Oct. 29, 2010
Center Valley, Pa. - Championships are just around the corner for the Patriot League's fall team sports. The six field hockey teams and eight women's soccer squads will wrap up their regular season slates this weekend. Men's soccer has two weeks left in its regular season and postseason berths could be secured Saturday. In volleyball, two teams can punch their tickets to the Patriot League Tournament.
Below is a brief preview of what's on tap this weekend. The composite schedules include any live stat, audio or video links for the contests.
Women's Soccer
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Three of the four tournament berths have been secured, but home field and the final remaining postseason spot are on the line during the last weekend of the regular season in women's soccer. In the first of two critical contests Friday night, Army (12-3-3, 3-0-3 Patriot League) visits Holy Cross (3-11-2, 0-5-1) at 7 p.m. in Worcester. The Black Knights would clinch the top seed and hosting duties for the tournament with a victory, while the Crusaders are hoping to avoid their first winless League campaign since 2003. Army is tied atop the League standings with Bucknell at 12 points, but the Black Knights have the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Bison thanks to their 2-1 win in Lewisburg last week. An Army loss would open the door for Bucknell, Lehigh or Colgate to claim the No. 1 seed.
The second match Friday night also begins at 7 p.m. when Navy (9-7-3, 2-2-2) hosts American (5-10-3, 1-2-3). Emotions will run high for the Mids, as the team will honor its seniors before the game. They'll try to avoid a letdown afterwards because they need a victory over the Eagles to remain alive for a berth in the Patriot League Tournament. Even if the Mids win, they will have to await the result of one of Saturday's contests to find out if they're going to the postseason.
The match they'll be most concerned about is Colgate (6-10-1, 3-2-1) visiting Bucknell (6-12-0, 4-2-0) Saturday at 4 p.m. Both teams will be watching what happens in Friday night's two contests. Bucknell could be playing for a shot at the No. 1 seed, while the Raiders will know if they're in the playoffs already. In addition, Colgate has an outside shot at the No. 1 seed with a win against Bucknell, but would need both Army and Lehigh to lose.
Speaking of Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks (8-4-4, 3-1-2) visit Lafayette (6-7-4, 0-2-4) Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the annual meeting between the two rivals. The Leopards are out of the postseason running but showed improvement during the course of the season. They are hoping to play the role of spoiler for Lehigh, which will enter the game knowing if they have a chance at earning home field advantage for the Patriot League Tournament. The Mountain Hawks are currently in third place with 11 points, just one behind Bucknell and Army.
Field Hockey
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The teams are all set for the 2010 Patriot League Field Hockey Tournament, but the seeds will be at stake a pair of Saturday's regular-season finales.
Both holding a perfect 4-0 record in League action, No. 8 American and Lafayette will face off in Washington for the top overall seed and right to host the League Tournament.
The Eagles have served as the top seed while winning the League Championship for the past seven years, and have hosted the event for the last five seasons. They have won 13 of their past 14 games, and have outscored opponents 23-1 in Patriot League games.
Lafayette's Patriot League season has been just as dominant. The Leopards have outscored their four opponents by a 22-2 tally, defeating Holy Cross and Lehigh by a combined 13-0 in the past two games. The Leopards have won six of their last nine games, and posted a strong performance against a top 20 team last week when they took a 2-0 lead over No. 16 Drexel before falling 3-2 on three late goals.
Colgate and Bucknell also have a spot in the League Tournament, and will compete for the third seed in the field when they meet in Lewisburg on Saturday. Both teams are 2-2 in League action, with Colgate earning its spot with a 1-0 win over Holy Cross on Saturday. The Bison have earned the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in each of the past two seasons.
Holy Cross and Lehigh will finish out their 2010 season in Bethlehem, each looking to close the season with their first Patriot League win.
The 2010 Patriot League Field Hockey Tournament will be held on Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6 at the site of the top seed. The winner advances to host an NCAA Play-In game on Nov. 9.
Men's Soccer
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Four League contests are on the weekend schedule, with three taking place Saturday and the fourth on Sunday. Holy Cross (3-10-3, 0-4-1 Patriot League) travels south to the nation's capital to visit American 6-7-2, 3-1-1). The Eagles dropped their first League match of the year last weekend to Lehigh, and now the two clubs are tied for second in the standings with the Mountain Hawks owning the tiebreaker. A win would put American into the Patriot League Tournament for the third consecutive year and seventh overall since joining the League in 2001. Kick off is set for Saturday at 1 p.m.
As that match is concluding, Lafayette (6-6-3, 1-3-1) and Bucknell (7-6-2, 2-1-2) will take to the pitch opposite one another in Easton at 3 p.m. As is the case with most League contests this late in the season, this matchup is absolutely critical. Lafayette needs a victory against Bucknell and another next weekend at Navy to qualify for the postseason. Anything short of three points in either of those matches would snap the Leopards' streak of eight consecutive League tournament appearances. On the other side, the Bison have gone 5-1-2 in their last eight matches since starting the season 2-5-0, and are scrapping for a playoff spot. A victory would not necessarily clinch them a tournament bid, but it would go a long way in helping the defending champions return to the postseason.
Saturday's third match pits first-place Colgate (7-4-4, 4-0-1) against Navy (7-4-3, 2-1-2) in Annapolis for an 8 p.m. start. Despite drawing with Bucknell last week, the Raiders became the first team to secure a berth in the Patriot League Tournament and can clinch the top seed and home field with another victory over the Mids. That won't be easy. The Mids are tied with Bucknell at eight points and are seeking their first tournament spot since 2001. Navy will know by kickoff if it needs a win to keep pace with Bucknell. The problem is if the Bison have lost, it means Lafayette will have moved to seven points, just one behind Navy.
Sunday features one contest with Lehigh (7-6-2, 3-1-1) visiting Army (2-11-1, 0-4-1) for a 1 p.m. start at West Point. The Mountain Hawks are on the verge of their second straight League tournament berth and 13th overall. With the weekend's games spaced out, they'll know what everybody else has done. On the other side, things could be coming together for a young Army club. Their victory over Sacred Heart during the week gives the Black Knights their first two-match undefeated streak since 2007.
Volleyball
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Volleyball still has three weeks remaining in its regular season, but American and defending champion Army, which are 1-2 in the standings, are inches away from securing return trips to the Patriot League Tournament in 2010.
The Eagles (22-2, 9-0 Patriot League) have the first crack at the postseason when they visit local rival Navy (7-18, 1-8) for a 7 p.m. start in Annapolis. American has won 16 straight matches, which is five shy of the League record of 21 the Eagles set during the 2001 season. In order to reach that plateau, American will need to sweep the rest of the League schedule, ensuring it a perfect 14-0 mark. Should that happen, it would be the fifth time in League history that feat has been accomplished, with the last coming in 2006. All five times have been done by the Eagles. Before all of that can happen, American needs a victory over Navy to clinch a spot in the postseason.
Lafayette (4-19, 0-9) and Lehigh (10-11, 4-5) battle for the second time this season Friday night at 7 p.m. in Bethlehem. The Mountain Hawks made the Patriot League Tournament last season to snap a five-year drought and they're looking to qualify in back-to-back years for the first time since 2002-03. Lehigh will also look to avoid picking up a sixth League loss. Meanwhile Lafayette is looking for its first League victory of the season and first win since a 3-1 defeat of La Salle Sept. 17. Should American falter at Navy, a Lehigh loss would also put the Eagles into the League bracket.
Bucknell (8-13, 6-3) travels to Hamilton to visit Colgate (12-11, 5-4) Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Bison won the previous contest between the two teams in five sets, and the Raiders are looking to return the favor on their home floor. Not only would it split the series between the two for the season, but it would lift Colgate into a tie with the Bison at 6-4 in League play.
After a non-League tilt at Sacred Heart Friday night at 7 p.m., Army (15-10, 8-1) completes its weekend road trip Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. at Holy Cross (11-17, 3-6). Should the Black Knights win, they would clinch their 12th straight League tournament bid and ensure them an opportunity to successfully defend last year's crown. Meanwhile the Crusaders are enjoying their best season since 2001, and a victory would lift them back into the picture for a tournament berth. Holy Cross has not qualified for the postseason since the League dropped the full-field format for the League tournament in 1995.