Nov. 16, 2002

By Mike Leflar
Athletic Communications Graduate Intern

Two months, 19 wins, one Patriot League Championship and a handful of record-breaking performances ago, the Lafayette field hockey team began its season 0-2. After a 2-1 overtime loss at Villanova, which is still on the minds of many of the players, head coach Ann Gold simply stated, "We are too good to not turn things around."

Like any coach with 266 wins on her resume, Gold did in fact have a beat on her team and the Leopards have been gaining well-deserved exposure and making people believers ever since.

This week, the nationally-ranked Leopards took flight to Berkeley, Calif. for the CCA Play-In game against California for the right to move on to the NCAA Tournament. Despite suffering a heartbreaking 1-0 loss in overtime, this team has certainly left an indelible mark on the field, which will be difficult to duplicate in the future.

A low-scoring game by nature, the Lafayette field hockey team put itself on the map by lighting up scoreboards around the Northeast.

Thanks to these Leopards, College Hill is home to the 18th-ranked team in the nation, and this year's squad has broken every major team scoring record in Patriot League history. Their overwhelming statistics and 19-game win streak is a school and conference best, and as the wins continued to pile up, field hockey slowly grabbed everyone's attention on College Hill.

Lafayette's 75 goals in only 21 games shattered the old single-season mark of 61 goals, set by the 1999 Leopards. Lafayette's 10 goals in the Patriot League Tournament broke the previous best by two scores, and the list continues.

If that does not get people's attention, then some of the individual accolades will. Two-time Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Megan Monahan has rewritten the school and Patriot League record books. The senior co-captain leads the nation with an astounding 80 points on 33 goals and 14 assists. Monahan also now sits alone atop the conference list for career points (160), points in a season (80), career goals (64), and goals in a season (33) and she ranks second in career assists (30) to teammates Meredith Hahn and Jennifer Stone.

If Monahan headlined the offensive attack, then Stone was the Leopards' sparkplug, and the junior leads an unheralded cast that has embraced a team-first attitude that is largely responsible for Lafayette's success. Stone ranked second on the team and in the Patriot League in points (45). Add Hahn's 42 points on 11 goals, and a Patriot League single-season record 20 assists, and the opposition is forced to choose who to focus on.

Defenses were not been able to stop any one of the trio, let alone all three this season, but as an insurance, senior Beth Gulotta quietly showed her ability to expose over-pursuing defenses when it counts. Gulotta torched Bucknell in the Patriot League semifinal for a Patriot League Tournament-record three goals. Her second hat trick of the season gave Gulotta 31 points, a formidable option inside the offensive circle.

Senior co-captain Erica Bartsch and junior Melissa Hoh joined Stone to make up arguably the best midfield in the Patriot League. Hoh quietly came into her own on the offensive end. The tenacious Bartsch leveled the scales with her defense-first attitude.

While the offense was winning games, five of the Leopards starting 11 knew that defense would ultimately win a championship.

Led by goaltender Casey Devlin, Lafayette notched five shutouts, and held opponents to two goals or less 14 more times. Juniors Christen Chiusano and Meghan Kreutzer helped protect Devlin and the circle, and freshman Amanda Eggleston was anything but intimidated. Stephanie Goldman rounded out the defense, and her ability to create and contribute on both ends of the field gave the Leopards yet another option.

Come conference and NCAA Tournament time, it is not always about who is scoring and assisting, and what records are falling. It is about experiencing something that only a handful of schools annually have the opportunity to be apart of. Growing as a team off the field, and when the whistle is blown it is about trusting the twenty-some odd student-athletes that you endured a season of emotions with for one common goal.

The Leopards proved their postseason worth on the field in their gutsy 2-1 win against Holy Cross to capture the Patriot League crown. The Crusaders kept Lafayette on its heels early, dictating the pace and controlling possession. However, the Leopards let their veteran instincts take over, making Holy Cross pay for its over aggressive attack with a pair of breakaway goals en route to victory.

While their play on the field spoke volumes, the dynamic most responsible for Lafayette's success might just be their working relationship with Gold. A hand's-off coach who relies more on subtle messages than in-your-face melodrama, Gold has gotten the most out of this team. She is a player's coach that respects her players enough to offer feedback during the game, and it seemed to be the perfect fit. She has a calming effect on the team in the huddle, and an uncanny nerve to deflect any outside pressure.

Gold's style works because the team has learned to survive and adjust on the fly, a tribute to character over talent. From the stoic leaders to the pregame jokes and the obsessively superstitious warm-up music, this team has it all.

Every season this close-knit circle recreates itself with new faces and new attitudes, but on similar ground with similar motivation.

All that: the players, the parents, the relationships and the atmosphere add depth to a piece of paper that lists statistics and national rankings. In the end, it's the chemistry that propels a team farther than anything else in field hockey and in life.

There is no telling when this season will end, but that end will only mean a new unwritten chapter for this team. The memories and friendships will last a lifetime. The 2002 Lafayette field hockey team has learned that, and in the end that is more important than any record-breaking win streak.

Take a bow.