Box Score

EASTON, Pa. -- The Lafayette field hockey team put forth a dominant effort on Friday evening at Rappolt Field, shutting out Towson by a 2-0 margin.

The 2-0 victory marked the Leopards' first clean sheet of the season and improved their overall record 5-1 heading into the final non-conference contest before the start of Patriot League play next weekend. Much of the game was played in Lafayette's offensive end as the Leopards held a 30-2 edge in shots and senior co-captain Katelyn Arnold was forced to make just one save on the night.

"We've been focusing on our counter-defense in transition, so I think that was a big piece of our success tonight. Towson did have a couple of opportunities, but I felt we were relatively structured in the backfield and that was what led to our relatively consistent attack," head coach Jennifer Stone said. "We definitely need to be scoring more goals and the team knows that. We need to be smarter inside our attacking 25. But that being said, it's a good shutout win, an important mark for our goalkeeper and we're happy with the result."

Freshman Rosa Jonckheer was the opening goal-scorer for the Maroon and White off a corner. Following a service from junior Ellen Colbourne, senior co-captain Amanda Magadan made the stop and freshman Lisa van der Geest opted for another pass instead of the predictable shot. That pass set up Jonckheer, who finished in the low left corner for the opening tally in the fifth minute.

"I just shot," Jonckheer said when asked about her goal. "I think it was a little bit lucky, but it was good for our team to score early."

The game moved through the halftime break with the majority of play taking place in Towson's defensive end. Lafayette, which ended up with an 11-0 edge in corners on the night, continued to create chances, but the finishing touch was lacking.

Then, the insurance tally came in the 55^th minute when the Leopards drew a hard foul from Towson in front of goal, setting up a penalty stroke. Magadan stepped up and put a confident shot inside the left post for the second marker of the game.

Towson's lone shot on goal of the contest came just over eight minutes later as Easton, Pa. native Katie McNeel worked down the left side and sent a hard, high shot on target. Arnold was there with the pad, deflecting the effort wide to the weak side and thwarting the long Tiger scoring chance.

Towson goalie Emilee Woodall was the lone bright spot for the visitors, coming up with a number of excellent saves between the pipes, stopping nine shots on the evening. Magadan led the way in shots with seven, resulting in a goal and an assist, while van der Geest took five shots, and Jonckheer and senior Ami Turner finished with four apiece.

The Leopards hit the road on Monday for a non-conference tune-up with Hofstra before beginning Patriot League play on Friday, welcoming Boston U. for a 7 p.m. tilt.