March 17, 2008

The Navy Midshipmen won their first-ever Patriot League game on Saturday, and American moved to 2-0 in League play with a 9-8 win over Lehigh. Each was rewarded with a pair of weekly awards as a result. American seniors Jackie Lane (offense) and Kristine Vida (goalkeeper) each earned awards for the Eagles. The Navy freshman duo of Caitlin Mandrin Hill (defense) and Meg Decker (rookie) also received recognition.

Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Release - 3.17.08

Offensive Player of the Week
Jackie Lane, American Sr., A, North Massapequa, N.Y.
Lane, the 2007 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, earned her first weekly award of the season following two strong games last week. The senior scored three goals and had three draw controls in an 11-7 win against Longwood to start the week. In Saturday's battle of unbeaten League teams against Lehigh, Lane came through in the clutch as she scored the game-winning goal with just 15 seconds remaining in regulation. It was Lane's fifth goal of the game.

Defensive Player of the Week
Caitlin Mandrin Hill, Navy Fr., M, Annapolis, Md.
Mandrin Hill earned her second-consecutive defensive player of the week nod after helping Navy to its first Patriot League win in program history. The freshman forced three turnovers and had three groundballs to go along with two goals on the offensive end. She scored the game-winning goal with 2:57 remaining.

Goalkeeper of the Week
Kristine Vida, American Sr., Syosset, N.Y.
Vida is the goalkeeper of the week in the Patriot League for the third time in as many weeks after shutting down one of the League's most potent offenses. In an 11-7 win over Longwood, Vida made 17 saves while allowing just seven goals. In Saturday's win over Lehigh, the senior notched 16 saves and surrendered only eight goals to a team that was in the top 10 in the country in points per game.

Rookie of the Week
Meg Decker, Navy Fr., A, Catonsville, Md.
Decker earns her first career weekly award after scoring three goals and handing out one assist in a 12-11 win over Holy Cross. Decker scored Navy's first two goals of the second half after Holy Cross had trimmed the margin to 6-5.

Honorable Mention

Lauren Dykstra, Lehigh
Fr., A, Mendham, N.J.
Dykstra scored seven goals and had two assists in two losses last week. She currently has totals of 30 goals and eight assists in her first season at Lehigh.

Carol Donohue, Bucknell
So., A, West Babylon, N.Y.
Donohue tied the League high with eight points in a game as she scored four goals and dished out four assists in Bucknell's 20-11 win against Lafayette.

Patriot League Notebook

League Season Kicks Off
All seven Patriot League teams have played at least one League game so far this season, and the early leaders in the clubhouse are American, Colgate and Navy, who each have yet to lose in League play.

Newcomers
The Patriot League welcomes two new head coaches this year. Caline McHenry takes over at Bucknell, while Cindy Timchal will be starting her inaugural year as head coach at Navy. McHenry was a standout student-athlete at Duke University, where in 2005 she was a First-Team All-American and a semifinalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is awarded annually to the top player in the nation. Timchal enters her 26th season of coaching, after splitting the first 25 between Northwestern University and the University of Maryland. At Maryland, Timchal led her teams to seven-consecutive and eight overall national championships, and is currently the all-time wins leader in Division I history with 342.

All-Time Leader
Lafayette senior Madalyn Booth continued her assault on the record books after scoring six goals and recording four assists in two games last week. The senior now has 106 assists, which extends her lead on the Patriot League career list. Booth's totals of 205 points and 109 goals sit just outside the top 10 in both categories. Joining Booth in the hunt for the career goals list is Lehigh junior Sara MacIntyre, who recorded her 100th career goal in a win over Lafayette.

Quotable
"I saw an opening and I just went for it. Today was our first real challenge and we made a lot of mistakes, but it was a good learning experience and the only thing that matters is we were able to win the game."
Navy freshman Caitlin Mandrin Hill after scoring the game-winning goal against Holy Cross.

"This was a very special win for our program. We showed a great deal of toughness when the game was on the line. We let the lead slip away from us, but we showed signs of a champion by responding to their challenge. Holy Cross showed why they are the defending champions. They never quit. They were very motivated to come in here and beat us."
Navy Head Coach Cindy Timchal following the win over Holy Cross (Calif.).

"This win will give us some credibility," said Blandon. "People know that Holy Cross is a good team and to be on their level in our first year says some amazing things about this program."
Navy goalkeeper Natalie Blandon following the win over Holy Cross.

2008 Patriot League Tournament
The 2008 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 25 and Sunday, April 27.

Team Notebooks

American
The Eagles won a pair of games last week, upending Longwood 11-7 and defeating Lehigh 9-8. Senior Jackie Lane led the way for American, as she scored eight goals in two games, and also scored the game winner with 15 seconds remaining to beat Lehigh. Caitlin Bell also scored two goals for AU, to go along with four groundballs and seven draw controls. Senior goalkeeper Kristine Vida made 33 saves on 48 shots for the week. The Eagles host Lafayette on Saturday.

Bucknell
The Bison earned their first League win of the season with a 20-11 victory at Lafayette on Saturday. Sophomore Carol Donohue led the offensive attack for the Bison, as she scored four goals, dished out four assists, and had one draw control on the afternoon. Freshman Julia Braun also recorded a hat trick, as she had three goals and six draw controls for the game. Bucknell had five multi-goal scorers in the win. Bucknell hosts Duquesne and travels to Holy Cross this week.

Colgate
The Raiders took a break from League action last week, taking on Albany and No. 14 Denver on the road. They fell to 2-6 on the season after two losses. Sophomore Brie Moran recorded seven goals in the two games, to go along with four groundballs. Freshman midfielder Colleen Bubnack recorded a career-high three assists against Albany, and had seven groundballs and three draw controls in the two games. The Raiders continue their road trip when they face Marist in Denver on Wednesday, and return home to host Navy on Saturday.

Holy Cross
The Crusaders remained winless on the season as they dropped a 12-11 heartbreaker at Navy on Saturday afternoon. Senior Nikki Bolduc led the scoring attack with three goals, one assist, two groundballs and three draw controls. Freshman midfielder Annie Boylan also had two goals and four draw controls in the game. The Crusaders play their first two home games of the season this week against Vermont and Bucknell.

Lafayette
The Leopards fell to 0-2 in Patriot League action following a 20-11 loss against Bucknell, which followed a 17-12 loss to Louisville earlier in the week. Senior attack Maddy Booth collected six goals, four assists, five groundballs and six draw controls in the two games. The Leopards will try to pick up their first win of the season when they play Saint Mary's (Calif.) in West Palm Beach, Fla. on Thursday, and their first League win of the season at American on Saturday.

Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks dropped two games last week to fall to 5-3 on the season and 1-1 in Patriot League play. Freshman Lauren Dykstra continued to increase her point totals with seven goals, two assists, seven groundballs and five draw controls over the two-game stretch. Sophomore Inneke Carmola and junior Meagan Tenety each scored five goals in the two games, and combined for nine groundballs as well. Lehigh will step out of League play on Saturday when they host Davidson.

Navy
The Mids won their first Patriot League game in program history on Saturday when they defeated two-time defending champion Holy Cross by a score of 12-11. Freshman Caitlin Mandrin Hill notched the game-winning goal with 2:57 left to play, and the Mids held on from their. Sophomore Erin Rawlick scored four goals, while freshman Meg Decker tallied three goals and an assist in the win. Navy remains as one of only four undefeated teams across the country, and will return to action on Saturday when they travel to Colgate.