Lafayette field hockey (5-1) won two hotly contested matches last week, at home against the Yale Bulldogs on Friday and at Quinnipiac against the Bobcats on Sunday. The Leopards defeated Yale 2-1 in an overtime thriller before beating Quinnipiac 2-0 in Hamden, Connecticut. The two wins moved the Leopards to a 5-1 total for the season.
“Going into the game [against Yale], we knew that we had to play simple in the attack,” Head Coach Jennifer Stone said. “We felt confident we would be able [to get] great offensive opportunities, it’s just a matter of finishing them.”
The Leopards were the aggressors in the game as Lafayette took 16 total shots with six shots on goal. Yale racked up three shots, with two on goal. Yale did not notch a shot in the first half.
Lafayette also dominated corners, 11-1. Despite the Leopards’ aggressive offensive play, the game remained scoreless heading into the half.
“Yale is a good team, well coached and definitely has a lot of threat on the attacking side,” Stone added. “Yale is an incredibly competitive team with great athleticism and speed. We knew there would be an opportunity that we would have to capitalize on.”
The Leopards were finally able to capitalize on their myriad of opportunities in the 41st minute on a goal from sophomore midfielder Ariel Schumacher. It did not take long for Yale to respond, as they scored 30 seconds later to tie the game at one.
“It was a tight game, but I felt as though we just needed to stick with the course. Not sounding too cliché, trusting the process that the goals were going to come,” Stone said.
With the game tied at the end of regulation, the two teams headed into overtime. The overtime period did not last long as freshman midfield and defender Lineke Spaans scored the overtime goal to solidify the 2-1 win on Friday.
“It’s an amazing [feeling to score that goal in overtime], everything goes so fast, in a split second then everyone’s so happy running onto the field,” Spaans said.
The Leopards followed their win over Yale with recovery and film in preparation for their match against Quinnipiac. The Leopards’ preparations paid off as they beat the Bobcats 2-0 on Sunday.
Quinnipiac could not seem to keep up with Lafayette’s offense. The Leopards once again notched a double digit shot total, outshooting the Bobcats 17-3 with seven shots on goal.
Lafayette’s defense also shone through in the win, holding Quinnipiac to three shots with none on goal and only allowing two corners. Once again, Lafayette did not allow a single shot in the first half of the contest.
“We’re here to compete and here to get better and super excited for the following weekend since all these [non conference] games are just preparing us for the Patriot League teams,” Sawers said.
“We got a lot of new players this year, which is super exciting; they’re adding energy and skill which is a huge contributor,” Sawers said. “We have a lot of new faces, a lot of people who want to play well while adding to the team and I think that is huge this year.”
For her efforts in the games against Yale and Quinnipiac, junior defender Simone Hefting was awarded Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week.
The Leopards aim to continue their hot start this week with a Patriot League contest against American. Lafayette will face American in an away-game tomorrow, followed by a week off before facing Holy Cross on Sept. 25.
