The field hockey team secured a decisive 2-0 victory over Colgate University last Saturday, solidifying its position as the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. The Leopards then faced Bucknell University in the semi-final on Thursday, scratching out a 2-1 victory and earning a spot in the final on Saturday.
“The team was excited for our last regular season game,” senior midfielder Mackenzie Hall said. “We wanted to make sure, that even though we knew we already clinched, to finish off the season strong and have a shutout.”
The Leopards (5-1 Patriot League, 13-6 overall) wasted no time making their mark, with Hall notching her first goal of the season with an opening-minute score, setting the tone for the Maroon and White’s strong performance.
“I was very excited, and we have been practicing starting off strong and setting the pace,” Hall said. “Scoring less than 30 seconds in I think really set the pace for the rest of the game,” Hall said.
As part of the team’s execution, sophomore midfielder Stella Malinowski tallied two assists, including a key penalty corner deflection that led to a goal from senior forward Alex Darrah midway through the third quarter.
The Leopards dominated the statistical battle, outshooting Colgate (1-5 Patriot League, 4-13 overall) 23-4 and holding a significant advantage in penalty corners at 17-4. Junior goalkeeper Raffi Fragomeni recorded one save, achieving the eighth shutout of her First Team All-Patriot League season.
“We’ve been really process-oriented, which has helped me personally just focusing on the game ahead of us and not looking too far ahead,” Hall said. “This has helped us perform our best and get the results we’ve wanted, which is making it to the postseason.”
The Leopards currently sit 29th in the NCAA Division I Field Hockey rankings, the highest ranking out of any Patriot League team, in addition to leading the Patriot League in 2024 All-Conference honorees with six Maroon and White recipients.
“It’s crazy to think that the season is almost over, but a lot of good to take from these past few months,” junior defender Makenzie Switzer said.
Switzer earned the first-team nod alongside Fragomeni and senior midfielder Lineke Spaans. Malinowski, senior defender India Ralph and junior midfielder Josephine van Wijk all earned second-team awards.
“I think it’s worth highlighting the fact that throughout our regular season PL games, our team has scored 17 goals and has only one goal against, coming from our double-overtime loss against American,” Switzer said.
“Having just closed out the regular season, we are looking forward to competing in the tournament at the end of the week,” Switzer said. “We all are hungry for the chance to get back in the championship game.”
“Every year the goal is to win a championship,” she continued. “In our program, we try not to overlook the process of getting to that game though, and understand there is still work to be done.”
The Leopards traveled to top-seeded American University (6-0 Patriot League, 12-7 overall) on Thursday for the Patriot League Tournament. They faced off against No. 3 Bucknell (4-2 Patriot League, 8-9 overall) in the semi-final on Thursday, emerging victorious in a close 2-1 game.
The Leopards got off to a fast start against Bucknell thanks to a goal from van Wijk in the eighth minute. Sophomore defender Lena Thedrian added another goal in the second quarter off an assist from Spaans and Ralph.
The Leopards looked like they were headed into the half with a 2-0 lead, but a flurry of pressure from the Bison in the final minute of the quarter led to two penalty corners and a goal with four seconds left to play.
The two sides played an extremely tight second half in which the Leopards registered only three shots on goal and Bucknell only one, which came in the 54th minute.
However, the Maroon and White were able to hold onto their lead and booked a ticket to the final on Saturday against American University, which beat Boston University 1-0 earlier in the day.
The game is set to start at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Jacobs Recreational Complex in Washington, D.C. Coverage will be available on ESPN+.
The print version of this article does not reflect the results of the semi-final game on Nov. 7.