Nov. 2, 2007
2007 Patriot League Field Hockey Championship Page
Washington - No. 1 American defeated No. 4 Colgate, 4-1, while No. 3 Lafayette came up with a 2-0 victory over No. 2 Lehigh on Friday in Patriot League Field Hockey Tournament semifinal action. The Eagles and Leopards will play for the Patriot League Field Hockey championship title at 1 p.m. on Saturday at American University's William I. Jacobs Recreational Complex.
American (15-4) will be playing for its fifth-straight Patriot League Tournament title on Saturday. Lafayette (9-10), which is making its second-consecutive and 11th overall tourney appearance, will play in its seventh Patriot League Championship title game and the first since 2002. American has won a league-best four tournament titles, while Lafayette is next on the list with three championship nods.
In Patriot League Tournament games, American and Lafayette have met twice, splitting the series. In 2001, the Leopards defeated the Eagles in the semis. American evened things out in 2003 with a semifinal victory over Lafayette.
American earned the first win of the day in a 4-1 decision over Colgate. The Eagles reeled off four-straight goals before the Raiders got on the board in the second half. Sophomore Savannah Graybill started off the Eagles' offense at 19:25 with an unassisted goal, knocking in a shot off a Denise Infante rebound. Infante then earned the assist on the second goal of the game when freshman Kirstin Gebhart redirected her shot at the 27th minute.
With a 2-0 lead heading into the second half, American added two more goals on sophomore Anne-Meike De Wiljes' score off a penalty corner that Irene Schickhardt inserted and an unassisted goal by freshman Christine Fingerhuth.
At 68:11, Colgate junior Lauren Carey scored off a penalty corner play to make it 4-1. Senior Natali Plesniarski assisted on the goal.
Colgate goalie Sarah Pedersen recorded 10 saves, while American netminder Alyssa Poorman came up with three stops. The Eagles outshot the Raiders, 21-7. Colgate ends the season 8-9 with a 2-3 Patriot League record.
Infante's assist moved her into a tie for fifth all-time on the Patriot League's career list with 29.
The second semifinal of the game saw Lafayette blank its archrival Lehigh, 2-0. It was Lafayette's fourth shutout of the season and marked the first time this year that Lehigh was unable to score at least one goal.
Lafayette came out with a quick goal just two minutes and 48 seconds into the game on a score by sophomore Kelly Hilovsky. Hilovsky one-timed the ball into the cage off a pass from junior Maggie Condon.
Condon posted a three-point day after providing the Leopards' second goal of the contest at 29:32 off a penalty corner. Junior Jaclyn DiSanti provided the assist. Condon had the chance to add another goal to the day on a penalty stoke, but hit the left post with 18:58 remaining in the second half.
A pair of freshmen played in net for the second semifinal game of the day. Lafayette's Kelsey Anderson earned her third shutout of the season and posted seven saves. Lehigh's Jessica Miller registered three saves. The Mountain Hawks close out the year at 8-10 overall after recording a 3-2 mark in Patriot League play.
The winner of the Patriot League Field Hockey Championship Game will compete in a NCAA Play-In game on Tuesday, Nov. 6. The game will take place at the team that wins the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
