving votes in the latest poll. American, which sits just outside the nation’s top 20, is off to a 2-0 start in the League.

Andersen’s, Poorman’s Shutout Quests

Lafayette junior Kelsey Andersen is rapidly climbing the all-time shutout list. She has 15 on her career after her sixth shutout of the season on Sunday. She is sixth all-time in League history. She sits one behind American’s current keeper, senior Alyssa Poorman, who recorded her 16th on Oct. 3 — her second of the season — with a 5-0 win over Holy Cross. The win moved her to within one shutout of tying for fourth place all-time in Patriot League history. The record is 33. Poorman’s season-best mark is seven shutouts in 2008 — 10th in the League record books.

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.

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 went 1-1 last week, defeating Colgate 5-1 in a League contest on Saturday, but falling 3-2 to No. 4 Princeton on Sunday. American was led by sophomore Melissa Casale, who scored two goals against Colgate and notched an assist against Princeton. The Eagles’ win over Colgate marked the 45th straight victory against a Patriot League opponent. American will return to the field with a League contest at Bucknell at 10 a.m. Saturday to break the deadlock at the top of the standings. Both the Bison and the Eagles are 2-0 in the League. The winner can clinch a tournament berth coupled with losses from Lafayette and Colgate.

Bucknell The Bison went 2-0 last week, including a 4-3 win over League rival Lehigh Saturday. Bucknell also lost 1-0 to Lock Haven on Tuesday. Kelly Bruvik scored twice in the Bison’s win over Lehigh. The win tied head coach Jeremy Cook for fifth all-time at Bucknell with 19 wins. He can tie for fourth with his 20th win. The Bison will take the field again when they travel to Penn State for a non-League matchup at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Bucknell also will host the defending League champion, American, at 10 a.m. Saturday. The winner will take sole possession of first place and can clinch a tournament berth coupled with losses from Lafayette and Colgate.

Colgate The Raiders lost two games last week as their losing streak moved to six. Colgate lost 2-1 at Cornell in a non-League game on Tuesday. The Raiders also fell 5-1 at American on Saturday. Colgate will end its six-game road trip with a League contest at Holy Cross at noon Saturday. 

Holy Cross The Crusaders went 1-1 last week, including a League win at Lafayette, 2-1 in a stroke-off. Holy Cross edged the Leopards, who were selected to finish second in the League, 3-2 in the stroke-off. Holy Cross followed with a 1-0 loss to Columbia on Sunday. Goalkeeper Kelly Casey led the Crusaders in the cage, recording 21 saves in the two games. Against Lafayette, she made 12 saves to post a .912 save percentage for the week. The Crusaders will host Colgate at noon Saturday.

Lafayette The Leopards had an eventful week, picking up their sixth shutout of 2009; however, they also lost their second League contest. Lafayette opened the week with a 4-1 loss to Columbia on Wednesday. The Leopards then lost their third straight game Saturday, falling 2-1 in stroke-off against Holy Cross. Lafayette ended the losing skid on Sunday with a 3-0 win over West Chester. It was keeper Kelsey Andersen’s sixth shutout of the season and 15th of her career, moving her one away from tying American’s Alyssa Poorman for sixth on the all-time League record list. Freshman forward Deanna DiCroce continued to impress, scoring two goals last week, including her fourth game-winner of the season. The Leopards will return to the field this week with two home games, a League contest against Lehigh at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and a non-League game against Rutgers at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks dropped two home games last week to fall to 4-7 overall. Lehigh had a tough game against Villanova, falling 10-1 on Wednesday. On Saturday, the Mountain Hawks lost to League leader Bucknell 4-3. Freshman Kim Eng  continued her offensive onslaught, improving her team-best scoring marks with a goal and two assists last week. She now has nine goals and seven assists, scoring a point in eight of 11 games. Lehigh will host Fairfield at 4 p.m. on Wednesday before making the short trip to Lafayette for a 1:30 p.m. League matchup on Saturday.