Schedule Offers Something Unusual for American Field Hockey
As the 2008 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament unfolded, American head coach Steve Jennings watched the team his squad lost to in the first round, Wake Forest, finish as the runner-up to Maryland.
Now fast forward to 2009, and Jennings will get to see both teams up close and personal as both finalists will travel to Washington, D.C., to take on No. 20 American.
“We are extremely excited to be hosting Wake Forest and Maryland this week,” Jennings said, “but the coincidence of playing last year’s NCAA finalists back-to-back is just that — a coincidence.
“It will be the end of the initial concentrated heavy phase for our program which has seen us compete against four nationally ranked teams already.”
American is 1-3 against nationally ranked opponents this season, defeating then-No. 13 Penn State. The Eagles lost to No. 11 Michigan State, No. 14 James Madison and No. 17 Indiana, but those losses still gave American invaluable experience for the road ahead.
“We believe the only way to become the best is to play the best,” Jennings said. “Our schedule reflects this perspective and prepares us well for the league schedule. It has never been enough for us to merely reach the NCAAs, we want to thrive in that environment and the next two games will certainly help show our team what it’s like.”
The Eagles will host No. 3 Wake Forest at 1 p.m. Sunday and No. 1 Maryland at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
American, which has won six straight Patriot League titles, will open League play at Holy Cross at noon Oct. 3.
Setting Up the Football Saturday
The other four teams in action on Saturday all host non-League games, with Lafayette taking on Penn, Lehigh playing Princeton, Bucknell facing Marist and Georgetown going up against Howard. It’s a big game for the Mountain Hawks and Hoyas, who like Fordham are trying to capture their first win of the year.
For full preview coverage of all of Saturday’s Patriot League games, read the Patriot League preview. The preview includes game notes, live stat, audio and video links that are available for all contests. The links can also be found at the Patriot League Composite Schedule. Also, don’t forget to check out the new Interactive scoreboard that will provide in-game updates for any contests with Gametracker coverage.
I’m headed off to Colgate this weekend, so hopefully we’ll have blog and Twitter updates from Hamilton. As always, enjoy the games and Go Patriot League !
Patriot League Media Relations Director Matt Dougherty
Kickin’ It With Patriot League Men’s Soccer
For the complete men’s soccer schedule with links to audio, video and live stats, click here.
Several big games highlight the weekend slate, including the 76th meeting between rivals Army and Navy. Also on the schedule, preseason favorite Colgate will travel to Lehigh, Bucknell will host American and Lafayette will head to Worcester to battle Holy Cross.
Lafayette (4-2-1) at Holy Cross (1-5-0), 3 p.m.
Patriot League play will officially get underway when the Leopards and Crusaders meet in Worcester. The Leopards were the last Patriot League team to suffer a loss, but they enter Patriot League play looking to snap a two-game skid. Lafayette was outscored 7-1 by Northern Illinois and No. 25 Northwestern at the Northwestern Soccer Classic. Prior to last weekend, the Leopards had allowed just one goal in five contests.
Lafayette is unbeaten in its last eight games against Holy Cross, going 6-0-2 against the Crusaders in that span. Holy Cross last beat the Lafayette in the 2002 Patriot League Tournament, topping the Leopards 1-0. The last two regular season meeting between the teams have ended in ties, including last year’s scoreless draw.
Freshman Sean Peckham leads Lafayette offensively. Peckham has piled up three goals and one assist in his first seven collegiate contests. Despite missing three games, junior B.J. Glenn has added two goals. Senior goalkeeper Philip Nelson has recorded a League-best four shutouts in seven games. He also holds the top goals-against-average among Patriot League goalkeepers, allowing just 0.98 goals per outing.
Holy Cross scored two goals in its victory against Northeastern, but the Crusaders have managed just one goal in their other five games. Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Kyle Miller is one of three Crusaders who have recorded a goal this season. Miller and Jon Werth have combined to produce 31 of the Crusaders’ 53 shots this season.
American (3-3-0) at Bucknell (5-2-0), 4 p.m.
Bucknell enters Saturday’s contest with the best record among Patriot League teams. All seven of the Bison’s games have been decided by one goal. Just two of American’s six outings have been decided by less than two goals. The Eagles snapped a three-game losing streak with a 1-0 win over Virginia Tech on Thursday. American claimed a 3-2 win over the Bison last season. The Eagles have won three of the last four meetings between the schools.
Conor O’Brien, who was named to the Hermann Trophy watch list prior to this season, has not disappointed. The senior midfielder has five goals and three assists for a League-best 13 points. The reigning Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year has also produced a League-high three game-winning goals.
American, which entered the national rankings two weeks ago, snapped a three-game skid in style on Thursday with a 1-0 win in Blacksburg, Va. Mike Worden’s game-winner in the 51st minute was the Eagles’ first goal in a span of 328:08. Daniel Shannon, who assisted Worden’s goal against the Hokies, leads the team with five points (two goals, one assist).
American has not lost a Patriot League opener since a 1-0 loss to Navy in 2003. The Eagles have gone 3-0-2 in that span. Bucknell has won its past six League openers. The Bison’s last loss in a Patriot League debut was a 1-0 overtime loss at Holy Cross in 2002.
Colgate (4-2-0) at Lehigh (3-2-2), 7 p.m.
Preseason favorite and defending Patriot League champion Colgate will begin defense of its crown in Bethlehem, Pa. against the Mountain Hawks. The Raiders enter the weekend with four wins, but just one victory on the road. Meanwhile, Lehigh has suffered its only two setbacks at home. The Mountain Hawks are 2-2-1 at the Ulrich Sports Complex and 1-0-2 away from home. Saturday will mark the fifth time in the past seven years that the two teams have met in Bethlehem.
Lehigh has been red-hot of late, going 2-0-1 in its last three games. The Mountain Hawks played to a 1-1 tie against Penn State on Thursday. That followed a 5-1 win at Delaware and a 3-2 win over No. 24 College of Charleston. Lehigh’s win over the Cougars was the College of Charleston’s first loss of the season. Freshman Austin Decker paces the Lehigh attack. He has a team-best three goals this season.
Alex Weekes, who was named to the Hermann Trophy watch list prior to the season, has been strong in the early portion of the season for the Raiders. Weekes leads the team with eight points (three goals, two assists). His 29 shots have helped Colgate out-shoot its opponents by a 114-81 margin.
Colgate’s 2-0 win over Lehigh last season snapped a string of three straight losses to the Mountain Hawks. The past three meetings between the schools have been decided by shutout, with Lehigh winning two of them.
Army (1-6-0) at Navy (4-3-0), 8 p.m.
It has been a good year for soccer on the Navy campus. Navy’s men’s and women’s soccer teams have combined to go 12-4-1 so far this season, the best combined record in the Patriot League. Navy’s women’s unit has won a League-best eight games. Meanwhile, under the direction of new head coach Dave Brandt, the Mids’ men’s squad has already matched its win total from a year ago. Navy has also matched its goal-total (11) from last season.
Twelve different players have notched points for Navy this season, including nine different goal-scorers. Only two Mids, Michael Rakoczy and Mark Garcia, have recorded multiple goals this season. Rakoczy leads the team with seven points (two goals, three assists). Rakoczy is one of three Patriot League freshmen to lead his team in scoring. All four of Navy’s game-winning goals have been scored by Rakoczy’s freshman teammates.
Army will be looking to snap its six-game losing streak. Since winning its season-opener against NJIT, Army has been outscored 11-0 in the six games that followed. Bryan Connolly leads the Black Knights’ attack. He has scored one goal and produced a team-high 10 shots. Goalkeeper Nick Alexander leads the Patriot League with 40 saves, an average of 5.71 saves per contest.
Navy owns a 35-27-13 advantage in the series, but Army has won the last three meetings between the rivals. It is Army’s longest winning streak in the series since the Black Knights won four straight from 1950-53. Navy is 22-9-4 at home against Army, and since Navy joined the Patriot League in 1991, the Mids are 7-2-1. The series has been played continuously since 1938. The teams placed twice in 1991, 1992 and 1996, as part of the Patriot League Tournament. The top three, and four of the top six attendance marks, at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility have come against Army, including a school-record 1,751 fans for the 2001 contest.
We’re Talking Bas-ket-ball!
The Patriot League announced its television package with CBS College Sports Network. There are more games than previous years (10 men’s/two women’s) with a couple of nice features. For one, a men’s quarterfinal (March 3) and semifinal (March 7) will be shown on the network, as well as the women’s championship game (March 13). The final two weekends of the regular season will feature a “Flex Game”, where any of the Patriot League contests can be shown with the televised game selected later in the season. Three of the four Patriot League games can be flexed on Feb. 21 at 2 p.m., and all four can be selected on the final Saturday on Feb. 27 at 4 p.m. All of the possible games have already been moved to those dates and times.
Another piece of news came on Thursday, as Army announced a men’s basketball coaching change. Jim Crews departs after seven years at West Point. A national search will begin immediately, and the job has to be enticing as the Black Knights appear ready to contend for a high spot in the Patriot League standings with Cleveland Richard, Marcus Nelson and Josh Miller among the returnees.
That may be it for a little while for hoops news, but the Patriot League media guide is almost to the printer, the first day of practice is less than a month away and Patriot League Media Day is coming quick on Oct. 29 at ESPN Zone in Baltimore!
Set and Ready to Go
The milestone mark will come in the Bison’s 32nd season and it will be against a tough opponent as Army (12-3) will travel to Davis Gym for the 7 p.m. contest Friday. Bucknell (4-8) will host Holy Cross at 5 p.m. Saturday. Check out the complete schedule with links to video, audio and live stats.
The Black Knights have won five straight matches and have collected big wins over Iowa and then-No. 19 Pepperdine. Senior setter Maureen Bannon and freshman outside hitter Ariana Mankus have led Army all season, earning three weekly League awards.
Bannon, the three-time Player of the Week, leads the League in assists with 529. Her 9.62 per set average is second in the League. Mankus, the three-time Rookie of the Week, is averaging a League-best 3.55 kills per set.
Bucknell’s Ragin Jackson will be on the other side of the net looking to block Mankus. Jackson leads the League in blocks with 35 (0.88 per set).
Both Bucknell and Army will broadcast the match live on the Internet.
Navy (3-10) at Lehigh (7-7), 7 p.m.
It was rough seas early in the 2009 campaign for Lehigh, but it has been smooth sailing ever since as the Mountain Hawks have won six of their last eight matches.
Navy, which swept Lehigh with two 3-1 wins last season, will look to slow down the Mountain Hawks.
In order to do that, Navy will have to play strong along the net to limit Lehigh’s Angelika Kopacz, who is fifth in the League with 3.06 kills per set. She, too, started slow, but in Lehigh’s last five matches, she’s average 14.8 kills per match and 3.70 per set.
Assisting her on offense is setter Brittany Dickinson is sixth in the League with 7.15 per set.
Lehigh is 16th in the nation in service aces per set with 1.97. Kopacz and Jessica Kudirka are Nos. 2 and 3 in the League with .46 and .44 averages, respectively.
Navy has been led by Carolyn Ewert, who is eighth in the League in hitting percentage at .236.
American (5-7) at Lafayette (7-3), 7 p.m.
The Leopards opened the season on fire, winning seven of their first eight games, but after back-to-back losses at the College of Charleston Tournament, Lafayette will open the League slate with a match against the defending champs.
American, which has won the last eight League titles, started the season 0-5, but has since gone 4-2. The second win of the season was head coach Barry Goldberg’s 500th career win.
Overall, the Eagles are 109-3 in the Patriot League under Goldberg and they’ll look to continue their dominance Friday.
Lafayette, however, has played strong, led by Alana Taylor, Kayly Elmer, Cara Mulholland and Ashton Rossi.
Taylor, Mulholland and Elmer have combined for 294 kills and Rossi has 324 assists (9.26 per set), which is third in the League.
Lafayette also is ninth in the nation in service aces with 2.03 per set.
American has been led by Claire Recht, Angelina Waterman and Krysta Cicala.
Recht leads the League in hitting percentage (.318) and blocks per set (0.88), while Waterman is first in kills per set (3.60) and Cicala is first in assists per set (9.75).
Holy Cross (1-12) at Colgate (3-7), 7 p.m.
In the only League opener taking place outside of Pennsylvania, Holy Cross travels to Colgate to face the Raiders, who have one of the League’s top freshmen in Kaleigh Durket.
Durket is fifth in hitting percentage (.247) and third in kills per set with 3.24. She’s also fifth in service aces per set (.42) and ninth in digs per set (2.66).
Setting Durket up to succeed is the school’s all-time leader in assists, senior Meghan Fanta. She has 3,487 assists, which ranks 10th on the League’s all-time list.
Fanta has 245 assists this season and ranks seventh in the League with 6.45 per set.
Junior Chelsey O’Donnell leads the Crusaders in assists with 359 and is fifth in the League with 7.98 per set.
