Nov. 1, 2012

Patriot League Field Hockey Tournament Preview

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - The Patriot League Field Hockey Tournament will be held at Lafayette's Rappolt Field for the first time since 2002 when the Leopards welcome American, Bucknell and Colgate beginning on Friday.

The tourney opens up with the semifinal round on Friday as top seed Lafayette, the No. 12-ranked team in the country, takes on fourth-seed Colgate at 12 p.m. Second-seed American faces off with third-seed Bucknell in the second semifinal at 3:30 p.m. The winners meet for the Patriot League Field Hockey Championship Saturday at 3 p.m.

Lafayette and American lead all schools with eight Patriot League titles. The Leopards won last year's tournament and also won the tourney in 1995, 1999 and 2002, while claiming regular-season titles from 1990-93 before the implementation of the League Tournament. American won eight consecutive League Tournament crowns from 2003-10 before the Leopards ended its run last year. Colgate's lone title came in 1996, while Bucknell goes in search of its first crown after falling to the Leopards in last year's final.

Lafayette is making its 16th Tournament appearance, while Bucknell makes it 15th, American is 12th (consecutively) and Colgate its ninth. The winner of the Patriot League FIeld Hockey Tournament plays the champion of the Ivy League in an NCAA Play-In game on Tuesday.

The entire tournament can be viewed on Patriot League All-Access for a small monthly fee, which would also cover all Patriot League fall championships. Video links for each indivudal game are available at Patriot League Field Hockey Championship Central

Patriot League Tournament Notebook

THE TOP FIVE @PATRIOTLEAGUE NOTES
*Lafayette hosts the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2002.
*American, Bucknell and Colgate join the Leopards in the field.
*Lafayette and American each go for their ninth Patriot League title.
*Colgate goes for its second League crown, and Bucknell for its first.
*Lafayette enters the Patriot League Tournament on a 13-game win streak.

Patriot League Tournament Comes to Rappolt Field
The Patriot League Field Hockey Tournament will be at Lafayette's Rappolt Field on Nov. 2-3. It is the first time since 2002 that the Leopards will host the event, and sixth all time. Lafayette won the League crown at home in 1995, 1999 and 2002, but Lehigh won it all at Lafayette's Metzgar Fields in 1994 and Colgate did so in 1996.

Familiar Faces in Patriot League Tournament
It's certainly nothing new to see Lafayette, American and Bucknell in the Patriot League Tournament. The defending champion Leopards will make a League record 16th Tournament appearance, and seventh in a row. The Eagles are in the field for the 12th time in as many seasons in the Patriot League, while the Bison make it for the fifth straight year and 15th overall. Colgate is in for the ninth time and second in the last three years.

Playing the Seed Game
Lafayette has to like its standing as the No. 1 seed in the League Tournament, since the top seed has won it all in 12 of 18 seasons. The No. 2 seed has won the crown four times and the No. 4 has done it twice, while the No. 3 seed has never won the title.

Leopards, Eagles Clean Up Patriot League Awards
Lafayette and American took home most of the individual honors from the Patriot League this week. For Lafayette, Deanna DiCroce was named Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, Jessica Deutsch earned the Goalkeeper of the Year honor and Andrew Griffiths was tabbed the Coach of the Year. American's GIna Hofmann was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, while Julie Fosseprez claimed the Rookie of the Year award. Bucknell senior Tayler Siegrist was named Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year. More information on the award winners and the listing of the All-Patriot League and Academic All-Patriot League teams is included on page five of the release or by visiting www.patriotleague.org.

2012 Patriot League Field Hockey Tournament

Semifinals - Friday - Rappolt Field, Easton, Pa.

No. 4 Colgate Raiders (4-12, 2-3 PL) at No. 1 Lafayette Leopards (15-1, 5-0 PL), 12 p.m.
2012: Lafayette, 6-1 (10.6.12) Last Tournament Meeting: Lafayette 3, Colgate 2 (1997) Tournament History: Tied, 1-1

Lafayette hosts Colgate in the Patriot League Tournament opener on Friday at 12 p.m...The teams last played in the Patriot League Tournament in 1997, with the Leopards winning 3-2 in overtime in the semifinals...Colgate beat Lafayette 2-0 in 1996...In both cases, the winner was the No. 4 seed who claimed a win at the top seed's home field...Lafayette is 14-11 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament with four titles in the event (eight overall)...Colgate has a 3-7 all-time tournament mark, with its only title as the No. 4 seed at Lafayette in 1996.

Colgate The Raiders made the Patriot League Tournament on the final day of the regular season with a 2-1 win over Holy Cross on Saturday...Eliana Brown was named a first-team All-Patriot League selection, while Adriana Libutti made the second team...Colgate fell 6-1 in its matchup at Lafayette this season, but was up 1-0 at halftime on the Leopards...The Raiders also fell in their regular-season games against American (4-1) and Bucknell (7-0).

Lafayette The Leopards completed one of the most impressive seasons in Patriot League history with a 15-1 overall record and perfect 5-0 Patriot League mark...Lafayette has a 13-game winning streak entering the League Tournament...The Leopards are the first team since 2005 (American) to enter the League tourney with just one loss overall...Deanna DiCroce, Jessica Deutsch and Head Coach Andrew Griffiths all won major awards from the Patriot League...Emily Valeo and Brittany Blass joined DiCroce and Deutsch as first-team All-Patriot League picks, while Jenna Seybert and Jaclyn White made the second team...Lafayette beat American 4-1 on Sept. 29, Colgate 6-1 on Oct. 6 and Bucknell 2-0 on Oct. 13 in matchups against teams that made the League Tournament.

No. 3 Bucknell Bison (9-9, 3-2 PL) vs. No. 2 American Eagles (9-9, 4-1 PL), 3:30 p.m.
2012: American, 2-1 (10.27.12) Last Tournament Meeting: Bucknell, 3-2 (2011) Tournament History: American 2-1

Both teams will be out for revenge when Bucknell and American face off on Friday...The Eagles beat the Bison 2-1 on Saturday, but Bucknell won 3-2 over American in last year's Patriot League Tournament semifinals...American previously beat Bucknell in the 2006 semifinals and 2008 championship in the League Tournament...American won eight consecutive titles from 2003-10, while Bucknell goes for its first League crown.

Bucknell The Bison are in the Patriot League Tournament for the fifth straight year and 15th time overall...They completed another strong season, though it did include narrow losses to Lafayette (2-0) and American (2-1) with a win over Colgate (7-0)...Five players earned All-Patriot League honors this week, with Kelsey Mucelli and Tayler Siegirst on the first team while Erica Perrine, Vickie Resh and Rachel Misko made the second team...Bucknell goes in search of its first League title.

American The Eagles try to get back to the top of the Patriot League after winning their eight titles consecutively from 2003-10...American did well against the field this year, beating Colgate (4-1) and Bucknell (2-1) while losing to Lafayette (4-1) in the League opener...The Eagles have won four straight Patriot League games and six of eight overall entering the postseason...Gina Hofmann was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year while Julie Fosseprez claimed the Rookie of the Year honor this week...Hofmann and Shelly Montgomery were first-team All-Patriot League picks, while Fosseprez, Jaclyn Anspach and Rebecca Treharne made the second team.

Championship Matchups: American is 4-1 against Lafayette in the Patriot League Tournament, winning championship games in 2007, 2009 and 2010. The Eagles have a 4-0 mark versus Colgate, with a title-game win in 2004. Lafayette is 7-1 versus Bucknell in the tourney, with wins in the last three seasons and a 3-0 mark in title games. Bucknell has a 1-0 mark versus Colgate, with the teams only meeting in a 1995 semifinal.