Photo by Ben Hill for The Lafayette

The men’s soccer team celebrating after winning the Patriot League championship over Lehigh University.

Another year for Lafayette College athletics brought on a new wave of highs and lows. The men’s soccer team brought home the Patriot League trophy, some teams managed to exceed expectations and others were suppressed by the trials and tribulations of long and arduous seasons. Here is the state of the union for all Lafayette sports teams.

Baseball

The baseball team finished last in the Patriot League with a 7-19 record in conference play. While juniors catcher Brandon Doubek and infielder Matt Colella produced strong seasons at the plate to lead the Leopards’ lineup, the team’s pitching staff struggled with a league-bottom 7.96 ERA.

Despite the tumultuous campaign, the team picked up its first win against a Power Four opponent since 2017 with its March victory over No. 13 North Carolina State University. The team will also return some firepower to the lineup in two infielders, rising junior Alex Barrist and rising sophomore Will Dobil, who broke out during the back half of the season.

Men’s basketball

The men’s basketball team finished its conference schedule 8-10 under third-year head coach Mike McGarvey. In a first-round rematch from last year, the Leopards failed to maintain a halftime lead against league bottom Holy Cross, marking their second home playoff loss in three years.

The team will lose a quartet of guards this offseason in senior Ryan Pettit, juniors Mark Butler and Andrew Phillips and leading scorer sophomore Caleb Williams, with the latter three hitting the transfer portal. Sophomore forward Christian Humphrey-Rembert will also depart the Leopards’ lineup, but rising sophomore forward Shareef Jackson showed plenty of promise as one of the team’s reliable big men, and the team has plenty of young guards and wings waiting for their shot. McGarvey will have to capitalize on the incoming recruiting class if the Leopards want to make a deep run in next year’s tournament.

Women’s basketball

The women’s basketball team compiled a 7-11 record in Patriot League play, ultimately dropping a close conference quarterfinals matchup against Army. While the Leopards’ backcourt depth led the way throughout the season, the team proved relatively thin inside the paint, finishing dead last in rebounding differential.

The team will be under new leadership come fall, as first-year head coach Ben O’Brien will look to capitalize on rising senior guard Teresa Kiewet’s last dance and continue to develop rising junior and rising sophomore guards Talia Zurinskas and Haylie Adamski.

Cross country

The women’s cross country team finished sixth out of 10 teams at Patriot League championships, while the men finished ninth out of 10. Both the men and women will graduate key runners in seniors Justin Brown and Liz Borah, respectively, but both squads will return significant undergraduate depth come fall.

Fencing

Despite a two-month-long in-season head coaching vacancy following the resignation of Dayn DeRose in December, the fencing team sent seven athletes to NCAA Regionals, up two from the previous year.

With only two seniors graduating — both on the men’s team — the program will look to improve further in its first full year under new head coach Christopher Spencer.

Football

The football team returned to form after a down year in 2024, winning its first six Patriot League games before falling to Football Championship Subdivision’s No. 4 Lehigh University in the 161st Rivalry Game, finishing second in the conference. Offensively, the team was propelled by a 1,454-yard and 20-touchdown season from junior running back Kente Edwards, who has since left for the transfer portal, while the team also improved significantly at getting to the quarterback and forcing turnovers on the defensive side.

Rising senior Daniel Lipovski and rising junior Jason Penza will battle for the starting quarterback position after the team lost three-year starter Dean DeNobile to the transfer portal, not to mention several other starters who will suit up for different teams in 2026. Head coach John Troxell is no stranger to getting the most out of his recruiting classes and depth pieces, and he will have to do it again to make a push in a conference that will be expanding to 10 teams in the fall.

Field hockey

After winning the Patriot League championship in 2024, the field hockey team returned to the title game but failed to defend its crown, falling 3-2 to Boston University. The team went 5-1 in Patriot League play and pulled off an upset victory over No. 18 Penn State University on Sept. 21.

The Leopards will be without seniors goalkeeper Raffi Fragomeni and midfielder Josephine van Wijk, but will be led by a plethora of rising seniors in forward Lea Good, midfielder Stella Malinowski and defenders Lena Thedrian and Katie Gibb.

Golf

The golf team matched its best finish in the Patriot League Championships since 2022, finishing runner-up to the Naval Academy. Sophomore Travis Robertson nearly took home the individual title, but fell in a two-way playoff after a three-hole battle. Additionally, the team posted four top-five finishes in its last five meets of the spring, including a first-place finish at its annual home meet.

The team will enter the fall season with plenty of depth to construct a consistent five-man squad, only graduating seniors Harry Dessel and Valdemar Kofod-Olsen.

Men’s lacrosse

Following a 4-2 record in nonconference play and an upset victory over No. 9 Army — its first over the Black Knights in program history — the men’s lacrosse team ended its season on a seven-game Patriot League skid to finish dead last in the conference. The Leopards shone defensively, allowing the second fewest goals in the Patriot League, but also scored the second fewest goals on the offensive side.

Sophomore attacker Ben DiBattista pieced together a breakout campaign for the team, scoring 37 goals on the season. The team will be without four-year starter senior goalie Joe Doherty in 2027, but as long as the Maroon and White’s undergraduates find ways to score at a higher clip, the defense will have a bulk of the pressure taken off.

Women’s lacrosse

Despite starting its season 4-1, the women’s lacrosse team suffered a nine-game losing streak that saw it square off against three top-25 opponents. The Leopards broke the drought in the final game of the regular season, an 11-8 victory over Lehigh to nab their sole Patriot League win.

Freshman attacker Georgia Swarr led the team in scoring with 30 goals, and sophomore midfielder Isabelle Pohmer managed a 20-goal breakout season of her own. The Maroon and White will also look to tighten up their defense in 2027, as they allowed a league-second-highest 14.5 goals per game.

Men’s soccer

After entering the Patriot League tournament as the sixth seed, the men’s soccer team knocked off each of the conference’s top-three seeds, including Lehigh in the title game, to win its first Patriot League championship since 2012.

In his 25th season, head coach Dennis Bohn oversaw senior goalkeeper Eric Axtman’s best campaign with a .763 save percentage, as well as a six-goal breakout year for junior midfielder Samir Dishnica. Senior defender Nicholas Liebich will be the Leopards’ only other departure from the starting lineup, as they return almost all of their depth in their pursuit to repeat as Patriot League champions.

Women’s soccer

The women’s soccer team went 3-3-3 during its Patriot League schedule in the fall to finish as the fifth seed in the conference tournament. The Leopards bested Holy Cross in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals, but fell 4-0 to top-seeded Boston University in the semifinals.

While the Leopards will lose senior forward Katrina Santelli, rising senior midfielder Nadia Zaffanella will return fresh off a nine-goal campaign, and rising senior goalkeeper Catherine Apker will continue to lock down the net on the other side of the field.

Softball

In her first full season as permanent head coach, Kelliner Croushore guided the softball team to its first Patriot League tournament berth since 2012. After a 1-5 start in conference play, the Leopards went .500 throughout the remainder of their Patriot League schedule to finish as the tournament’s fourth seed.

Despite posting a 6.85 ERA on the season, both infielders senior Kylee Sweet and sophomore Caroline Hall batted over .300 on the year, and five other batters hit over .200. The team will graduate six seniors, but Maroon and White softball seems to be trending upwards.

Swimming and diving

Despite the swimming and diving team breaking 11 school records at Patriot League Championships, the men’s team placed 8th out of 10 teams, while the women’s team finished 10th overall. Two divers, juniors Landon Orth and Mia Guster, also qualified for NCAA regionals.

Tennis

Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams underwent tumultuous spring seasons that saw them both leaderless following the resignation of Ralph Van Ormer in the fall. The women fell 4-3 to Holy Cross in the first round of the Patriot League tournament, while the men fell 4-0 in the quarterfinals to Lehigh.

The teams will look to get back on track under first-year head coach Robert LeBuhn. While the women’s team will graduate four seniors and lose freshman Sophia Pacheco to the transfer portal, rising senior Hanna Ganchi will remain with the squad, and the men’s team will be highlighted by rising sophomore All-Patriot League second team selection Ricky Espaillat.

Track and field

The track and field team continued to put together promising indoor and outdoor seasons, highlighted by the men’s team’s first victory in its annual dual meet against Lehigh since the 2019 spring season.

Multiple individuals also broke school records. Sophomore Kendall Collier shattered a 38-year-old Lafayette record in the 10,000-meter on April 11, running a 35:12.08 that currently sits at fourth in the Patriot League, while also setting the school’s new 5,000-meter record at Penn Relays. Sophomore Jack Larson surpassed the pole vault record at the Navy Spring Invite, jumping 16’ 9.5” for third in the conference, and senior Bobby McClosky sits at second in the conference javelin standings with a throw of 217’ 2” at Penn Relays. The team will look to collect several podium finishes at next week’s Patriot League Championship.

Volleyball

The volleyball team continued to struggle under first-year head coach CJ Werneke, finishing 2-14 in Patriot League play with home victories against Lehigh and Loyola Maryland University.

The team will lose multiple key seniors in outside hitter Carol Ulichney, libero Emily Gouldrup and middle blocker Abby Nicholson, but will retain its top two kill leaders in rising junior Auma Mbeche-Odhiambo and rising sophomore Jada Aksu.