By Sarah Frohnapfel ’13
The Lafayette Field Hockey team is nationally ranked for the first time in 10 years. In a poll released this past week by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association, Lafayette (5-1) came in at No. 18 after their upset victory against No. 15 Drexel last weekend.
“It’s always nice to be recognized, especially on a national level,” Maria Machalick ‘13 said. “But it’s early in the season and we know we still have a lot of work to do. But we’re really excited about the way we’ve started.”
Brittany Blass ’15, 2011 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, scored both goals for Lafayette against Drexel in their 2-1 victory. Assists came by senior co-captains Emily Valeo ‘13 and Deanna DiCroce ‘13.
Goalkeeper Jess Deutsch ‘15 played 70 minutes in the cage and recorded four saves. Defensively, Lafayette had arguably its best performance of the season thus far, allowing just eight shots.
“Everyone really stepped it up against Drexel,” defender Dana Thomas ‘14 said. “The defense played especially well at minimizing their scoring opportunities and shutting them down offensively.”
The win was Lafayette’s first over a top-25 team since 2009, when they defeated then No. 21 Penn State 1-0.
A mere 48 hours later and still riding the high from their win, their game against Quinnipiac (4-3) did not start as expected. Quinnipiac led 2-0 after just 10 minutes. But demonstrating their championship spirit, Lafayette scored four unanswered goals to cap off a successful weekend. DiCroce, Valeo, Kelsey Mead ‘15, and Hanna Sotiropolous ‘14 had a goal apiece. Deutsch had two saves and the defense let in just four shots.
For their weekend efforts, DiCroce and Blass received Patriot League Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week awards, respectively. DiCroce’s goal against Quinnipiac moved her to third in school history with 109 career points. Blass received her second defensive weekly award of the season.
Lafayette travels to No. 21 Albany tomorrow, giving them an opportunity to both solidify their standing and prove themselves yet again as national contenders.