Oct. 16, 2012

Patriot League Field Hockey Release - 10.16.12

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Lafayette is the defending Patriot League champion and ranked No. 11 in the country, but the Leopards still have one goal they have yet to accomplish. They can change that on Saturday.

Lafayette, which clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament with a 2-0 win over Bucknell on Saturday, is just one win away from becoming the host for the postseason event on Nov. 2-3. The Leopards have their first shot at locking up home field for the Patriot League Tournament when they play at Holy Cross on Saturday. Lafayette last hosted the tourney in 2002.

While the Leopards aim to clinch hosting duties, the full field can become clearer on Saturday as well. Both Bucknell and American can clinch their spot in the postseason with a victory, as the Bison host Lehigh and the Eagles visit Colgate.

American has a League record 11 consecutive Patriot League Tournament appearances, while Lafayette has now made it in seven straight years. Bucknell is trying to make the postseason for the fifth year in a row.

Lehigh needs a win on Saturday to keep its Patriot League Tournament hopes alive. Holy Cross and Colgate can not clinch or be eliminated, with a showdown in Hamilton coming on Oct. 27 that could very well determine a spot in the field.

Patriot League Notebook
THE TOP FIVE @PATRIOTLEAGUE NOTES
*Lafayette needs one win to host the Patriot League Tournament.
*American and Bucknell can join Lafayette in the field with a win Saturday.
*Lafayette moved up to No. 11 in the NFHCA poll, and is No. 8 in RPI.
*The Leopards have a 10-game win streak after two victories last weekend.
*Lafayette's Brittany Blass tied a record with her fifth Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week award on Monday.

Lafayette Tops Bucknell in First-Place Showdown
Bucknell held the edge in shots and penalty corners, but in the end it was Lafayette that came out victorious by a 2-0 final over the Bison with first place on the line Saturday in Easton. The Leopards earned their sixth straight win over the Bison dating back to the 2009 postseason. It was a low-scoring weekend throughout the League, with American topping Holy Cross 2-0 behind two goals from Shelly Montgomery and Colgate beating Lehigh 3-1 on the strength of an Eliana Brown hat trick.

Leopards Move Up Polls, RPI Rating
Lafayette also defeated Rutgers 2-0 on Sunday, and the pair of wins over quality opponents sent the Leopards up three spots to No. 11 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll. Lafayette is one of only five teams in the country with one or fewer losses, and its 10-game win streak is the third-longest in the nation. A tough schedule has Lafayette even higher in NCAA RPI rating where the Leopards stand eighth overall.

DiCroce In Three Categories in Patriot League Record Book
Lafayette senior Deanna DiCroce leads the Patriot League with 27 points this season, and has entered the League's career top 10 in goals (44, 9th place) to go with even loftier standings in assists (37, 4th) and points (125, 6th).

A Look at the NCAA Statistics
Lafayette stands in the top 10 nationally in both goals per game (3.23) and goals against average (1.07), where it ranks fourth...Deanna DiCroce is 15th in the nation in points per game for the Leopards, while Emily Valeo ranks fourth in assists per contest...Lafayette's Jessica Deutsch is fifth in the country with a 1.07 goals against average, while Lehigh's Sydney Maltinsky-Wilson (9.46) and Colgate's Amanda DiDomizio (8.36) are in the top six in saves per game.

Patriot League Field Hockey Weekly Awards

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
SHELLY MONTGOMERY, AMERICAN Jr., M, Fairfax, Va.
Montgomery totaled four goals and an assist to lead the Eagles to pair of home victories over the weekend. She scored both of American's goals in a 2-0 win over Holy Cross on Saturday, tallying in each half as the Eagles won to move into a tie for second place in the Patriot League. Montgomery notched two goals and an assist as the Eagles posted an impressive 6-2 win over Towson on Sunday. She takes over the Patriot League lead with 11 goals on the year, and is second with 25 points. Montgomery is the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in her career, and first this season.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
BRITTANY BLASS, LAFAYETTE So., M, Mountain Top, Pa.
Blass directed another great weekend for the Lafayette defense, as the No. 14 Leopards shut out quality opponents on consecutive days by blanking Bucknell 2-0 on Saturday and Rutgers by the same final on Sunday. Blass helped the Leopards to a victory in the first-place showdown with the Bison as Lafayette's defense turned aside eight penalty corners and allowed only three shots on goal. Lafayette clinched a berth in the Patriot League Tournament with the win, and moved one victory away from hosting in the postseason. Lafayette allowed only five total shots in the 2-0 win over Rutgers, the 10th in a row for the 12-1 Leopards. Blass is named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for the fifth time this season, tying a record set by American's Denise Infante in 2007.

GOALKEEPER OF THE WEEK
JESSICA DEUTSCH, LAFAYETTE So., GK, Fairfield, Conn.
Deutsch made a total of six saves in a pair of shutouts for the Leopards, as No. 14 Lafayette blanked Bucknell 2-0 in Patriot League play on Saturday and recorded a 2-0 shutout of Rutgers on Sunday. She had three saves in each game, and made big plays in the second half to help Lafayette preserve leads with each of the stops coming after intermission. Deutsch is 12-1 on the season and leads the Patriot League while ranking among the best goalkeepers in the nation with a 1.06 goals against average and .754 save percentage. She is named the Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week for the fourth time this season.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
JULIE FOSSEPREZ, AMERICAN Fr., M, Namur, Belgium
Fosseprez tallied three assists in a pair of victories for the Eagles over the weekend. She assisted on the first goal in a 2-0 win over Holy Cross on Saturday, then had a pair of assists in a 6-2 win over Towson on Sunday. Fosseprez also played a strong midfield to help American control time of possession in each contest. Fosseprez is named Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the second time.
 
HONORABLE MENTION
ELIANA BROWN, COLGATE So., F, Annandale, Va.
Brown had her first career hat trick to account for all of the scoring in Colgate's 3-1 win over Lehigh on Saturday.

ADRIANA LIBUTTI, COLGATE Sr., D, South Windsor, Conn.
Libutti notched four defensive saves in two games for the Raiders, including a pair in Saturday's 3-1 win over Lehigh.

AMANDA DiDOMIZIO, COLGATE So., GK, Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.
DiDomizio had 10 saves and three goals allowed in two games last week, with five saves in a 3-1 win over Lehigh on Saturday.

JENNA SEYBERT, LAFAYETTE So., D, Lansdale, Pa.
Seybert had a goal in Lafayette's 2-0 win over Bucknell on Saturday, and added an assist in the Leopards' 2-0 win over Rutgers on Sunday.

KAT MATCHETT, HOLY CROSS So., GK, Maple Glen, Pa.
Matchett had 17 saves and a .773 save percentage last week, and kept Holy Cross close in its 2-0 loss at American on Saturday by making 12 saves.