April 6, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.- The field and site for the 2009 Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Tournament could all be set after this weekend. Colgate clinched its spot in the tournament with a 20-3 win over Lafayette on Saturday, and could clinch home-field advantage with a win over Patriot League co-leader Bucknell this Saturday. Should Bucknell win and Navy lose to Lehigh, the tournament will be held in Lewisburg. Student-athletes from Holy Cross and Navy earned Patriot League Player of the Week honors.

Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Release - 4.6.09

Offensive Player of the Week

Meg O'Leary, Holy Cross So., M, Longmeadow, Mass.

O'Leary tied a Holy Cross single-game record for assists with six in the 11-10 double overtime win over Lehigh. The sophomore also scored two goals in the game, giving her a career-best eight points. O'Leary also scored three goals in the 15-7 loss to Yale, giving her five goals, six assists, 11 points and four groundballs in two games last week.

Defensive Player of the Week

Caitlin Mandrin Hill, Navy So., M/D, Annapolis, Md.

Mandrin Hill keyed a terrific defensive effort in a pair of Navy wins on the week. The sophomore tallied a goal and an assist in both wins at American and against Davidson, while forcing a game-high four turnovers against the Wildcats. Mandrin Hill and the Mids limited each opponent to six goals and just six shots on goal apiece.

Goalkeeper of the Week

Elaina Ponchione, Navy Fr., Silver Spring, Md.

Ponchione made six saves and stopped five of six eight-meter attempts en route to an 8-6 Navy victory over American last week. In the 13-6 win over Davidson, Ponchione was strong once again, allowing only six goals and making six stops, including all three free-position attempts by the Wildcats. The freshman earned a .500 save percentage for the week.

Rookie of the Week

Kat Sutton, Holy Cross Fr., M, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Sutton scored two goals and tallied an assist in the Crusaders' 11-10 double overtime victory over the Mountain Hawks. The freshman also had five draw controls and one groundball in the game. Sutton also added two goals and a draw control in the 15-7 loss to Yale.

Patriot League Notebook

Tournament Spots And Hosting Privilege Up For Grabs

The field and the site for the 2009 Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Tournament could all be set after this weekend. Co-leaders Colgate and Bucknell square off in Hamilton on Saturday. The Raiders will clinch home-field advantage for the League tournament with a win, while the Bison can seal home-field with a victory and a Navy loss. Colgate and Bucknell have already qualified for the tournament and Navy and Lehigh each have a chance to join them this weekend. The Mids will make the field with a win over Lehigh or a Holy Cross loss to Lafayette, while the Mountain Hawks can seal their tournament berth with a win over Navy and a Holy Cross loss.

Patriot League Recap

Navy and American were first up on the Patriot League docket last week, with Navy getting an 8-6 victory over the Eagles in Washington, D.C. With the win, Navy moved to 3-1 in League play, while American fell to 1-4. On Saturday, Holy Cross edged Lehigh, 11-10, in double overtime, preventing both Navy and Lehigh from locking up the final two Patriot League Tournament spots that day. Holy Cross earned its first League win of the season and is now 1-3, while the Mountain Hawks fell to 2-2. Colgate moved to 4-0 in League play and earned the second spot in the tournament with a 20-3 win over Lafayette. Lafayette fell to 0-5 in League play this season. Bucknell had no League games last week.

Patriot League Preview

Tournament hosting rights could be on the line this weekend, as the League's co-leaders, Bucknell and Colgate, will face off in Hamilton on Saturday. Holy Cross wiill head to Easton to face Lafayette at noon, while winner of the Lehigh-Navy contest could seal a tournament berth on Saturday as well.

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 Junior Alyssa Roman caused seven turnovers in two games last week for the Eagles, who came up short, 8-6, against Navy and 19-11 to Virginia Tech. American has no League games this week, but will host UMBC on Wednesday at 4 p.m. and Davidson on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Bucknell With the 21-16 win over St. Bonaventure last week, the Bison tied the program record for combined goals in a game with 37. Bucknell also dropped a 10-9 overtime match against Le Moyne on Sunday. The Bison have reached the nine-win plateau for only the fourth time in program history, and will go for a tenth win and possible tournament hosting privileges at Colgate on Satuday.

Colgate Colgate snapped up the second spot in the Patriot League Tournament with a 20-3 victory over Lafayette on Saturday. The Raiders will look to keep their 3-0 record against Marist unblemished Tuesday afternoon and can secure tournament hosting privileges with a win over Patriot League co-leader Bucknell on Saturday.

Holy Cross Senior Kelly Casey scored a career-best four goals, including the game-winner, in the Crusaders' 11-10 double overtime win over Lehigh on Saturday. Holy Cross also lost 15-7 to Yale earlier in the week. The Crusaders will look to pick up their second League win of the season against Lafayette in Easton on Saturday.

Lafayette The Leopards are still looking for their first win of the season after dropping a 20-3 match against Patriot League co-leader Colgate last week. Lafayette is now 0-5 heading into its last League game of the year, where the Leopards will face Holy Cross in Easton at noon.

Lehigh Lehigh lost a double overtime thriller, 11-10, to Holy Cross on Saturday, preventing the Mountain Hawks from locking up a Patriot League Tournament berth. Lehigh can get into the tournament with a win over Navy and a Holy Cross loss on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks will also take on Penn State on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Navy Freshman Dani Vivonetto scored seven seconds into Saturday's contest against Davidson, setting an NCAA record for the fastest goal ever to start a game. The Mids also won their third Patriot League contest of the season with an 8-6 win over American on Wednesday. Navy has won two straight games headed into Tuesday's home match against St. Mary's (Calif.), before hosting Lehigh on Saturday with a tournament berth on the line.