March 6, 2013

Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Release - 3.6.13

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- The race for the 2013 Patriot League title starts on Saturday with the first three League contests of the season.

Defending champion Navys play host to Lehigh to try and extend its six-game League win streak after sweeping through the slate last year. Lehigh did earn a win in its last trip to Annapolis in 2011, the last time the Mids fell in League play.

Two other contests are replays of last year's seasons finales as Bucknell pays a visit to Colgate and Holy Cross goes to Lafayette.

The Leopards have not made the Patriot League Tournament since 2004, but are off to a great start behind the play of Addie Godfrey and Ana White. Lafayette has a 5-1 mark as Godfrey came into the week leading the nation with 27 goals and White has surpassed the Patriot League career record for draw controls while also scoring 14 goals with seven assists this year.

Navy moved up four spots in the deBeer Media Poll this week to No. 15 after a 12-8 win over Richmond on Saturday. Sophomore goalkeeper Annie Foky had another standout effort, and now stands third in the nation with a 5.43 goals against aveage and is first with a .587 save percentage for the year.

The Mids were picked first in the Patriot League preseason poll with 72 points and all 12 first-place votes from opposing schools, and will now start the quest for their fourth straight Patriot League title. Navy was followed in the preseason poll in order by Holy Cross, Colgate, Lehigh, American, Lafayette and Bucknell.

Patriot League Twitter Notebook
*Patriot League play opens with three games on Saturday.
*Three-time defending champion Navy has won six straight League games and 10 in a row against League opponents entering the slate.
*The Mids are ranked No. 15 in this week's de Beer Media poll.
*Patriot League teams are a combined 17-17 on the season.
*League teams are a combined 7-0 against the Ivy League and NEC.
*Lafayette's Ana White became the Patriot League career record holder in draw controls last week.
*Her teammate, Addie Godfrey, entered the week first in the nation with 27 goals. *Godfrey and Navy's Jasmine DePompeo stand second and third, respecitvely, on the Division I leaderboard for points per game.
*DePompeo also leads the nation with 15 assists.
*She is up to eighth in Patriot League history with 241 points.
*Navy's Annie Foky is in the top three nationally in both goals against average and save percentage, where she stands first.
*American and Colgate each play ranked foes on Wednesday.

Patriot League Notebook

Patriot League Season Starts Saturday
The 2013 Patriot League schedule opens up on Saturday with three games, including defending champion No. 15 Navy hosting Lehigh. Also, Bucknell goes to Colgate and Holy Cross visits Lafayette. The League slate will continue for seven straight weeks until the end of the regular season on April 21, and the postseason tournament follows at the site of the top seed on April 26-28.

Defending Champion Navy Picked First in Preseason Poll
Only one team has ever won four consecutive titles in Patriot League women's lacrosse, but opposing coaches and sports information directors are predicting Navy to accomplish that feat after unanimously putting the Mids in first place in the sport's preseason poll announced on Jan. 31. Navy claimed 72 points and all 12 first-place votes from the other six schools. Only Lafayette (1995-98) has ever won four straight Patriot League titles, with those coming before the creation of the League Tournament. Holy Cross, which finished as runner-up to the Mids last season, took second place in the poll with 55 points and two first-place votes. The next group of teams was closely bunched with Colgate (44), Lehigh (39), American (38) and Lafayette (34) ahead of Bucknell (12).

Mids, Leopards Riding High Entering League Action
Navy is off to a 5-0 start after beating Richmond 12-8 on Saturday, and the Mids have moved up four spots in the deBeer Media Poll to No. 15 in the rankings. The Mids have won every game by at least four goals. They will be tested in the next week when they host No. 4/4 Northwestern on Monday at 4 p.m. after welcoming Lehigh on Saturday. Lafayette has a 5-1 mark, adding to its hot start with a 16-15 win over Monmouth on Tuesdat. Addie Godfrey leads the way with 28 goals for the season, while Ana White has 14 goals and seven assists and just set the Patriot League career record for draw controls.

Checking the NCAA Leaderboard
The fast start by Navy has the Mids in the top 10 in the nation in scoring offense (8th), scoring defense (4th) and scoring margin (2nd). Lafayette's Addie Godfrey is second in the nation in points per game while Navy's Jasmine DePompeo comes in third and Loren Generi stands ninth through Monday. Godfrey leads the nation with 27 goals, while DePompeo has the national lead with 15 assists for the season. Navy's Annie Foky stands third in the nation with a 5.43 goals against aveage and is first with a .587 save percentage for the year.

Navy's DePompeo, Colgate's Berglin Headline Preseason Honors
Navy senior attack Jasmine DePompeo was voted the Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, as the two-time honoree of the award receives the preseason title for the second year in a row. Colgate sophomore goalkeeper Jennie Berglin claimed the Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honor. DePompeo and Berglin headline the inaugural Women's Lacrosse Preseason All-Patriot League Team. To see the entire squad, look at the left-hand sidebar of the page or visit www.patriotleague.org.

Returning Talent
Thirteen of the 15 preseason All-Patriot League players earned postseason All-League status last year, with six that made the first team. Overall, 18 of the 24 All-League selections from last season have returnedto the field in 2013.

Wallace Joins the Patriot League Coaching Fraternity
The Patriot League welcomes one new head coach in 2013 as Emma Wallace takes over on an interim basis at American. She joins a veteran group that includes five coaches that are in at least the fifth year at their school. Holy Cross' Stephanie Ridolfi has the longest tenure at one school in her 11th season in Worcester, while Navy's Cindy Timchal is in her 31st season as a head coach and holds the NCAA record with 417 career victories.

Nationally-Ranked Opponents
Patriot League teams have 14 games on the schedule against teams ranked in either the IWLCA Coaches Poll or de Beer Media Poll, with Lehigh, Bucknell and American playing three apiece. The Bison got theirs out of the way quickly, as they have fallen to No. 18/19 Stony Brook, No. 9/10 Penn State and No. 15/19 Johns Hopkins this season. There are two games against top five squads as Navy hosts No. 4/4 Northwestern on Monday (CBS Sports Network) and Lehigh is at No. 2/2 Florida on Tuesday.

Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Weekly Awards

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
ADDIE GODFREY, LAFAYETTE Sr., A, Princeton, N.J.
Godfrey continued her outstanding play early in the season with two more games of six goals or more last week. She scored seven goals with two ground balls and a draw control in a 16-9 win over Columbia on Wednesday, then totaled six goals and an assist with a ground ball and two draw controls in a 15-12 loss at Temple on Saturday. Godfrey leads the Patriot League with 27 goals this season, and also tops the charts with 33 points. She is named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week for the second straight time and third in her career.

MIDFIELD PLAYER OF THE WEEK
ANA WHITE, LAFAYETTE Jr., M, Swarthmore, Pa.
White became the all-time Patriot League record holder in draw controls as part of a week where she played a pair of solid games. White tallied four goals and two assists with two ground balls and 10 draw controls in a 16-9 win over Columbia on Wednesday, and in the process broke the all-time mark of 218 draw controls held by Navy's Erin Rawlick (2008-10). White added three goals with a ground ball and four draw controls in a 15-12 loss to Temple on Saturday. She has 230 career draw controls early in her junior season. White is named Patriot League Midfield Player of the Week for the eighth time in her career, four ahead of any other player in the three-year history of the honor.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
ANNIE FOKY, NAVY So., GK, Charlottesville, Va.
Foky earns the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honor for the second straight time after backstopping Navy to a 12-8 win over Richmond on Saturday. She tied a career-high with 11 saves on 19 shots and picked up four ground balls in the victory. Foky is 3-0 as Navy's starting goalie, and leads the Patriot League with a 5.43 goals against average and .587 save percentage. The victory and 5-0 start helped Navy move up four spots to No. 15 in Monday's deBeer Media Poll.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
LAUREN GORAJEK, COLGATE Fr., M, Hightstown, N.J.
Gorajek claims her second consecutive Patriot League Rookie of the Week award after scoring three goals in a 13-7 loss to UMBC on Saturday. Each of her tallies came in the first half as Colgate took a 6-4 lead at the break.

HONORABLE MENTION
LOREN GENERI, NAVY So., A, Bayport, N.Y.
Generi scored five goals, had two assists and registered seven draw controls in a 12-8 win over Richmond on Saturday.

JULIE McBRIEN, LEHIGH Jr., M, Pearl River, N.Y.
McBrien scored a career-high six goals to lead Lehigh to an 11-10 win in double overtime at Binghamton on Wednesday.

KAT SUTTON, HOLY CROSS Sr., A, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Sutton had six goals in two games for the Crusaders last week, including four in a 16-8 win over Sacred Heart on Saturday.

LAURA RYAN, HOLY CROSS So., M, Stirling, N.J.
Ryan had four goals and an assist with six draw controls in a 16-8 win over Sacred Heart on Saturday.