March 3, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.- After three weeks of non-League play, six Patriot League teams will face off this weekend in three Patriot League openers. On Saturday, American will face Colgate in Hamilton at noon, followed by Bucknell at Lehigh at 1 p.m. In the final match of the day, Lafayette will travel to Navy for a 3 p.m. start. Student-athletes from Holy Cross, Bucknell, American and Lafayette all won Patriot League Player of the Week honors.

Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Release - 3.3.09

Offensive Player of the Week

Katie Gardner, Holy Cross Jr., A, Garden City, N.Y.

Gardner scored her first career game-winning goal in the 10-9 double overtime win at Vermont. The junior's three goals against Vermont tied her career best, as she totaled four goals, two assists, one game-winning goal and one draw control in two games last week. Gardner has recorded at least two points in each of the Crusaders' first four games.

Defensive Player of the Week

Julia Braun, Bucknell So., M, Tomkins Cove, N.Y.

Braun had a big day in Bucknell's 9-7 win over Robert Morris. The sophomore scored a goal early in the second half and came up with seven groundballs in the game, just one shy of the Bucknell single-game record. Braun also had four caused turnovers and two draw controls in the match. The midfielder picked up 11 groundballs total in two games last week.

Goalkeeper of the Week

Frankie Solomon, American Jr., Carlsbad, Calif.

Solomon snagged two groundballs and had a .571 save percentage in American's 12-6 win over George Washington last week. The junior totaled 16 saves in two games and had a .533 save percentage for both matches after facing an average of 24 shots per game.

Rookie of the Week

Erin Steel, Lafayette Fr., A, Lumberton, N.J.

Steel scored a game-high four goals and picked up four groundballs in the 18-14 loss to Marist last week. The freshman earned her first collegiate start against Columbia, where she picked up her fifth groundball of the week. Steel is second on team in goals with four and third in shots at seven, and is the only Leopard to score four goals in a single game this season.

Patriot League Notebook

Patriot League Play Begins This Weekend

After three weeks of non-League play, six Patriot League teams will face off this weekend in three Patriot League openers. On Saturday, American will face Colgate in Hamilton at noon, followed by Bucknell at Lehigh at 1 p.m. In the final match of the day, Lafayette will travel to Navy for a 3 p.m. start.

In the non-League games this week, Richmond will face American at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Lafayette will take on Manhattan at 5 p.m. On Friday, Holy Cross will play at UMBC at 4 p.m.

Newcomers

The Patriot League welcomes Alison Fisher into the Patriot League coaching fold this season. Fisher, who takes over the reins at her alma mater Lafayette, was formerly an assistant coach at La Salle University and with the Leopards from 2002-03. Fisher was a four-time letterwinner in both field hockey and lacrosse from 1997-2001 at Lafayette. Jill Redfern also took over as Lehigh's head coach. Redfern was previously the head coach at Lafayette in 2000 and an associate head coach at Lehigh since 2006.

2009 Patriot League Tournament

The 2009 Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Championship will once again use the two-day format that gives a day of rest in between the semifinals and the championship game for the top four teams in the Patriot League. The tournament will be held at the highest seed on Friday, April 24 and Sunday, April 26.

Team Notebooks

American The Eagles went 1-1 last week, picking up their first win of the season against George Washington, 12-6. Junior Amanda Makoid had three goals in the win, as well as two goals and two groundballs in the 8-7 loss to Old Dominion. American next squares off against Richmond in D.C. on Wednesday and will travel to Colgate on Saturday for both schools' Patriot League opener.

Bucknell Bucknell is now 3-1 on the season after dropping its first game of the year to Penn State, 18-5. The Bison bounced back after the loss, earning a 9-7 victory over visiting Robert Morris. Junior Chelsea Peters scored three goals in the win. Bucknell will open Patriot League play at Lehigh on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Colgate Colgate went 0-2 this week, losing 10-7 at No. 15 Cornell and 16-6 at Penn State. Senior Ashley Didio tallied two goals, two groundballs and one draw control in the loss to the Nittany Lions. The Raiders hope to bounce back with a win against visiting American in their Patriot League lid-lifter on Saturday.

Holy Cross Junior Megan Fenton had five goals and one assist for six points in Holy Cross' 10-9 double overtime win against Vermont. The Crusaders also dropped a 19-4 contest against No. 14/No. 13 New Hampshire last week. Holy Cross will travel to UMBC on Friday for a 4 p.m. game.

Lafayette Lafayette is still looking for its first win of the season after dropping home contests with Marist and Columbia. Sophomore Lauren Brown had a pair of goals and a pair of groundballs in both games for the Leopards. After a two-game homestand, Lafayette will open Patriot League play at Navy on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Lehigh Junior Inneke Carmola tallied four goals for the Mountain Hawks in a close, 11-10 loss versus Boston College, extending her consecutive point streak to 37 games. Lehigh will host Bucknell in its first Patriot League game of the season on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Navy The Mids picked up their first loss of the season last week, losing 14-13 to Longwood. Freshman Madison Bell recorded her second career hat trick in the loss. Navy will look to continue building on its home winning streak, the second-longest winning streak in the country, on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Lafayette in the League opener for both teams.