Oct. 24, 2010
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
EASTON, Pa. - The class of 2011 played its last regular-season home game on Sunday afternoon at Rappolt field. The Leopards evened out their record with a 6-3 win Georgetown and head into the final Patriot League game of the season at 8-8, 4-0.
With six minutes left in the first half, senior Meghan Cicchi found the back of the cage off one of the Leopards nine first half penalty corners, assisted by Carolyn Cabrey.
Georgetown answer back as Charlotte Tierney went into the circle and went one-on-one with Kelsey Andersen to tie the game at 1-1. Forty seconds later, Kristin Heaney ran down the field with the ball and found co-captain Cara Lyons in front of the cage and scored to give Lafayette a 2-1 lead.
The Hoyas scored once again with one minute left on the clock, as Caitlin Hickey scored on a penalty corner rebound and both teams went into the half tied 2-2.
Georgetown was able to get the first goal of the second half, as Hickey scored the same way she ended the half, off a second chance on a penalty corner.
The Hoyas lead would not last long, as Heaney scored in the 49th minute when sophomore Maria Machalick fed her the ball for the score and the game was tied for the third time, 3-3.
Lafayette took the lead once again in the 56th minute, as Lyons got past Georgetown's Briana Pereira to send the ball into the back of the cage and give the Leopards a 4-3 lead. The Maroon and White scored for the fifth time three minutes later as Emily Valeo passed the ball to Haley Keenan, who scored her second goal of the season and extended the Leopard lead, 5-3.
The final goal of the game at the 68 minute mark from the Leopards, as Cicchi shot the ball over the keeper to give Lafayette the 6-3 win. DiCroce and Valeo picked up the double assist on the goal.
"This was a great game for the seniors," said head coach Andrew Griffiths. "I came in the same time as Kelsey, Meghan and Cara and it has been a great four years. They have all became outstanding student-athletes. This was a great win for the seniors and a great win at home."
Lafayette closes out the 2010 regular season at No. 7 American on Saturday at 11 a.m. in Washington, D.C. The winner of the game will be the host school for the Patriot League Tournament. The Leopards clinched a spot in the tournament on Oct. 16 with a win over Holy Cross.
Griffith's on the seniors:
Kelsey Andersen: Kelsey is an incredibly competitive and hard-working athlete, and she has used these qualities to shape an excellent playing career at Lafayette. She is quick, dynamic and strong in the goal, and this has translated to success on the field - it gives our team a real sense of security to know we have a strong stopper in the goal behind us. Aside from her skills and the many accolades she has earned, she brings a powerful intensity to the locker room and practice field. Kelsey is a fighter, and will compete hard whether it is a warm-up practice drill or the Patriot League Final! She has also made the commitment this past year to train and compete in the USA Field Hockey High Performance program, and brought the value of these experiences back to our team at Lafayette. Kelsey has also developed as a leader over her past two seasons. She has learned to listen and work with her teammates, put things in perspective, and occasionally not take things too seriously!
Meghan Cicchi: Cicchi (we never call her Meghan!) is an explosive defender, and one of the best tacklers I have seen in the NCAA this year. She has the distinction of playing starting center back from start to finish in each of her four seasons, freshman to senior, an unusual feat. She has taken a big step forward into her senior season, grounded in a lot of hard work over the summer training at Lafayette while she was on campus doing research. In the middle of the summer, Coach Spencer Brown (our strength and conditioning coach) came to me and said, "Cicchi is doing great at her workouts, I think she is going to have a great season this year." We have seen this bear out this season as her balance is significantly improved, her distribution and tackling are stronger, and her penalty corner striking has become extremely dangerous for us. Cicchi also brings an intelligence to the field. She is excellent at analyzing situations quickly and knowing where to be, and what time to be there. She is a quiet leader, and it is common to see her taking another defender aside at practice in between drills, explaining her thoughts on a situation.
Cara Lyons Cara has developed into a key forward for us who has scored some important goals, highlighted by a Patriot League hat-trick at Holy Cross this year. She has also played a significant and key role on our forward line each of her four years, and this season she is has taken another step, having scored seven goals. Cara has acquired some excellent left-side attacking skills, able to eliminate defenders and penetrate the circle to create danger. She understands the game well, and has been critical for our team's structure as we have implemented different presses, and worked on the movement of our forward line. This year she has learned to be a motivating voice in training and games, and has stepped up from being a contributor, to become a leader. She is also a conscientious leader as a captain, who is thoughtful about team dynamics, and has worked with Kelsey and Cicchi to set high standards for the younger players on the team.
