Oct. 5, 2002

Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. (www.lafayette.edu) - The moment the Patriot League preseason field hockey standings were released in late August, Lafayette circled its Oct. 5 meeting with conference favorite Holy Cross. The Leopards felt slighted, and on Saturday the motivation paid dividends as Lafayette showed tremendous fight in a 3-2 victory over the Crusaders (3-6, 2-2) on the road.

The win stretched the Leopards' winning streak to 10 games, and they sit alone atop the Patriot League standings.

Lafayette (10-2, 3-0) had to play catch up from the start, after Liz Tutella struck for the host Crusaders only 33 seconds into the game. The goal marked the first time that a Patriot League opponent scored on Lafayette goalie Casey Devlin (Devon, Pa./Episcopal Academy) this season.

The Leopards' answered when the red-hot Jennifer Stone (Newtown, Pa./George School) found the back of the cage midway through the opening frame. The goal was Stone's sixth on the season, and third in the last two games.

Holy Cross seesawed back in front two minutes later on a Christina Zorzi goal.

The Leopards' managed to weather the early storm, and gained control and momentum, and they answered again with the Patriot League's leading point producer, Megan Monahan (Lansdale, Pa./Lansdale Catholic), going top-shelf to knot the score at two before the half.

Lafayette turned its offensive pressure up a notch early in the second half.

Wasting little time, what turned out to be the deciding goal fittingly came from the Leopards' senior co-captains, as Monahan put home a pass from Erica Bartsch (Downingtown, Pa./Henderson) just 15 seconds into the second frame.

Lafayette out shot Holy Cross nine to three in the deciding half, and gained four penalty corners to the Crusaders' zero.

Lafayette returns home to host Drexel on Tuesday at 7 p.m.