Patriot League Women's Lacrosse Release
from press release
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - The race for the Patriot League
regular season championship and the top overall seed in the League
tournament is heating up after American toppled Lehigh on Saturday.
The Mountain Hawks went from tied for first to fourth in the League
standings, while Navy's win over Holy Cross tied them with Colgate
for the top spot. The Mids and Raiders have a showdown scheduled
for Saturday in Hamilton in what may have serious consequences for
postseason seeding.
Offensive Player of the Week
Courtney Miller, Colgate So., M, Chappaqua, N.Y.
Miller averaged 3.5 goals, 1.5 assists, 3.5 ground balls and 3.5
draw controls during a 1-1 week for the Raiders. Her best game was
a five-goal, six-point effort in Colgate's 14-11 win over Marist.
She is tied for the team lead with 21 goals and second in points
with 28.
Defensive Player of the Week
Kierstin King, Navy So., D, Upperco, Md.
King's four caused turnovers tied a career high and shared the team
best as Navy set a school record with 17 in its 10-4 victory
Saturday over Holy Cross. She helped lead a defense that held the
Crusaders scoreless during the last 42:02 of the game. The four
goals allowed also tied a Navy record for fewest goals given up to
a Patriot League opponent.
Goalkeeper of the Week
Christina Roa, Colgate So., GK, Potomac, Md.
Roa made 27 saves on 50 shots on goal during Colgate's 1-1 week.
They were her sixth and seventh double-digit save efforts of the
season, and has four straight games where she's made 10 or more
stops. She averaged 13.5 saves per contest while putting up a .540
save percentage and an 11.50 goals against average. She has played
all but 2:26 of Colgate's minutes this season.
Rookie of the Week
Chiara Speziale, American Fr., M, West Islip, N.Y.
Speziale tallied five goals on the week, including a career-best
three in American's 17-16 thriller over Lehigh. Two of her goals
against the Mountain Hawks were in the second half, including one
to pull the Eagles within 11-10 and the other to give them a 12-11
lead. She's scored in eight of 10 games this season and is third on
the team with 14 goals.
Honorable Mention Performances Last Week
Allison Thomas, Lehigh Jr., A/M, Strafford, Pa.
Thomas scored six times in two games during the week, including
four tallies in Lehigh's 17-16 loss to American. She also picked up
five groundballs and six draw controls.
Addie Godfrey, Lafayette Fr., A, Princeton, N.J.
Godfrey scored once against nationally-ranked Penn State and added
three more in Lafayette's first League win of the season over
Bucknell.
Emily Stankiewicz, American So., M, Longmeadow, Mass.
Stankiewicz scored a career-high four goals against Lehigh,
including three in the second half, with two tying the game and
another goal giving the Eagles a one-goal lead.
Patriot League Notebook
How Things Can Change Over a Weekend
Lehigh entered the weekend riding an eight-game winning streak,
tied atop the Patriot League standings at 2-0, needing a win at
American to secure its best start in school history and be the
first team to accumulate three League wins in 2010. The Eagles had
other plans. In a back-and-forth affair that saw the Mountain Hawks
erase an early 4-0 deficit and where neither team led by more than
two goals thereafter, American captured a thrilling 17-16 win at
home to snap Lehigh's winning streak and end their bid at the
school record. More importantly for this season, the Eagles
improved to 2-1 in League action and now hold the crucial
head-to-head tiebreaker over Lehigh, which is now also 2-1 in
League play.
Meanwhile, Colgate and Navy Prepare For Showdown
If you thought the Lehigh/American game was exciting and has
potential ramifications for Patriot League Tournament seeding, look
no further than the upcoming contest this Saturday between Colgate
and Navy. Both teams are tied atop the Patriot League at 2-0 and
are the only remaining undefeated squads in League play. The Mids
are 0-3 in their meetings since joining the Patriot League in 2008.
The Raiders won both games last season, 10-4 during the regular
season in Annapolis and 17-4 in the Patriot League Championship in
Hamilton. Colgate also won, 19-10, in Hamilton during the 2008
campaign.
Rawlick Maintains Lead While Goalkeepers Make Stops
After another week of competition, Navy's Erin Rawlick continues to
sit atop the national scoring race. She has a nation-leading 79
points, 25 more than second place, and maintains her hold on the
top spot in goals with 54, where she leads teammate Danielle
Vivonetto by 11. Rawlick is also tied for second in the country
with 25 assists. The Patriot League has three goalkeepers in the
top 11 in the nation in saves per game. Colgate's Christina Roa is
tied for sixth, Alyssa DeLorenz of Bucknell is eighth and Holy
Cross' Amy Martin is 11th. All three are averaging 11 saves per
contest, but are separated by the number of minutes played.
Rawlick, Dykstra Named to 2010 Tewaaraton Watch List
Navy senior Erin Rawlick and Lehigh junior Lauren Dykstra are on
the 2010 Tewaaraton Watch List for women's lacrosse, it was
announced March 5. The award was formally instituted in August 2000
and is given annually to the NCAA men and women's lacrosse players
of the year.
Patriot Leaguers Remain on National Active Lists
Erin Rawlick, Lauren Dykstra, Inneka Carmola and Carol Donohue have
appeared on national lists accounting for a variety of streaks and
active scoring leaders. This week welcomes a new Patriot Leaguer to
the fold as Holy Cross sophomore Kat Sutton shows up on two lists.
She currently has streaks for consecutive games with a goal and a
point, both at 22, which are 11th and 23rd nationwide,
respectively. Rawlick has a goal and a point in 48 straight, which
puts her third and fifth, respectively. Her 176 goals are third
among active players, while her 86 assists are tied for fifth and
she's second in the nation with 262 points. Dykstra is eighth in
the country with points in 43 straight, while her 160 goals are
sixth among active players. Carmola is 14th in the nation on the
active list with 131 goals and is tied for 13th with Dykstra with
186 points. Bucknell's Donohue remains sidelined with an injury,
but she is still tied for 11th in the nation among active players
with 68 career assists and 25th with 163 points.
Dykstra Recognized by Matt DaSilva of Lacrosse Magazine
Lauren Dykstra of Lehigh, who was voted the Patriot League's
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year by League coaches and sports
information directors, was also recognized by Lacrosse Magazine
writer Matt DaSilva before the season's opening draw. DaSilva
created his own preseason team of All-Americans (which he called
the All-DaSilva Team). Dykstra occupied one of the attack
positions, alongside Northwestern's Katrina Dowd and Kelly Haggerty
of Ohio State.
Team Notebooks
American Emily Stankiewicz scored four times, Chiara
Speziale added three off the bench and Bernadette Maher netted the
eventual game-winner as American defeated Lehigh, 17-16, on
Saturday in Washington, D.C. It capped off a 1-1 week for the
Eagles, as they lost 13-9 Wednesday to George Mason. American caps
off its three-game home stand by hosting Lafayette on Saturday.
Bucknell Paige Cobbs and Alison Heffernan each scored twice, but it
was not enough as the Bison fell, 15-10, at Lafayette on Saturday.
Now 0-3 in League play and 1-10 overall, Bucknell hosts Le Moyne on
Wednesday before starting a two-game road trip with Saturday's
League tilt at Holy Cross.
Colgate Courtney Miller scored twice in the Raiders' 12-7 loss to
Albany, then netted five tallies and an assist as Colgate rebounded
with a 14-11 win over Marist. Meghan Lawler added seven points
against the Red Foxes, moving her to seventh all-time in Colgate
annals. Lawler is six points shy of sixth, while she sits three
goals from the Raiders' top 10 and three assists from second
all-time in Colgate history. The Raiders visit Binghamton on
Tuesday before hosting Navy on Saturday in what amounts to the
biggest League contest of the season to this point.
Holy Cross The Crusaders went 0-2 on the week with an 11-10 loss to
Connecticut and a 10-4 defeat at Navy. It's the second straight
year Holy Cross has lost by a single goal to the Huskies. Against
the Mids, Kat Sutton scored one goal on five shots to extend her
goal-scoring streak to 22 games. Now 2-8 overall and 0-2 in League
play, Holy Cross will host Bucknell on Saturday.
Lafayette The Leopards picked up their first win of the season in a
15-10 defeat of Bucknell Saturday in the first lacrosse game ever
played at Fisher Stadium. Four players each scored three times for
Lafayette and Emily Bjork made seven saves to capture the win.
Earlier in the week, the Leopards were defeated 19-5 by No. 16/14
Penn State. Lafayette hosts Manhattan (who lost to Navy earlier
this season) on Wednesday before visiting American on Saturday for
another League contest.
Lehigh The Mountain Hawks' bid for the best start in program
history fell short when they lost, 17-16, at American on Saturday.
Allison Thomas scored four times, while Lauren Dykstra and Lauren
Murray each added three goals. It was a back-and-forth game that
saw American jump out to a 4-0 lead before Lehigh rattled off four
consecutive goals to tie it. Neither team led by more than two
goals the rest of the way. Lehigh's next three contests are all
non-League tilts. The Mountain Hawks host Marist on Tuesday
afternoon and visit Canisius on Saturday.
Navy The Mids improved to 2-0 in the Patriot League and 11-2
overall with their 10-4 win over Holy Cross on Saturday in
Annapolis. Erin Rawlick and Danielle Vivonetto each scored three
times for Navy. Earlier in the week, the Mids defeated
Presbyterian, 21-4, to ensure their third consecutive double-digit
win season since moving to Division I in 2008. Rawlick and
Vivonetto have accounted for 97 of Navy's 204 goals (47.5%). Navy's
remaining four games are all against League teams, and its next
three are versus squads that are currently in the top League's
four. The Mids visit Colgate on Saturday in a critical contest
between the last remaining teams who are undefeated in League play.
