EASTON, Pa. – The Lafayette field hockey team took care of business in the season opener on Friday night at Rappolt Field as the Leopards edged VCU by a 2-1 score.
 
Freshman Felicitas Hannes played a part in both of the Leopards' tallies, assisting on the first, scored by senior Sam Di Maio in the 35^th minute and tapping in a rebound in the 50^th minute for a 2-0 advantage. VCU answered less than four minutes later to make it a tight 2-1 game down the stretch, but six big saves from senior Sarah Park was the difference in the 2-1 final.
 
"Going into the game, we talked about being concentrated on ourselves. I thought our team executed what we were trying to do quite well," head coach Jennifer Stone said. "That VCU team is a very good opponent. This was a great start for us, taught us a lot of lessons and set a pretty good standard of the type of hockey we want to be playing."
 
Much of the opening half was played in a defensive stalemate as neither side could break through. Then, just after halftime, junior Grace Angelella started a play into the circle from the right, finding Hannes for a strike from the center in front of goal. Di Maio got on the end of it and deflected the ball into the right side for the first score of the game.
 
With 11 minutes to play in the final period, the Maroon and White got their insurance tally when senior captain Lisa van der Geest fired a shot into the pad of VCU goalie Sasha Elliott. The ball caromed to her left and right onto the stick of Hannes, who curled it around Elliott's outstretched leg for a 2-0 advantage.
 
The Rams got one back midway through the final frame, but Lafayette's defense stayed strong, holding through the final whistle on a 2-1 victory.
 
"Our midfield was huge for us tonight," Di Maio added. "The quarters format allows us to play really fast. It's really important that we play fast through the midfield so that we can play fast up front as well."
 
VCU held a slight 12-11 edge in shots and won six corners compared to Lafayette's five. Sophomore Molly McAndrew, last season's Patriot League Rookie of the Year, put all three of her shots on target to lead the team, while van der Geest added two of her three shots on goal.
 
Lafayette returns to action on Monday, traveling to Syracuse, New York to battle the No. 18 Orange at 6 p.m.