March 31, 2011
The weather in the Northeast isn't too appealing for any outdoor sports this weekend, but the Patriot League baseball, softball, men's lacrosse and women's lacrosse teams will all attempt to brave the elements for League games. The biggest of all the matchups comes in men's lacrosse with No. 9/9 Army traveling to Colgate.
Men's Lacrosse
Weekly Release (3.29.11)
Composite Schedule
Cumulative Statistics
Five games are on the weekend docket, and two will have significant implications within the Patriot League standings. No. 9/9 Army (7-2, 2-0 Patriot League) plays its first League contest on the road at Colgate (6-3, 2-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday, while No. 17/18 Bucknell (8-2, 2-0) plays host to Holy Cross (0-8, 0-3) at 3 p.m. With a win, Bucknell can clinch the first of four spots in the Patriot League Tournament, set to begin April 29 at the site of the highest seed.
Winners of six straight and nine in a row against League teams dating back to 2009, the Black Knights enter Saturday's matchup having posted wins over Lehigh and Lafayette at home. Army was tested in both games, but emerged with a 12-9 win over the Mountain Hawks and eked out a 7-6 victory over the Leopards last Saturday thanks to six fourth-quarter saves from senior keeper Tom Palesky. Senior attack Jeremy Boltus eclipsed the 100-assist mark in the Lehigh victory, and now sits sixth all-time in League annals with 106 dishes. While Army's win streak can be chalked up to a combination of offensive prowess and timely goalkeeping, Colgate's run of six wins in its last seven games can be attributed to a suffocating defense. The Raiders surrendered two first-quarter goals in Saturday's game at Navy, but limited the Mids to just two tallies the rest of the way in the gritty 5-4 win. Sophomore Peter Baum posted a three-point day with a pair of goals, and he enters the game as the nation's fourth-highest goal scorer averaging 2.78 per game.
While the winner of the Army-Colgate contest is guaranteed a 3-0 League mark and at least a share of first place, Bucknell will try to hold serve against Holy Cross to keep pace with the other game's victor. The Bison, ranked No. 17 in the latest Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and 18th by the USILA coaches, would become the first team to clinch a berth in the Patriot League Tournament with a victory over the Crusaders. Bucknell is coming off another close win, an 8-6 decision Tuesday night over No. 20 Penn State. It's also Senior Day for the Bison, who will close out the regular season starting next week with three road League games at Lehigh, Army and Colgate. Holy Cross is still seeking its first victory of the season and first win for interim head coach Jim Morrissey. The Crusaders are led by James Kennedy's 16 points and John Hannan's 13 goals, both team highs.
There are three non-League games scheduled this weekend, beginning with Navy's Friday night trip to Georgetown. The Mids (4-5) saw their three-game win streak snapped Saturday, and look to rebound against a Hoyas team that received votes in both major polls this week. Lafayette (2-6) plays its first game since the one-goal loss at Army by hitting the road to visit Providence hoping to snap a five-game skid, while Lehigh (6-3) will host No. 20 Penn State in an attempt to become the second Patriot League team to hand the nationally-ranked Nittany Lions a loss this week.
Women's Lacrosse
Weekly Release (3.31.11)
Updated Statistics
Composite Schedule
Some big moves can be made in women's lacrosse this week with Navy looking to tie Colgate for first and American and Lehigh battling for sole possession of third as we reach the midway mark in the season.
Colgate (5-4, 3-0 Patriot League), which is idle on the League slate this weekend, will play at Yale at 4 p.m. today. The rest of the League will be in action tomorrow with a trio of afternoon games.
Navy (9-3, 2-0) and Holy Cross (3-9, 0-2) will open at noon in Worcester, Mass., in an important game for both teams. Navy is looking to keep pace with Colgate and set up a first-place battle on April 9. The noon contest between Colgate and Navy is slated to be televised on the CBS College Sports Network. But before the Mids can focus on that game, they'll have to take care of the Crusaders, who have played strong defensively.
Allowing 9.83 goals per game, the defense has kept the Crusaders in most of their games -- four of their losses have been decided by three goals or less. They held the high-scoring Colgate Raiders to 12 goals last weekend. Despite the tough defense, which ranks third in the League, the Crusaders have struggled on the offensive end, averaging just 8.02 goals per game. Kat Sutton has led the way, scoring in 41 straight games, including her four-goal performance in Wednesday's 10-9 loss to Vermont. Navy's offense has not struggled whatsoever. The Mids top two scorers -- Aimee Gennaro (3.42 goals per game) and Jasmine DePompeo (3.00) -- nearly average the same amount of goals as Holy Cross. Both are among the NCAA leaders in goals with 41 and 36. The Mids, who are coming off a 17-10 loss to No. 19 William & Mary, won last season's matchup with Holy Cross 10-4.
American (6-4, 2-1) will play the second of four straight road games Saturday when it faces off against Lehigh (6-4, 2-1) at 1 p.m. The two will be vying for the third spot, as well as chance to remain a half-game out of first place. American is coming off of an 11-8 win over Columbia Wednesday, while the Mountain Hawks, who are riding a three-game winning streak, had the week off to prepare for Saturday's game. Lehigh senior midfielder Lauren Dykstra has been a key cog for the Mountain Hawks, scoring an NCAA second-best 43 goals this season. She has scored in 42 straight games and she is 15 goals away from breaking the League record for career goals. American has been led Samantha Marshall, who has a team-best 26 goals, including two straight games with hat tricks.
In the final League game this weekend, Lafayette (1-9, 0-2) will travel to Bucknell (2-9, 0-3). The two teams will be fighting for their first League win and a chance to inch back into the race. Both squads have been led by their younger players. Lafayette sophomore Addie Godfrey has 20 goals and four assists, and freshman Ana White has 15 goals and 12 assists. Two freshmen have played strong for Bucknell, as Katelyn Miller and Ali Carey have each scored 18 goals. Senior Julia Braun has a team-best 20 goals.
Baseball
Composite Schedule
Weekly Release (3.28.11)
Cumulative Statistics (3.28.11)
After more than a month of non-League action, the Patriot League baseball schedule opens up this weekend and it appears to be a wide-open race for the 2011 title.
The first set of games will have Navy traveling to Lehigh, Holy Cross at Army and Lafayette going to Bucknell for weekend series. Each Patriot League series is a four-game set with doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, with the first game on each day going seven innings.
Though picked just fourth and fifth in the preseason poll, respectively, Lehigh and Navy have played as well as anyone heading into Patriot League action. The Mountain Hawks (15-8) have won six straight and 11 of the past 13 games, and have been especially tough at home with a 9-2 record. The Mids (14-11-1) are off to a strong start as well as they aim to get back to the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2008, though they will look for their first true road win this weekend.
Holy Cross (12-10-1) has established itself as an emerging Patriot League program by finishing in third place and making the League Tournament in each of the past three seasons. The Crusaders are heating up going into Patriot League play, as they have won five of the past seven games and boast a 10-3-1 record since March 12. Army (7-13) has endured some ups and downs, but comes off an 11-8 win over Siena on Tuesday and enters the year with the bulls-eye as preseason favorite and the winner of at least a share of the last three regular-season Patriot League titles.
Defending Patriot League champion Bucknell (11-13) opens its 2011 campaign at home, where it won three of four games against Longwood over the weekend. The Bison have won the Patriot League Tournament title in two of the past three seasons, and also claimed the regular-season crown with Army in 2009. Lafayette (6-14) is trying to get back to the League Tournament after failing to qualify last season. The Leopards won a 13-inning affair against NJIT on Wednesday.
Patriot League teams have enjoyed a resurgence throughout the month of March. After going 7-23 in Februrary, the six teams combined for a 58-46-1 mark this month to get to just four games under .500 in non-League action.
For any live stat or audio links over the weekend, as well as the recaps and box scores at the conclusion of each day, go to the Baseball Composite Schedule
Softball
Weekly Release (3.30.11)
Composite Schedule
Cumulative Statistics (3.28.11)
Patriot League play kicks off Saturday with three weekend series. Army (14-10) welcomes Colgate (8-11) to West Point, N.Y., for four games; defending champion Bucknell (7-19) hosts perennial contender Lehigh (13-13); and Holy Cross (6-12) heads to the Lehigh Valley to visit Lafayette (1-20). All three series will have a doubleheader Saturday and another on Sunday.
The Black Knights enter the weekend having split their last two series, including Wednesday's doubleheader against visiting Fairleigh Dickinson. Army lost the opener 10-4 before rebounding to capture the nightcap 3-1. Colgate has been idle since dropping two games at the Delaware State Tournament last weekend. It could be a low-scoring four games as the Raiders (1.62) and Black Knights (2.50) sit 1-2 in the League in team ERA entering the week. Colgate also boasts the League's top two individual ERA marks, with sophomore Courtney O'Connell pitching to a 1.28 ERA and freshman Rachel LeCoq to a 1.73. Army freshman Amanda Nguyen is hitting .383 on the season with a .425 on-base percentage at the top of the Black Knight lineup.
Bucknell's midweek twin-bill with Drexel was postponed because of weather, so the Bison's home-opening series will be Saturday when they officially begin the defense of their 2010 League crown with a four-game series against Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks dropped two games Wednesday at Fordham, an NCAA regional finalist a year ago, to fall to .500 on the season. Lehigh captured three of the four games when the teams locked up last season in Bethlehem, Pa. Lehigh's Liz Lucas entered the week with a League-high 28 RBIs, 13 shy of cracking the League's single-season top-10 list. The Bison are led by senior outfielder Alison Ford, who entered the week fifth in the League hitting .375, and sophomore pitcher Alex MacLean, whose 5.09 strikeouts per seven innings are best on the team and second in the League.
Holy Cross and Lafayette are two clubs looking to snap their respective skids when they take the diamond opposite one another this weekend in Easton, Pa. The Crusaders have lost three in a row after dropping the second half of Saturday's doubleheader at Marist and losing both games Wednesday to Rhode Island. The Leopards, meanwhile, have lost seven straight entering the weekend. Saturday's twin-bill will be the first taste of Patriot League play for Lafayette first-year skipper Meaghan Asselta. Holy Cross senior Caitlin Belanger entered the week fourth in the nation and tops in the Patriot League with a .500 batting average. Last season, when the two clubs met, the Crusaders took three of four in late April in Worcester, Mass.