Oct. 22, 2010
Center Valley, Pa. - With Patriot League championships rapidly approaching for all fall sports, nearly every weekend game will be significant as the League Tournament fields begin to shape up in field hockey, men and women's soccer and volleyball.
The Patriot League Field Hockey Tournament may have all four of its participants by the end of Saturday's action. Colgate is trying to earn the fourth and final berth with a win at home against Holy Cross. The Raiders would join American, Bucknell and Lafayette in the field, with the seeds and host site determined by next week's contests. The Eagles host Bucknell while the Leopards visit Lehigh in Saturday's other action.
No one has clinched a League Tournament berth in men's soccer, but that could change on Saturday. Colgate and American will each earn a spot in the field with a win, as the Raiders head to Bucknell and the Eagles visit Lehigh in 7 p.m. matches. Navy goes to Holy Cross and Army goes to Lafayette in the day's other contests.
With two games for each team this weekend, the jumbled women's soccer standings could become much clearer by Sunday evening. On Friday, Lafayette heads to American, Lehigh is at Navy, Army goes to Bucknell and Holy Cross travels to Colgate. Sunday's afternoon action features Army at Colgate, Holy Cross at Bucknell, Lafayette at Navy and Lehigh at American, all with 1 p.m. start times. Lehigh and Bucknell top the standings with nine points, but are closely followed by Army with eight and Navy and Colgate with six apiece.
The second half of the Patriot League volleyball schedule begins this weekend, with Colgate and Bucknell visiting American and Navy while Holy Cross and Army make the trip to Pennsylvania to play both Lehigh and Lafayette. American leads the standings at 7-0, with Army at 6-1 and Bucknell coming in at 5-2.
For more on the weekend, read the preview of each Patriot League sport below. Any live stat, audio and video links for the games are included in the composite schedule for each sport.
Field Hockey
Composite Schedule
Weekly Release
Updated Statistics
Colgate can join No. 7 American, Bucknell and Lafayette to complete the 2010 Patriot League Field Hockey Tournament participants if it can knock off Holy Cross at home on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles host the Bison and the Leopards are at Lehigh in the remaining contests, which all begin at either 11 a.m. or 12 p.m.
The Raiders missed the event last year, but are trying to make the Tournament for the third time in the past four years and eighth overall. The 2010 Patriot League Field Hockey Championship will be held at the site of the top seed on Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6, with the semifinals on Friday and championship on Saturday. The winner of the Patriot League Championship advances to host an NCAA Play-In game against the Mid-American Conference champion on Nov. 9.
The Bucknell at American contest could go a long way towards determining seeds in the Tournament. If the Eagles win, they will play Lafayette for the top seed in the field next week regardless of the Leopards result against Lehigh. Bucknell would need a win and a Lafayette loss to stay in the hunt for the top overall seed in the Tournament. The Bison will earn no better than the No. 3 seed with a loss.
Women's Soccer
Composite Schedule
Weekly Release
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The dominoes could begin falling this weekend as each of the eight schools plays two League games. With the Patriot League Tournament just two weeks away, the field could begin taking shape as soon as the conclusion of Friday's contests.
Lafayette (6-7-2, 0-2-2 Patriot League) visits American (5-10-1, 1-2-1) in the weekend's first contest Friday at 3:30 p.m. in Washington, D.C. The Leopards are coming off a scoreless draw against Army last Saturday night which helped drop the Black Knights out of first place. American sits in sixth place in the League and Lafayette follows close behind in seventh, with both desperately needing a victory to keep their tournament hopes alive.
The remaining three of Friday's contests all kick off at 7 p.m. Army (11-3-2, 2-0-2) hits the road this weekend for two beginning at Bucknell (5-11-0, 3-1-0). The Bison are currently tied for first place with Lehigh, while the Black Knights are in third trailing by a single point. Army's Alex Lostetter has eight shutouts on the season and is one shy of pulling into a four-way tie for second with 29 for her career.
Holy Cross (3-9-2, 0-3-1) continues its League slate on the road at Colgate (5-10-0, 2-2-0) Friday at 7 p.m. The Crusaders need a victory to stay alive for a berth in the Patriot League Tournament, while the Raiders are a team on the rise. Since dropping its first two League matches, Colgate captured back-to-back 2-1 wins over Lafayette and American. Alyssa Manoogian and Jillian Kinter have taken the offensive lead for the Raiders of late.
Navy (9-7-1, 2-2-0) hosts Lehigh (8-3-2, 3-1-0) Friday night in Annapolis. The Mids are 4-2-0 at home this season but lost to visiting Bucknell last weekend. Lehigh has been on a roll since dropping a 1-0 overtime decision to Army in its first League game. The Mountain Hawks have won three straight in League play and four of five overall. This match features the two highest scoring offenses in the Patriot League, with Lehigh averaging 2.31 goals per game and Navy 1.91 per contest.
Check out the Patriot League's Gameday Blog here Saturday for the latest on the clinching scenarios for the League tournament for women's soccer following Friday night's contests and before Sunday's four contests.
The weekend will continue when Army visits Colgate, Bucknell entertains Holy Cross, Lafayette heads to Navy and American welcomes Lehigh. All of those Sunday matches will kick off at 1 p.m.
Men's Soccer
Composite Schedule
Weekly Release
Updated Statistics
Four contests are scheduled in men's soccer, and American and Colgate are the two clubs that can secure postseason bids with victories this weekend.
The first of the weekend's contests features Navy (6-3-3, 1-2-2 Patriot League) taking a road trip to Worcester to visit Holy Cross (3-8-3, 0-3-1) at 3 p.m. The Crusaders are coming off a scoreless tie against New Hampshire earlier this week. Both teams are looking for victories, as the Crusaders are 0-4-2 in their last six matches while Navy is 0-2-3 in its last five.
American (6-6-1, 3-0-1) visits Lehigh (6-5-2, 2-1-1) in the first of three matches taking place Saturday at 7 p.m. The Eagles can clinch a spot in the Patriot League Tournament for the third straight year and seventh overall with a win in Bethlehem. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 2-0 win over Holy Cross last Saturday. Neal Melchionni scored both goals in the win, earning him the BRINE Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week award and a spot on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week.
Colgate (7-4-3, 4-0-0) takes on defending champion Bucknell (6-6-1, 2-1-1) in Lewisburg Saturday night also needing a win to clinch at berth in the League tournament. The Raiders have played .500 soccer over their last eight contests, going 4-4-0 during that stretch, including a 2-0 loss at third-ranked Maryland Tuesday night. The Bison posted an exciting 1-0 victory Tuesday over Adelphi, with the game-winning goal coming in the last minute of regulation.
Army (1-11-0, 0-4-0) visits Lafayette (6-6-2, 1-3-0) Saturday night at 7 p.m., and the Leopards are looking to get back on the winning track to jump into the fray for the playoffs. They snapped a four-match losing streak Tuesday with a 1-0 win over Cornell. With three League losses, Lafayette needs a win over the Black Knights to stay in the discussion for the postseason. Army dropped a 2-1 overtime decision at Hartford Wednesday, and the Black Knights are seeking their second win of the year.
Volleyball
Composite Schedule
Weekly Release
Updated Statistics
The League schedule continues in volleyball with eight games this weekend. All of Friday's contests will start at 7 p.m., with first-place American (20-2, 7-0 Patriot League) hosting Colgate (11-10, 4-3) in one of the night's marquee matchups. The Eagles are on pace for their best season since 2001, and are looking to put themselves in excellent position to clinch a spot in the League tournament. The Raiders are fourth in the standings and finished 11-3 in League play last season.
Bucknell (7-12, 5-2) has played its best volleyball during the League season and is in third place at the turn. The Bison play at Navy (7-16, 1-6) Friday night looking to solidify their positioning for the postseason. Heidi Kamp has posted the second-best hitting percentage in League play (.347) behind American's Magdalena Tekiel (.353).
Holy Cross (10-16, 2-5) begins the second half of its League slate in the Lehigh Valley, taking on Lehigh (9-10, 3-4) Friday night at 7 p.m. The Mountain Hawks posted a 3-1 win in Worcester last month and the Crusaders look to avenge that loss to pull even in the standings. Holy Cross is sixth while Lehigh sits in fifth.
Army (13-10, 6-1) hits the road taking on Lafayette (4-17, 0-7) Friday night at 7 p.m. The Black Knights' only loss in League play came to American, and they're looking to keep pace with the Eagles until the two teams take the floor against one another on Nov. XX. For the Leopards, they need wins quickly and immediately to stay mathematically eligible for the League tournament.
The weekend continues Saturday with Holy Cross at Lafayette at 2 p.m., Bucknell visiting American at 3 p.m., Navy hosting Colgate a 4 p.m. and Army at Lehigh at 4 p.m.