While we'll try to have most stories to you early each morning, be sure to check back throughout the day as we add links at all hours when we find them.

We hope you enjoy the links to some of today's top stories below, and let us know via email if there are any other stories you think we should feature.

Friday, July 30, 2010

HALL OF FAME: Brian Ehlers and Mike Whitman were two of Lafayette's finest
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
As I was breezing down the rail in Wednesday's paper, I was delighted to see Michael Whitman and Brian Ehlers were among five former Lafayette College athletes who will be inducted into the school's Maroon Club Hall of Fame on Nov. 19 at Marquis Hall. The basketball standouts each made his mark during different eras of Lafayette basketball.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

FOOTBALL: Former Lafayette QBs to square off in Europe
The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)/ By Paul Reinhard
None of the National Football League's XLIV Super Bowls has ever featured two starting quarterbacks from the same college program. So, what exactly are the chances? Prohibitive? Probably. Taking it a step further, what are the odds of two quarterbacks from Lafayette College facing one another in a professional championship game -- and that the championship game is in Europe? Astronomical may be an understatement. Well, that's exactly what is expected when the Carlstad Crusaders of Sweden take on the Calanda Broncos of Switzerland in the European Federation for American Football (EFAF) Cup title game Saturday in Chur, Switzerland.

Monday, June 21, 2010

TRACK & FIELD: Lafayette's Clayton wins two gold medals
Asbury Park Press (Asbury, N.J.)/ By Chris Christopher
Lafayette College senior Kyle Clayton, a Wall High School graduate, won two titles at the Patriot League Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He took the 100-meter dash in 10.61 and the 200 in 21.24. His 200 time broke a school record that had lasted for more than 35 years. Clayton's 100 time ranks him second in school history. The former Crimson Knight ran the anchor leg on the school's second-place 4x100 relay team, which set a school record (41.08). Clayton finished his Patriot League career with eight individual league titles.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Moore rounds out coaching staff at Lafayette
The Journal News (White Plains, N.Y.)/ By Josh Thompson
Shireyll Moore understands she was lucky. Young, aspiring coaches often scour the country, mailing out resumes to dozens if not hundreds of basketball programs. But she hadn't even considered a job, much less pursued one.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

FOOTBALL: Lauren's First and Goal football camp welcomes high school players and college coaches from across the country to take part in the one-day clinic
The Express-Times/ By Nick Pizzino
FORKS TWP. | Lauren's First and Goal Camp and Foundation held its seventh annual football camp Sunday at Lafayette College's Metzgar Fields. The event continued its tradition of success, which includes raising more than $1 million for pediatric brain cancer research and awareness. Founded by Lafayette defensive coordinator John Loose and his wife Marianne, the organization was named after their 13-year-old daughter who has endured multiple brain and spinal cord tumors since she was just nine months old. The one-day clinic, which has grown each year since its inception, featured more than 200 volunteer college coaches instructing 1,700 high school football players from 15 states and Canada.

Monday, June 7, 2010

FOOTBALL: Ex-Lafayette stars help Swedish team advance in European tournament
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Rob Curley had the best day of his brief European football career Saturday and led the Carlstad Crusaders of Sweden to a 27-0 victory over the London Blitz and into the championship game of the European Federation of American Football Cup. And it all started after the former Lafayette quarterback was roughed up by the Blitz -- while punting. Curley completed 24 of 34 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns and also scored a TD for the undefeated Crusaders.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

FOOTBALL: Former Leopards hit gridiron in Sweden
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
The college football careers of Lafayette's Rob Curley and Mark Leggiero came to a crushing end last November in Lehigh's Goodman Stadium, but the two Leopards are getting another chance to play the game to which they have devoted half of their lives. Curley is the starting quarterback and Leggiero the middle linebacker for the Carlstad Crusaders. In Sweden. And at noon Eastern Standard Time on Saturday, the undefeated Crusaders will play the London Blitz in Carlstad in the semifinals of the European Federation for American Football Cup Tournament.

Monday, May 17, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette adds two more to men's basketball team
The Morning Call/ By Nick Fierro
Jake Kreuser (Mendota Heights, Minn./Sibley) and Les Smith (Cotati Calif./Marin Catholic/Kimball Union Academy) have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Lafayette. Kreuser is a 7-0, 220-pound center and Smith is a 6-0, 175-pound combo guard. Kreuser was a St. Paul Pioneer Press All-State Honorable Mention while earning Classic Suburban All-Conference honors as a senior. He helped his squad to a 25-7 overall record and a Classic Suburban Conference title with a 15-1 mark.

Thursday, April 28, 2010

GOLF: Jim Hutnik-led Lafayette College captures the Patriot League golf championship
The Express-Times/ By Karl Gilbert
EASTON | Jim Hutnik of Bethlehem has won several coach of the year awards over the past two decades in basketball and golf. However, the latest honor for the 55-year-old Easton native was a bit of a surprise. Hutnik led Lafayette College to its first-ever Patriot League Golf Championship team title last weekend at the league's conference tournament at Seven Oaks Golf Course in Hamilton, N.Y. The Leopards were picked to finish sixth in the league's preseason poll. In the process, Hutnik earned his second Patriot League Golf Coach of the Year award in his eight seasons at the helm of the program.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College names Dianne Nolan women's head basketball coach
The Express-Times/ By Barry Miller
EASTON | Lafayette College selected a coach with a proven track record in naming Dianne Nolan as its new head women's basketball coach. Nolan, an assistant the past three seasons at Yale University after serving 33 years as head coach at St. Francis (N.Y.) and Fairfield, was introduced by Director of Athletics Bruce McCutcheon during a press conference Tuesday.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Dianne Nolan says the Lafayette College women's basketball team will play aggressively
The Express-Times/ By Barry Miller
Dianne Nolan was introduced today as the new women's basketball coach at Lafayette College in Easton. Nolan was an assistant the past three seasons at Yale University after serving 33 years as head coach at St. Francis (N.Y.) University and Fairfield University, where she compiled a combined 517-416 record.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Women's basketball coach: Lafayette will run and press
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Ten seconds. That's the freelance time new Lafayette women's basketball coach Dianne Nolan said she gives to her players at the start of games. Her system is helter-skelter after that.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College Maroon and White football scrimmage is canceled after 35 plays because of rain
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON | Mother Nature ultimately got the best of Lafayette College's annual Maroon and White football scrimmage Friday night at Fisher Stadium. However, veteran coach Frank Tavani still found plenty of reasons for optimism despite a prolonged rain shower that brought the scrimmage to a halt after just 35 plays.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette outing short, but sweet
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Lightning interrupted Lafayette's Maroon and White football game Friday night after just 35 offensive plays. But in that short time, a number of players were able to create some lightning of their own as they made strong cases for themselves as the Leopards neared the end of their spring practice.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

FOOTBALL: Lafayette QB situation still up in the air
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Marc Quilling smiled at the question: Are you ever going to catch a break? Instead of taking his share of reps with the other two players who are competing for the starting quarterback job next season at Lafayette -- Ryan O'Neil and Andrew Shoop -- Quilling, the Parkland High grad and a rising senior, was in shorts and a T-shirt as the temperature hit 92 degrees earlier this week in Fisher Stadium.

Friday, April 9, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College's Fran O'Hanlon happy to stay off coaching carousel
The Express-Times/ By Brad Wilson
The college men's basketball coaching carousel winds around and around, and Fran O'Hanlon watches it with interest. The Lafayette College coach was appalled when Holy Cross tossed Sean Kearney overboard after just one season. He was thrilled when his friend Steve Donohue was rewarded for his accomplishments at Cornell by getting the job at Boston College. He, like many others, thinks Norm Roberts got a bit of a hard deal at St. John's. He, also like many others, would like to see Brad Stevens stay at Butler. But O'Hanlon's not riding on the carousel himself. He's already grabbed the golden ring.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

MEN'S LACROSSE: Lafayette men's lacrosse on the map
The Morning Call/ By Tom Housenick
Vinny DePasquale first picked up a lacrosse stick as a fourth-grader in an East Meadow, N.Y., neighborhood because that's what his friends were doing. ''My father never played,'' he recalled. ''[But] it was just such a big thing [on Long Island] that if you were decent at it, you stuck with it.'' DePasquale was good at lacrosse and, eventually, wrestling and baseball were cast aside. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder has had to stick with the sport for four years at Lafayette College before getting the chance to start in goal. It has been worth the wait for him and the 11 other seniors. The Leopards are off to their best start in school history at 6-1 and nationally ranked for the first time, sitting 10th in the USILA coaches' poll and 13th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse (media) poll.

Friday, April 2, 2010

MEN'S LACROSSE: Hammer Happy He Traded Sticks
The Daily Norwalk (Conn.)/ By Tom Renner
Paul Hammer loved hockey. A letter from Siena College during his sophomore year at Brien McMahon High School helped convince him to trade his stick of choice, and now, he's glad he did. Hammer has started every game on defense for Lafayette College (6-1), which is ranked 10th in the nation by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. The Leopards lost on Sunday to No. 11 Drexel. Lafayette is 2-0 in the Patriot League and has a difficult road ahead, but is a strong candidate to participate in the 16-team NCAA Tournament. Lafayette is in the national rankings for the first time in its history.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

MEN'S LACROSSE: Is one-loss Lafayette being overlooked?
ESPN.com/ By Kyle Harrison and Brett Hughes
Lafayette is a great team, and it's fun to read about what the Leopards are doing, but I honestly think you need to be 10-0 to really catch the eye of people when you are a team on the rise.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

MEN'S LACROSSE: Mangan Featured on ESPN Podcast
ESPN Podcast/ By Quint Kessenich
ESPN analyst Quint Kessenich talks lacrosse with Lafayette's Terry Mangan, Hofstra's Seth Tierney, Harvard's John Tillman, ESPN's Mark Dixon and Notre Dame stars Scott Rodgers and Grant Krebs.

Friday, March 26, 2010

MEN'S LACROSSE: Little Lafayette plays big
The Washington DC Examiner/ By Kevin Dunleavy
Like many in the lacrosse world, Maryland coach Dave Cottle is amazed at the fast start of perennial doormat and physically unimposing Lafayette. "Their attackmen aren't big enough to get on the rides at Hershey Park," Cottle said. It's a comment that Lafayette 5-foot-9 attack Stefan Bauer enjoyed. "That's funny, and almost true," said the junior. "We might have the smallest attack in the country. But we use it to our advantage. When we see big defensemen our eyes light up. We know we'll be able to go around them." Ranked for the first time in program history, No. 8 Lafayette (6-0) is the little engine that could. The Leopards have wins over traditionally formidable Fairfield and Penn. They also toppled six-time defending conference champion Navy and preseason favorite Bucknell to take control of the Patriot League.

MEN'S LACROSSE: Weekend Watch: You want lacrosse on ESPN2, in HD? This weekend's got you...
Inside Lacrosse/ By Sean Burns
Another 'bigger than you might have expected' tilt sees Lafayette host Drexel, a non-conference Pennsylvania affair that wouldn't raise eyebrows most seasons, but finds both in the Top 20 and with definite resume building to do for a run at a NCAA tournament bid (one can never rely on a conference tournament, as history has shown).

Thursday, March 25, 2010

FOOTBALL: Lafayette opens spring football practice
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
A quick glance at the Lafayette football team's two-deep chart reveals a good news, bad news situation. The good news: an abundance of opportunity. The bad news: a need for leadership. That's bound to happen when a team graduates 27 seniors. When a sideline observer mentioned that to coach Frank Tavani on the day before the start of spring football drills, Tavani was looking at the glass as half full, not half empty.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

MEN'S LACROSSE: Inside Lacrosse Staff Debate: Best Coaching of the Early Season?
Inside Lacrosse/ By Geoff Shannon
Behind every great team, there is a great coach pulling the strings. There are two trajectories to look at when we discuss coaching in 2010. First, there are the top-flight programs and their head men. UNC's Joe Breschi is just in year two of North Carolina's rebranding process, and already the Tar Heels are an 8-0 powerhouse. Virginia's Dom Starsia has his group also sitting at 8-0 despite running an attack made of all freshmen and sophomores. Maryland's Dave Cottle is doing wonders with both his established stars on attack and defense and with his unheralded players at the midfield. Princeton's Chris Bates is working with a whole new roster at Princeton, while Syracuse's John Desko has been successfully fiddling with the talent on his offense to find the right combinations. Then there are the upstarts. Lafayette's Terry Mangan is pushing his team to big heights with a 6-0 record featuring a dominant win over Navy. Bear Davis at Robert Morris, Lars Tiffany at Brown, Andy Shay at Yale and Rick Sowell at Stony Brook all have their teams churning on all cylinders so far.

Friday, March 19, 2010

MEN'S LACROSSE: Lafayette leaps into ranks of lacrosse unbeatens
The Baltimore Sun/ By Edward Lee
The ranks of the unbeatens in Division I men's lacrosse are populated by traditional powers such as Virginia, Princeton, North Carolina and Maryland. And Lafayette. The No. 16 Leopards, a program that has yet to qualify for the Patriot League tournament, are 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the conference after walloping then-No. 12 Navy, 15-8, a week ago. Asked about being mentioned in the same breath as Virginia and Princeton, coach Terry Mangan said, "You're the first guy I've heard mention that. I think it's something that's great for alums and great for our fans and parents and folks here at Lafayette. I think a lot of people feel good about that stuff. But like I said before, I think our guys are mature enough and smart enough to know that if we can't go out and play our best, all of that stuff will disappear in a second. So it really can't have an impact on how hard we're working and how prepared we are."

Thursday, March 18, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: This kind of madness is forever ... thankfully
Herald-Tribune (Sarasota, Fla.)/ By Mike Jensen
Years beyond the glory and long past the thrill, a man still remembers how wonderful the madness made him feel. Stefan Ciosici played in one NCAA basketball tournament game. Just one. A decade ago. And his team lost, 73-47. "It was basically the thrill of a lifetime," he said. "I'll take it to my grave." The 33-year-old Ciosici, who lives in Bradenton, was the starting center for Lafayette College in 2000, a school in Easton, Pa., more known for books than for baskets.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette coach in middle of Temple-Cornell
The Philadelphia Inquirer/ By Mike Jensen
Fran O'Hanlon already has time blocked out on his schedule for Friday's first-round NCAA game between Cornell and Temple - blocked out to do something else. "I can watch the first half," the Lafayette basketball coach said yesterday. "I can't watch the second half. It's excruciating, watching my best friends deal with that." If you think of Temple coach Fran Dunphy and Cornell coach Steve Donahue - about to face off in the NCAA East Regional in Jacksonville, Fla. - as part of a triangle, O'Hanlon is the third side. When Dunphy took over at Penn, O'Hanlon became his assistant. A year later, Donahue joined them on O'Hanlon's recommendation.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

MEN'S LACROSSE: Lafayette's Hot Start a Matter of Perspective
Lacrosse Magazine/ By Brian Delaney
It was a seemingly innocuous hit at the time, on a play seen every day, every quarter, almost every possession. A midfielder, ball in his stick, trying to split a converging double team at midfield en route to a successful clear. It was a February practice in 2009, and Lafayette junior Steve Serling absorbed the hit and went down. It felt, he recalled, like the wind had been knocked out of him.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lehigh University men's basketball team shuts down Lafayette College from 3-point range
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore
BETHLEHEM | Lafayette sophomore guard Jim Mower summed it up best: "We kind of lived and died by the 3 in this game." The Leopards certainly keeled over in a 74-59 loss to Lehigh in the Patriot League men's basketball championship game in front of 4,259 fans at Stabler Arena on Friday afternoon. Lafayette shot just 3-for-23 (13 percent) from 3-point range, including 1-of-13 in the first half.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lehigh University men's basketball team wins Patriot League championship with victory over Lafayette College
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
BETHLEHEM | Zahir Carrington has had plenty of big moments during his stellar career at Lehigh University. But the senior forward saved his best performance for his biggest game before a national television audience on Friday night. Carrington had 18 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots to power the Mountain Hawks to the Patriot League men's basketball championship with a 74-59 victory over Lafayette before a frenzied crowd of 4,259 at Stabler Arena.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Let the Madness begin
The Morning Call/ By Mandy Housenick
The Zahir Carrington fireworks, aka his monster dunks and colossal blocks, were the crowd-pleasers. But Lehigh's defense served as the coach-pleaser. The Mountain Hawks smothered Lafayette's guards, nearly eliminating the Leopards' three-point attack (they were just 3 of 23 from beyond the arc), which paved the way for Lehigh's 74-59 victory in the Patriot League championship game Friday evening at Stabler Arena and gave them their first league title since 2004.

Friday, March 12, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Catching up with Lisle grad Jeff Kari: Guard helps Lafayette into Patriot League final Friday
Chicago Tribune/ By Brian Hedger
If the name Jeff Kari doesn't ring a bell, it's because he never competed in the Chicago area. At least not under the name "Kari." Kari, a senior combo guard at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, starred at Lisle High School. He went then by Jeff Robinson, his father's last name. After going to East Carolina as a preferred walk-on, "Robinson" became "Kari" after he adopted his mother Kathy's maiden name.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Which Season Is It? Lehigh, Lafayette Meet
The Wall Street Journal/ By Matthew Futterman
Lehigh and Lafayette are known as longtime football rivals, but Friday will mark the first time the two Pennsylvania schools play for a berth in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball team plays Lehigh University for Patriot League championship
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
The Lafayette and Lehigh men's basketball teams played two very different games during the regular season. Lehigh rode a strong second half in the first game to pull away for a 75-57 victory Jan. 23 at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem. Lafayette used a relentless 3-point barrage to rebound for a 90-75 triumph in the rematch Feb. 21 at Kirby Sports Center in Easton. Lafayette-Lehigh III will be for the Patriot League championship 4:45 p.m., today at Stabler Arena. The game will be televised by ESPN2. The Leopards (19-12) were the third seed in the eight-team tournament while the Mountain Hawks (21-10) won the regular season to earn the top seed. Today's winner receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Breaking down the Lafayette-Lehigh men's basketball rivalry by the numbers
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
Today's Patriot League championship game marks the 213th men's basketball meeting between Lafayette and Lehigh. The Leopards lead the series 138-74. Lafayette is 76-23 at home against its rival while Lehigh is 58-46 on its home floor against the Leopards. Lehigh leads 5-4 in games played at neutral sites. Lehigh is 17-13 against Lafayette since Stabler Arena opened in 1980 (Lafayette lost 63-55 at Stabler in 2005, but the Mountain Hawks had to forfeit the game after it was determined they used an ineligible player).

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette-Lehigh basketball championship pits fandom versus spring break
The Express-Times/ By Douglas B. Brill
Of three young men who played catch Thursday in front of a Lafayette College dormitory, one said he won't be at today's big basketball game because he has to catch a flight to Florida. Of two young men who tossed a football nearby, one planned to make it to Stabler Arena to see Lafayette College and Lehigh University meet for the first time in a Patriot League men's basketball championship. But the other said he's too burned out from midterms.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Valley fan-demonium
The Morning Call/ By Daniel Patrick Sheehan
Lafayette College was buzzing all week about today's big basketball game against Lehigh University. And Lehigh would have been, too, if anyone had been there. Talk about bad timing. As the arch rivals prepared for the nationally televised Patriot League final, Lehigh has been on spring break. And Lafayette students start their break today, meaning both campuses will be largely empty when the 4:45 p.m. tip-off happens at Stabler Arena.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: For Lafayette and Lehigh, a chance to dance
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Financially, the Patriot League champion -- either Lehigh or Lafayette -- won't be cheated by the NCAA. NCAA Tournament play-in game winners make as much as first-round winners. Everybody, of course, wants to be a part of the actual field of 64. But traveling to Dayton, Ohio, for a play-in game next Tuesday is a lot better than making NIT travel arrangements.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College junior forward Jared Mintz has developed into one of the top inside players in the Patriot League
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
Jared Mintz had a propensity to take jump shots from the perimeter when he began his basketball career at Lafayette College. But it wasn't long before the 6-foot-8, 240-pound junior from Toronto discovered his real niche for the Leopards. "It's kind of fun shooting 3s once in a while," Mintz said, "but most of the time I leave that up to Jim (Mower), Ryan (Willen) and some of the other guys." Lafayette has developed a reputation as a team that lives and dies by the 3-pointer. A big reason for that success is the inside presence of Mintz, who has evolved into one of the dominant power forwards in the Patriot League. Mintz, a first team all-star, leads Lafayette in scoring (14.3 ppg) and rebounding (5.7 rpg) entering Friday's 4:45 p.m. league championship game at Lehigh University.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Kari, Gruner leading by example for Leopards
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
They are fire and fire. And ice? Forget about it, Lafayette seniors Jeff Kari and Michael Gruner always have their thermostats turned up high when they're on the court. Both are expected to be full of fire and desire when Lafayette (19-12) meets Lehigh (21-10) for the Patriot League title and automatic NCAA Tournament berth at 4:45 p.m. Friday at Stabler Arena. Leopards junior forward Jared Mintz, an All-Patriot League first team player, has enjoyed the passion and intensity the seniors have brought onto the court as well as the locker room.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Patriot League men's basketball championship game between Lafayette College and Lehigh University should be a dandy
The Express-Times/ By Barry Miller
Lafayette vs. Lehigh. Local fans usually think of football when you talk about this rivalry. Now men's basketball enters the equation with a lot at stake. The Mountain Hawks and Leopards meet 4:45 p.m., Friday at Stabler Arena for the Patriot League title and ESPN2 will be on hand. The winner goes to the NCAA Tournament.

Monday, March 8, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball team advances to Patriot League championship game with victory over Holy Cross University
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON | With their postseason fate hanging in the balance, the Lafayette College men's basketball team went to their bread and butter Sunday afternoon. And Jared Mintz delivered the goods. The junior forward scored 14 points, including four in the last 38 seconds, to lead the Leopards to a heart-stomping 66-63 victory over Holy Cross in a Patriot League semifinal before an estimated 3,200 screaming fans at Kirby Sports Center. The third seeded Leopards (19-12) will play at top-seeded Lehigh for the league championship at 4:45 p.m. Friday on ESPN2.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: It's down to Lafayette, Lehigh
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Lafayette's Jared Mintz was barefooted, Ryan Willen in flip flops, and their coach, Fran O'Hanlon, had his tie loose. It was easy to be relaxed after what the Leopards accomplished in the Patriot League semifinals on Sunday before a packed and spirited crowd at Kirby Sports Center. Tested in every way possible by longtime nemesis Holy Cross, Lafayette made key basket after key basket and made all the necessary defensive stops to prevail 66-63 and advance to its first championship game since 2000.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

MEN'S LACROSSE: Christian Swezey's Lacrosse News & Notes from the Weekend
Inside Lacrosse/ By Christian Swezey
Athletic officials at Lafayette are fairly certain that the team's current 4-0 start is the best in school history but are still checking to make sure. They also are still checking to see if the seven goals scored by junior Tom Perini against Penn on Wednesday is a school record. (It probably is not.) What is certain is that the Leopards (4-0) enter the week on a wave of nearly unprecedented success. The 3-0 start was the best since 1979 and thus far, Lafayette coach Terry Mangan and athletic officials have not found a 4-0 start in the record books.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball team hosts Holy Cross in Patriot League semifinals
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
Flash back to Feb. 6. The Lafayette College men's basketball team hits the low point of its season with a demoralizing 73-46 loss to Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. Guess what Leopards fans: Those same Crusaders are in town today. Lafayette gets its shot for revenge when it hosts Holy Cross in the Patriot League semifinals at 1 p.m. at Kirby Sports Center.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College sophomore Jim Mower ranks third in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
The 3-point shot has forever changed the landscape of college basketball since its inception in 1987. For Jim Mower, it's become a way of life. The Lafayette College sophomore has essentially turned the long distance shot into an art form.

Friday, March 5, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Everything falling in place for Lafayette College men's basketball team
The Express-Times/ By Barry Miller
As Lafayette fans streamed out of Kirby Sports Center on Wednesday night, announcer Jim Finnen gave repeated scores as the Holy Cross at Bucknell game wound down. "Holy Cross leads Bucknell by three with 29 second left," he said. And the fans gave out a cheer. Many of the 2,500 on hand knew a Holy Cross victory meant another home game for the Leopards. After watching the Leopards play one of their more complete games of the season, the fans were eager for more. No. 7 Holy Cross went on to upset No. 2 Bucknell 67-64 to give Lafayette a second home game Sunday in the Patriot League playoffs. Tipoff is 1 p.m. If the tournament had gone as seeded, the Leopards would be busing it up to Lewisburg, Pa., to face the Bison. It's a place the Leopards never seem to play well. Instead, Lafayette will stay in the Lehigh Valley for three possible playoff games. If the Leopards get by Holy Cross, they'll face either top-seeded Lehigh at Stabler Arena or host No. 4 American at Kirby Sports Center in championship on March 12 with ESPN2 cameras on hand.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

MEN'S LACROSSE: Out Of The Shadows: Lafayette Out To Best Start Since '79
NCAA.com/ By Kevin Scheitrum
You'd have to account for sea level. But if you did, and if you planted Matt Mersky right at the top of Lafayette's College Hill, then he'd be right around as tall as your average D-I lacrosse player. At 5-foot-5, 170 pounds, Mersky's built more like a lacrosse stick than a lacrosse player. About half a foot and 20 pounds shy of the prototypical attackman, he routinely gets lost in crowds on the field. Not crowds of defensemen. Crowds of grass.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball team beats Colgate University in Patriot League playoff quarterfinal
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON | The Lafayette College men's basketball team will spend the duration of the Patriot League tournament in the Lehigh Valley. The Leopards passed their first test Wednesday night. Sophomore guard Jim Mower scored 19 points and sophomore forward Ryan Willen added 12 to spark coach Fran O'Hanlon's team to a 73-65 quarterfinal victory over Colgate before a fired-up crowd of 2,563 at Kirby Sports Center. Moments later, Lafayette (18-12) got word that seventh-seeded Holy Cross upset second-seeded Bucknell 67-64 in Lewisburg, Pa. Thus, the third-seeded Leopards will host the Crusaders in a semifinal game 1 p.m. Sunday.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards show depth in win over Colgate
The Morning Call/ By Mandy Housenick
Ah, the true test of a bench. When Colgate was in dire need of a pick-me-up, it didn't arrive. Lafayette's, though, came in many forms. The No. 3 Leopards got 22 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds and five steals from their bench in their 73-65 victory over the sixth-seeded Raiders in the Patriot League tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday night at Kirby Sports Center.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's and women's basketball teams open Patriot League tournament play this week
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
The Lafayette College men's and women's basketball teams will open Patriot League tournament play nearly 300 miles apart this week. The third-seeded Lafayette men (17-12 overall, 8-6 league) will host No. 6 Colgate (10-18, 6-8) in a quarterfinal round game 7 tonight at Kirby Sports Center. It's the men's first home playoff game since the 2000 team won the tournament by never leaving KSC. The Leopards are 4-0 in home tournament contests. Much farther up the East Coast, the Leopards women (6-22, 4-10), seeded seventh, play second-seeded American (20-8, 13-1) at 5 p.m. Saturday at Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lehigh, Lafayette open with tests at home
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Patriot League men's basketball playoff games begin tonight with both Lehigh and Lafayette hosting quarterfinal games. Top-seeded Lehigh hosts Army, while No. 3 seed Lafayette hosts Colgate. Don't be quick to think win-win, however. Lehigh, for example, is a solid favorite on paper based on its 18- and 12-point drubbings of Army during the regular season. But Army defeated Lehigh in the league quarterfinals each of the last three years, and each time on the Mountain Hawks' home floor at Stabler Arena, where tonight they meet again. The Cadets' victory margins were three points twice and one point on the other nightmarish occasion.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball coach Fran O'Hanlon shuffles his players In-N-Out
The Express-Times/ By Barry Miller
In-N-Out. In-N-Out. In-N-Out. Throughout California, In-N-Out is a popular drive through hamburger chain. At Lafayette College, in-and-out could describe coach Fran O'Hanlon's system for subbing his players on the men's basketball team. O'Hanlon, who earned Patriot League Coach of the Year honors for the third time Monday, moves players in and out of games more than nearly any coach around.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: McCollum, O'Hanlon honored
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Lehigh freshman C.J. McCollum was rewarded for his end-to-end domination and Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon was honored for leading a team not expected to do well to a third-place finish in the Patriot League regular season. McCollum averaged a league-best 27.8 points over the final six games and accomplished history by becoming the first player in league history to be named the rookie and player of the year, pulling off the double-double despite not winning one player of the week honor. O'Hanlon won his third coach of the year award, this one in perhaps his best coaching job in his 15 seasons in Easton. Lafayette, picked in the preseason to finish last, went 8-6 in league play to secure the No. 3 seed and its first Patriot League home playoff game since 2000. Lafayette junior sharpshooter Jared Mintz joined McCollum as a first-team pick. The No. 3 Leopards (17-10) will host No. 6 Colgate in the tournament quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

MEN'S LACROSSE: Lafayette bolts to big lead, stops BU in lacrosse
Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, N.Y.)
VESTAL -- Tom Pereni and Matt Mersky scored three goals apiece Saturday as Lafayette held off Binghamton, 12-9, in a non-conference men's lacrosse game at the Bearcats Sports Complex. Binghamton (1-1) nearly came back from a 9-1, second-quarter deficit. Junior midfielder Frank Donlon finished the game with three goals and an assist and senior attack Jeff Rurey had two goals and a pair of assists. Freshman attack Matt Springer also netted a pair of goals and senior midfielder Steve Carlson added two assists. Mersky and Perini each scored twice in the first quarter as the Leopards (2-0) built a 6-1 lead. Lafayette outshot Binghamton 18-8 during the opening 15 minutes and took advantage of five BU turnovers.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Poor first half proves costly for Lafayette men's basketball team at American
The Express-Times/ By Harvey Valentine
WASHINGTON, D.C. | The Lafayette Leopards surprising regular season ended on an unsettling note Saturday as they were beaten by American 78-60 in a game they never led at Bender Arena. The Leopards finished third in the Patriot League with an 8-6 record (17-12 overall) and limp home to begin the playoffs Wednesday night against Colgate. They'll be looking to put Saturday's loss, as well as a 2-5 February, far behind them.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball coach Fran O'Hanlon deserves to win Patriot League Coach of the Year award
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore
Last October, the Patriot League released its men's basketball preseason poll. Holy Cross, who was returning four starters and nine letterwinners, was picked to finish first. Lafayette College was selected to finish last. Heading into today's final slate of regular-season action, the Leopards are tied with Bucknell for second place at 8-5. No matter the outcome of the 4 p.m. matchup at American, Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon deserves to win the league's Coach of the Year award. Whether he and his team took the preseason poll to heart as motivation or not, the Leopards are the surprise of the 2009-10 season.

Friday, February 26, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Patriot League men's basketball playoff pairings still unsettled
The Express-Times/ By Barry Miller
The Patriot League men¹s basketball tournament begins Wednesday, but little is settled heading into the final weekend of the season. This much is known for Lehigh and Lafayette: The schools control their destiny for the most part.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball team clinches home game for Patriot League playoffs
The Express-Times/ By Barry Miller
WEST POINT, N.Y. | For a team picked to go nowhere, the Lafayette College men's basketball team clinched at least one home game in the Patriot League playoffs on Wednesday night with a convincing 80-54 victory over Army at Christl Arena. The Leopards will play their first Patriot League playoff game next Wednesday at Kirby Sports Center.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball team honors former players and coaches in commemoration of its 100th season
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
Sunday afternoon was business as usual as I sat at press row covering the Lehigh-Lafayette men's basketball game. At halftime, however, I became a spectator just like everybody else in the near-capacity crowd at Kirby Sports Center. About 70 former Lafayette players and coaches -- from recent graduates like Pat Betley to 1949 grad Marty Zippel -- were on hand in commemoration of the school's 100th season of men's basketball. One by one, public address announcer Jim Finnen introduced the players onto the floor to rousing applause from the appreciative crowd. I subconsciously turned the clock back to 1969-70, the year I saw my first Lafayette basketball game at old Alumni Memorial Gymnasium.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: A century of memories at Lafayette
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
No one from that first game -- a 12-4 victory over the Allentown YMCA on Feb. 2, 1901 in what must have been a thriller-- was present in Lafayette's Kirby Sports Center on Sunday, but the Leopards' rich basketball tradition was on full display. Fran O'Hanlon's 2010 team played perhaps its most complete game of the season and knocked off Patriot League leader Lehigh 90-75 for its 17th victory -- the most since 2004. But this day was about more than one victory. It was about 1,221 (and counting) victories in 100 seasons of basketball on College Hill.

Monday, February 22, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball team defeats Lehigh University
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON | Bombs away! The Lafayette Leopards unleashed an aerial assault Sunday on Lehigh that left Mountain Hawks coach Brett Reed in a state of confusion. Senior guard Jeff Kari paced a relentless 3-point barrage by splashing 6 of 7 from behind the arc to lead coach Fran O'Hanlon's team to a 90-75 Patriot League men's basketball victory before a boisterous crowd of 3,375 at Kirby Sports Center. Lafayette made seven of its first nine 3-point attempts and converted 16 of 29 overall to displace the Mountain Hawks from sole possession of first place in the league standings.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Tracy Tripucka's scoring record at Lafayette College still passes the test of time
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
Tracy Tripucka can take a deep breath and relax. Lafayette College's all-time basketball scoring leader with 1,973 points, accomplished in just three seasons from 1969-72 -- and before the 3-point line -- isn't about to be topped anytime soon. As for his 60th birthday boring down on him like an avalanche well, he's on his own there. Tripucka was among the absentees Sunday, when former players and coaches returned to campus to help the college observe its 100th season of basketball. The coach who recruited Tripucka, Hal Wissel, came back as did ex-teammates Jay Mottola and Walt Kocubinski.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards take it to Lehigh
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Lafayette guard Jeff Kari did not write a Senior Day script for Sunday's Patriot League matchup against Lehigh. It just seemed that way during a second-half stretch where Kari, energized by the crowd, drilling three straight 3-pointers. The Kirby Sports Center crowd went crazy. Lafayette got more pumped. Lehigh got buried into an 17-point deficit just five minutes into the half and the Leopards maintained a double-digit lead en route to a 90-75 victory. Lafayette made a season-high 16 pointers, led by Kari's career-high six treys in seven attempts. He finished with 18 points, all on 3's, before 3,375 fans on an afternoon that Lafayette celebrated 100 years of men's basketball by honoring past players during halftime.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College celebrates 100 years of men's basketball
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
The phone calls to the newspaper's sports desk came directly from Lafayette College's head basketball coach: Tom Davis urging the voice at the other end to come at once to Alumni Gym and check out a mighty big recruit with a size 22 sneaker, and Fran O'Hanlon feeling it necessary to track down the sports editor late at night in our old composing room to announce he was having a 6-foot-11 player FedExed from Romania.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Former Lafayette College men's basketball players: Where are they now?
The Express-Times
A sampling of former Lafayette College basketball players, where they are living and career highlights with the Leopards with assistance from John Leone, former head coach and current associate director of major gifts:

MEN'S BASKETBALL: LAFAYETTE VS. LEHIGH
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore
Who: Lehigh Mountain Hawks (17-9 overall, 8-3 Patriot League) vs. Lafayette Leopards (15-11, 6-5). When: 2 p.m. today. Where: Kirby Sports Center (3,500), Easton. TV: CBS College Sports (RCN 421, DIRECTV 613, Dish Network 152.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball team drops Patriot League contest to Bucknell
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore
LEWISBURG, Pa. | The Lafayette College men's basketball team continued struggling in the second half of the Patriot League season with a 78-67 loss at Bucknell University on Wednesday evening. The Leopards and Bison were tied with Navy for second place in the standings but Lafayette, which is 2-4 since a 75-57 loss to Lehigh on Jan. 23, took a hit with the loss, dropping to 15-11 overall and 6-5 in the league, while Bucknell improved to 12-15 and 7-4, still tied with the Midshipmen for second.

Monday, February 15, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette's Jared Mintz and Jim Mower among NCAA statistical leaders
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
Jared Mintz and Jim Mower of the Lafayette College men's basketball team remain nationally ranked in three statistical categories after games played through Feb. 14. Mintz, a 6-foot-8 junior forward from Toronto, Canada, is 11th in field goal percentage at 57.8 percent and 21st in free throw percentage at 88.5 percent.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball team defeats Navy
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON | Sixteen lead changes and 10 ties. It was another typical Patriot League basketball game at Kirby Sports Center. And the Lafayette Leopards earned a much-needed victory Saturday afternoon. Forward Jared Mintz scored 23 points and guard Jeff Kari added a season-high 19 including two crucial free throws with 25 seconds remaining as coach Fran O'Hanlon's team snapped a three-game losing skid with an 83-77 victory over Navy. The win pulled the Leopards (15-10 overall, 6-4 league) into a second-place tie with Navy (12-13, 6-4) in the league standings. First-place Lehigh (16-9, 7-3) leads by one game after beating Army on Saturday night.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette completes the sweep of Navy
The Morning Call/ By Mandy Housenick
Jeff Kari carried a wry smile with him to the Lafayette bench for a timeout late in Saturday afternoon's Patriot League game against visiting Navy. The senior co-captain was greeted by smiles, high-fives and taps on the head from his teammates after making two free throws. It was a much better response than after Kari's two previous trips to the foul line. Leading for all of the contest's final 11 minutes, the Leopards weren't able to put away the Midshipmen until Kari's two free throws with 25.3 seconds left. Lafayette finished off a regular-season sweep of Navy with an 83-77 win at the Kirby Sports Center.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Darion Benbow brings the hustle to Lafayette
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Lafaye tte junior Darion Benbow played in faster-paced games, lived a faster lifestyle in the Bronx, and then chose to continue his education and basketball career in Easton. Nothing has been all that fast since he arrived on College Hill in 2007.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College football coach Frank Tavani talks about his incoming freshmen on National Letter of Intent day
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON | Frank Tavani should be fully stocked with athletes when Lafayette College opens football camp in August. The veteran coach has 32 incoming freshmen who signed National Letters of Intent to play football on College Hill through 2014. It's the third largest recruiting class in Tavani's 11-year tenure at Lafayette. The 2000 and 2006 classes inked 35 recruits. Tavani talked about the signings at Wednesday's National Signing Day inside the Bourger Varsity Football House.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette's large recruiting class has 3 locals
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Even at a Football Championship Subdivision school like Lafayette, the football recruiting process is the sports equivalent of an ''American Idol'' competition. A couple thousand hopeful candidates had to make it through three preliminary rounds -- the recruiter, the position coach and the offensive or defensive coordinator -- before ever getting onto head coach Frank Tavani's must-see list. Tavani said he looked at about 160 players' highlight DVDs this winter; and on Wednesday, Tavani revealed the 32 freshmen-to-be who signed National Letters of Intent to bring their considerable skills to Lafayette in September. The Leopards had 26 seniors on the team that finished with an 8-3 record and a No. 25 ranking in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision for 2009, so the coaches had their work cut out for them.

FOOTBALL: Pine Bush's Skrobola headed to Lafayette
Times Herald Record (Middletown, N.Y.)
Joe Skrobola had two days to get his football video to Lafayette and into defensive coordinator John Loose's hands. So he took matters into his own hands -- literally. Skrobola, a Pine Bush senior, drove the video to Easton, Pa.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

FOOTBALL: Cleveland Browns' Blake Costanzo rooting for underdog Saints in Super Bowl
The Morning Call/ By Nick Fierro
The next best thing to being chosen for the Pro Bowl is getting an all-expenses-paid trip to Miami to watch it, according to Cleveland Browns linebacker and Lafayette College graduate Blake Costanzo. ''I just got back home,'' Costanzo said Tuesday in a phone conversation. ''Josh Cribbs [of the Browns] actually took a bunch of guys. We had a real good time.'' Cribbs is the teammate Costanzo -- and those other ''bunch of guys'' who comprise the Browns' special teams standouts -- helped spring for four touchdowns on returns, a second Pro Bowl berth and a spot on the NFL's All-Decade team. Costanzo did his job so well this past season that he was named an all-pro by Sports Illustrated's Peter King, who wrote: ''No player can match his production on [special] teams this year: 14 tackles, two forced fumbles, three fumbles recovered.''

Sunday, January 31, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: American University men's basketball team defeats Lafayette College
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON | The Lafayette College men's basketball team will have its work cut out in the second half of the Patriot League season. The league standings got considerably tighter Saturday afternoon when junior forward Vlad Moldoveanu scored 21 points to lead American University to a 76-66 victory over the first place Leopards before a crowd of 3,077 at Kirby Sports Center. Lafayette (14-8, 5-2) had its lead shrunk to a half game over Lehigh, which plays today at Holy Cross, and one game over American (7-15, 4-3) in the league standings.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: American pulls away from Lafayette, 76-66 in men's college basketball
The Morning Call/ By Tom Housenick
It's not all fine and dandy that Lafayette will enter the second half of Patriot League play either in sole possession of first place or tied with Lehigh atop the standings. Never mind that the Leopards were picked to finish last in the league in the preseason. That's a long time ago and the Leopards proved in the first half that they can contend for the title. But Lafayette also proved that it can finish last, especially if it has difficulty scoring, defending and rebounding, as was the case during crucial stretches in Saturday's 76-66 loss to American at Kirby Sports Center.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball team cruises past Army
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore
EASTON | The Lafayette College men's basketball team didn't let a poor-shooting effort and its first Patriot League loss over the weekend to rival Lehigh affect it Wednesday night against Army. Though the Leopards appeared they would continue their cold streak from the floor, Fran O'Hanlon's club snapped out of it for a 77-68 league win before a crowd of 2,260 at Kirby Sports Center. Lafayette was a dismal 4 of 27 (14.8 percent) from the floor in the second half of a 75-57 loss to Lehigh on Saturday. The Leopards opened 0-for-5 against the Black Knights but finished 21-for-47.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Mintz paces Leopards early as Lafayette handles Army in men's basketball
The Morning Call/ By Tom Housenick
Jared Mintz's value to the Lafayette men's basketball team is obvious. ''We always try to get him the ball more,'' Leopards coach Fran O'Hanlon said. His importance is reinforced every time Lafayette goes a long stretch without him on the floor or touching the ball in the post. After the 6-foot-8 junior scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds in the first 33 minutes of Wednesday night's game against visiting Army, he took a seat on the bench and let his Lafayette teammates prove they could handle things without his services. Ryan Willen scored on a post-up move and Jim Mower buried one of his five 3-pointers moments after Mintz picked up his fourth foul and the Leopards put away the Black Knights for good, eventually winning 77-68 at the Kirby Sports Center.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lehigh University men's basketball team surges past Lafayette College in second half
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
BETHLEHEM | The Lehigh Valley currently stands as capital of the Patriot League universe. The Lehigh University men's basketball team made certain of that when freshman C.J. McCollum scored 23 points and senior Zahir Carrington added 19 on Saturday night to lead the Mountain Hawks to a convincing 75-57 victory over Lafayette before an energized crowd of 3,849 at Stabler Arena. The victory pulls Lehigh (13-7 overall, 4-1 league) into a first-place tie with Lafayette (13-7, 4-1) in the league standings. The Leopards saw their six-game winning streak go by the wayside.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lehigh University women's basketball team defeats Lafayette College
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON | The stakes were less. However, the result was more of the same for the Lehigh University women's basketball team. The Mountain Hawks looked like a team on a mission to defend their Patriot League title on Saturday afternoon as Erica Prosser had 11 points, five assists and three steals to spark a 66-51 victory over Lafayette at Kirby Sports Center.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Carrington energizes Lehigh
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Lehigh forward Zahir Carrington was already working the paint with vengeance. Then, he rocked the backboard with two dunks within one minute, five-second span in the early minutes of the second half at Stabler Arena, rousing the crowd of 3,849. That really got Carrington pumped up and charged up his teammates, who followed his lead to go on a 30-10 run and coast to a 75-57 win over rival Lafayette on Saturday night in a matchup of Patriot League front-runners.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lehigh leads early, overpowers Lafayette
The Morning Call/ By Tom Housenick
LaKeisha Wright knew exactly what to do with the ball when she got it during Saturday afternoon's Patriot League women's basketball game with rival Lehigh. The Lafayette junior took it hard to the basket, penetrated and dished to a teammate or took a shot. That's what an experienced player does. Problem for Wright, she is one of just two Leopards who are completely comfortable within coach Tammy Smith's complex offensive system.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball team stays atop Patriot League after 61-57 win over Bucknell
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore
EASTON | The Lafayette College men's basketball team is trying to prevent history from repeating itself. The Leopards improved to 4-0 in the Patriot League and remained atop the standings with a 61-57 nail biter over Bucknell on Wednesday night at Kirby Sports Center. Ironically, the 2007-08 league season started the exact same way. Lafayette beat the Bison at home, 80-68, on Jan. 23, 2008, before losing 60-55 to rival Lehigh three days later. The loss sent the Leopards on a 2-7 spiral en route to a 6-8 league finish.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards get past pesky Bison, set sights on Mountain Hawks
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
After surviving a scare, Lafayette can now get set for Lehigh. The Leopards, despite blowing a 13-point lead and committing 23 turnovers, clawed out a 61-57 victory over Bucknell Wednesday night at Kirby Sports Center. Jared Mintz, Lafayette's talented 6-foot-8 junior forward, led the way with his fifth career double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) and senior guard Michael Gruner added 14 points, four rebounds and three steals.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Patriot League takes notice of Lafayette College's fast start
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
The Lafayette College men's basketball team was picked for last place this season in the Patriot League. Results from recent seasons justified the preseason prognostication. Fran O'Hanlon's club (12-6) certainly isn't playing like cellar dwellers, and the rest of the league and its fans are taking notice.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Red-hot Lafayette Leopards men's basketball team is the surprise of the Patriot League
The Express-Times/ By Keith Gary
Don't look now, but the Lafayette Leopards -- picked to finish last in the Patriot League men's basketball standings -- find themselves on the other end of the spectrum in early 2010. Granted it's early, but road wins over Navy and Colgate -- plus a victory over pre-season favorite Holy Cross at Kirby Sports Center -- give every indication that head coach Fran O'Hanlon's club is going to be in the thick of things. If the season ended today, which of course it doesn't, ESPN's chief bracketologist Joe Lunardi has Lafayette squaring off as a 16-seed against top-seeded Texas in the South Region.

Monday, January 18, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Ryan Willen, C.J. McCollum repeat as weekly Patriot League basketball award winners
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
Lafayette College's Ryan Willen was selected as the Patriot League men's basketball Player of the Week for the second straight time, and Lehigh's C.J. McCollum earned his second straight and fourth overall Rookie of the Week honor. The Leopards, at 3-0, are the only unbeaten team remaining in the league while Lehigh is a game behind at 2-1. The squads meet Saturday night at Lehigh.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball team tops Colgate
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
HAMILTON, N.Y. | Colgate University's Cotterell Court has often been a 'House of Horrors' for the Lafayette College men's basketball team. The Leopards dispelled the demons on Wednesday night as Jared Mintz led four double-figure scorers with 22 points to lead coach Fran O'Hanlon's team to a convincing 95-82 Patriot League victory over the Raiders. Ryan Willen scored 19 points for the Leopards followed by Jim Mower with 14 and Jeff Kari with 11. Lafayette shot a sizzling 30-for-53 (56.6 percent) from the floor and was a more-than-respectable 9-for-20 from 3-point range.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College's Amanda Leone shows true team spirit
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
EASTON | In an era of "me-first" athletes, Amanda Leone's contributions to Lafayette College's 43-39 Patriot League women's basketball win over Holy Cross on Saturday were refreshing and a testament to patience. Leone is a senior guard from Easton Area High School who grew up less than a block from Kirby Sports Center on College Hill.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College's Amanda Leone shows true team spirit
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
In an era of "me first" athletes, Amanda Leone's contributions to Lafayette College's 43-39 Patriot League women's basketball win over Holy Cross on Saturday were refreshing and a testament to patience. Leone is a senior guard from Easton Area High School who grew up less than a block from Kirby Sports Center on College Hill. When Leone made the decision to attend Lafayette, where her father John once was the men's basketball coach and currently is a color commentator for the Lafayette Sports Network, there was no guarantee she could be a significant contributor for coach Tammy Smith. More likely, her basketball skills fit better at the Division III level.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball team opens Patriot League with win over pre-season favorite Holy Cross
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON| The Lafayette College men's basketball team turned the Patriot League upside down on Saturday afternoon. The unheralded Leopards got their league season off to a roaring start as Ryan Willen scored 20 points to fuel an 84-74 victory over pre-season favorite Holy Cross at Kirby Sports Center. Lafayette (10-6 overall, 1-0 league), picked to finish last in the eight-team league, received balanced scoring with Jared Mintz adding 16 points, Jeff Kari 14 and Jim Mower 13. Mintz also had nine rebounds.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette keeps it focus, defeats Holy Cross
The Morning Call/ By Jeff Schuler
The type of run Holy Cross made at Lafayette at the start of the second half Saturday afternoon most likely would have doomed the Leopards a year ago. Leading by five points at the break, Lafayette found itself in a three-point deficit five minutes into the second half. Lafayette answered that Crusader push with one of its own, a 14-3 surge sparked by a Kari 3-pointer, and pulled away to an 84-74 win over the struggling Patriot League preseason favorites in both team's league opener.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College men's basketball team closes out non-league portion of schedule with 91-74 win over Columbia
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore
EASTON | Wednesday's game against Columbia was the final tune-up for the Lafayette men's basketball team before opening the Patriot League portion of its schedule. With the 91-74 win at Kirby Sports Center, the Leopards are prepared to prove critics wrong for projecting them to finish last in the league this season.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Overlooked Leopards ready for league slate
The Morning Call/ By Jeff Schuler
The Patriot League men's basketball coaches didn't show Lafayette a whole lot of love in the preseason poll, predicting the Leopards to finish last. Yet when league play begins Saturday, only Army will own more wins than Fran O'Hanlon's squad. The Leopards (9-6) surpassed their win total of last year by pulling away from Columbia, 91-74 Wednesday night in their final non-conference tune-up at Kirby Sports Center.

Monday, January 4, 2010

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette College's men's basketball team defeats winless Penn 77-62
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON | There was no Denzel Washington sighting Sunday at Kirby Sports Center. Instead, the matinee crowd of 1,779 witnessed a shooting clinic by Jim Mower. The sophomore guard made six 3-pointers and scored 21 points to spark the Lafayette College men's basketball team to a 77-62 victory over winless Penn.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Hens surge for OT win
The News Journal (Del.)/ By Kevin Tresolini
NEWARK -- The University of Delaware's 21 points in five minutes of overtime Tuesday night were only five fewer than the Blue Hens scored in the 20 minutes that comprised the second half. But that belated offensive display earned the Blue Hens what they sought, a victory that was particularly pleasing because, at times, it appeared so unlikely. Delaware trailed Lafayette by seven with two minutes left and by four with fewer than 20 seconds to go, but tied it before time ran out and then dominated the extra period for an 82-72 nonconference men's basketball win over the Leopards at the Carpenter Center.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

FIELD HOCKEY: Hilovsky scores big for Lafayette
The Southern Berks News/ By Ric Webb
With a pair goals in a 2-0 victory over Georgetown on Sept. 13 of this year, Daniel Boone graduate Kelly Hilovsky got her senior season off on the right foot for the Lafayette College women's field hockey team.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Jeff Kari adjusting to new role with Lafayette College men's basketball team
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore
Senior co-captain Jeff Kari started every game at guard for the Lafayette College men's basketball team this season until coach Fran O'Hanlon favored junior Ben Wheeler for the past two games. The Leopards won the past two after a four-game skid. Despite not starting, Kari played in 28 minutes of the 77-63 win over Long Island University on Saturday.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Fran O'Hanlon earns career win No. 200 as Lafayette College men's basketball team defeats Long Island University
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore
EASTON | On Saturday afternoon, the Lafayette College men's basketball team duplicated the success it enjoyed Wednesday against Fairleigh Dickinson to end a four-game losing streak. The Leopards are now in the midst of a two-game winning streak after defeating Long Island University 77-63 at Kirby Sports Center for coach Fran O'Hanlon's 200th career victory. In both games, the Leopards built at least a 10-point lead headed into halftime and flew out of the gate in the second half with a large run that ended any hopes of a comeback by the opposition

Thursday, December 10, 2009

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Jim Mower's career night leads Lafayette College men's basketball team past Fairleigh Dickinson, 73-57
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore
EASTON | In the midst of a four-game losing streak, Lafayette men's basketball coach Fran O'Hanlon tried to switch his starting lineup to find the right combination for victory. For the past three games, sophomore Jim Mower started in place of Darion Benbow at forward and on Wednesday, the move paid off as Mower's 23 points led the Leopards to a 73-57 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson University at Kirby Sports Center.

Monday, December 7, 2009

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Princeton men end losing streak
The Trentionian/ By Joe O'Gorman
PRINCETON -- When you have lost four straight games the last thing you are concerned about if style points. Just ask Princeton coach Sydney Johnson. Tigers clawed out a 62-48 win over Lafayette last night in a non-conference game played on Carril Court at Jadwin Gymnasium. The win ends the four-game drought for the Tigers and improves their season mark to 3-4. The loss extends the Leopards losing skid to four and they fall to 4-5.

Friday, December 4, 2009

MEN'S BASKETBALL: La Salle University men's basketball team handles Lafayette College 79-67
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
PHILADELPHIA | The La Salle Explorers gave Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon a taste of his Philadelphia roots on Thursday night. Senior guard Rodney Green scored 19 points to lead the Atlantic 10 Conference program to a 79-67 men's basketball victory over the Leopards at Tom Gola Arena. O'Hanlon, the former Villanova standout and Penn assistant, saw his team fall to 4-4 after its third straight loss.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: La Salle shakes off loss to Villanova with win over Lafayette
Philadelphia Daily News/ By Dick Jerardi
La Salle played at No. 3 Villanova Saturday. Last night, La Salle played against a team coached by a man who once played for some great Villanova teams. There was a difference, a 30-point difference. The Wildcats outclassed the Explorers. The drop in class was evident early against Lafayette, coached by former Wildcats guard Fran O'Hanlon. What was difficult against the 'Cats was not so hard against the Leopards. La Salle played from behind against Villanova and never was allowed to think it could win. The Explorers played from ahead against Lafayette and never looked like anything but a winner at Gola Arena. When the numbers were added up at the finish, La Salle won, 79-67. The Explorers (4-2) held Lafayette (4-4) to 28.1 percent shooting in the first half and led, 35-23. The Explorers were just too big and too strong on offense for Lafayette to do much beyond hoping they would miss. They did not miss nearly enough, shooting 53.3 percent for the game.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Focused La Salle drops Lafayette
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore
With Saturday's scolding by No. 3 Villanova behind them and difficult opponents Rider, Kansas, and Cornell awaiting this month, the La Salle Explorers' task last night at Tom Gola Arena was to avoid falling victim to wandering minds. Although outmanned by La Salle, well-drilled Lafayette is the kind of team that can take down an opponent distracted by what just happened or what might be. But the Explorers paid attention long enough to grab a 79-67 victory to improve to 4-2.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

MEN'S BASKETBALL: St. Peter's University edges Lafayette College 58-56 in men's basketball
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON | A spirited second-half comeback wasn't enough Monday night for the Lafayette College men's basketball team. Wesley Jenkins scored 16 points, including two clutch foul shots with two seconds remaining, to lift St. Peter's to a 58-56 victory over the Leopards before an announced crowd of 1,827 at Kirby Sports Center. It was the second straight loss for the Leopards, who dropped a 97-64 decision to nationally-ranked Georgetown last Saturday.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette basketball team sloppy down the stretch, falls to St. Peter's
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
Three-point shooting gave the Lafayette men's basketball team a chance to end November with a win. Loose balls the Leopards failed to track down left them lamenting a loss. Wesley Jenkins scored nine of his team-high 16 points in the final 5 minutes, 20 seconds, including two free throws with 2.2 seconds left. He finished the game by stealing an inbounds pass to seal St. Peter's 58-56 win over Lafayette in a non-league game at Kirby Sports Center. The Lafayette women opened the last of three Kirby hoops doubleheaders for the season with a 59-48 non-league loss to Mount St. Mary's. While neither home team left happy, the Lafayette men were particularly frustrated by Monday's results.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Mistakes, penalties and missed opportunities cost Lafayette
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore
EASTON | Tuesday night's game against Hartford University could have gone one of two ways for the Lafayette College men's basketball team. The game could be used as a springboard and confidence booster for Saturday's game at No. 18 Georgetown or it could be a setback before traveling to Washington, D.C. The Leopards used clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch to prevail 86-82 over the Hawks at Kirby Sports Center.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Mintz's moves in the paint a work of art for Leopards
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Jared Mintz has been smooth in the post ever since he arrived on Lafayette's campus three years ago. On Tuesday, the 6-foot-8 Canadian unleashed his tough side, along with scoring touch, to key the Leopards' 86-82 non-league victory over Hartford at Kirby Sports Center.

Monday, November 23, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette, Tavani head for recruiting trail
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Frank Tavani admitted Sunday that ''our pride has a little dent in it this morning,'' but having said that, he was on to a much more positive platform. Despite the gut-wrenching 27-21 loss to Lehigh on Saturday in the 145th game in college football's most-played rivalry, Tavani and his staff will begin their recruiting war with a number of big weapons: an 8-3 season, six consecutive winning seasons and six consecutive seasons in which the Leopards have cracked the national Top 25. Tavani was in the Bourger Varsity Football House on Sunday, preparing the recruiting board in his conference room for the start of the process that is aimed at keeping those streaks alive.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

FOOTBALL: Mistakes, penalties and missed opportunities cost Lafayette
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
BETHLEHEM | Of all the big throws Rob Curley made in his Lafayette College career, his final attempt will always be the one he wishes he had back. "That throw will stick in my mind for a very, very long time," the senior quarterback said after throwing an interception in overtime Saturday that sealed the Leopards' fate in a demoralizing 27-21 loss to arch-rival Lehigh at Goodman Stadium. That play was the final chapter in a series of mishaps that doomed the Leopards in Game No. 145 of college football's most played rivalry. Lehigh was clinging to a 27-21 lead when Curley tried to hit Jerome Rudolph out of the backfield around Lehigh's 10-yard line. Curley's pass was underthrown and picked off by Mountain Hawks linebacker Al Pierce. The heartbreaking loss put a damper on an otherwise marvelous season for the Leopards. Just how damaging was the loss?

FOOTBALL: Lehigh University finally on winning side of close game, topping Lafayette College 27-21 in overtime
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore
BETHLEHEM | It was a long time overdue. For the past two seasons, the Lehigh University football team has always been on the wrong side of the coin when it came to close games, especially those decided by seven points or less. Finally, luck turned as the Mountain Hawks defeated rival Lafayette College 27-21 in overtime at Goodman Stadium.

FOOTBALL: Where did these Leopards come from?
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
A 32-yard pass from Rob Curley to Mark Layton on a third-and-10 play late in the third quarter Saturday put the football on the Lehigh 18-yard line. The score was tied at 14, and the Lafayette offense went into smash-mouth mode. Tyrell Coon, pressed into service because the Leopards' most physical back, Maurice White, was unable to go, gained six yards on back-to-back plays to set up first down at the 6. The Leopards looked to be unstoppable.

FOOTBALL: Lehigh wins against Lafayette in overtime stunner
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
From the outside Saturday afternoon, it looked like another chapter from a hauntingly familiar story: defeat about to be snatched again from the jaws of victory for the Lehigh football team. But when quarterback J.B. Clark looked at the faces of his teammates ''there were nothing but smiles. It was uplifting for me.'' And then head coach Andy Coen reminded the group that was huddled at the 50-yard line: ''This is our game; it's only fitting for us to win this one.'' Across the field, Lafayette players were spread out between the 30-yard lines, looking a bit in disarray, in sharp contrast to the tight-knit bunch that came within a whisker of a Patriot League championship.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College football team needs a win over Lehigh to be considered for FCS playoffs
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
Victory today over Lehigh is a must if Lafayette is to return to the NCAA playoffs after a three-year absence, but does not guarantee the required at-large bid. The Leopards' only losses in a 8-2 season came at the hands of nationally-ranked opponents then No. 24/25 Liberty on Sept. 19 and No. 14/13 Holy Cross a week ago. Liberty is 8-2 going into today's game with Stony Brook. The Flames went unbeaten in the Big South Conference, which does not get an automatic playoff bid. Lafayette also holds a win over No. 20/18 Colgate and has defeated the Ivy League's top two teams, Penn and Harvard, which played last week for the league title.

FOOTBALL: Leopards have the ammo, and a memory to wipe out
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
My colleague, Keith Groller, has been reminding us constantly of just how close Lehigh's football team has been to having a flip-flopped 2009 record. I think the number now stands at five losses by seven points or less. And, he's right. Well, for the record, Lafayette enters today's 145th meeting with Lehigh with two losses by a total of eight points. What's more, those are Lafayette's only losses. The situation is not a lot different from a year ago, when Lafayette was 7-3 and Lehigh 4-6. Lehigh romped 31-15.

FOOTBALL: A lot must fall Hawks' way for a repeat upset
The Morning Call/ By Keith Groller
With this Twitter thing we're now doing on the Internet, we give you comments as we're covering games -- at least where possible. Most of this Lehigh football season, my comments -- or tweets, if you will -- haven't been very upbeat. I'll say something along the lines of ''Here, we go again'' every week as I've watched these Mountain Hawks find a way to lose every close game they've had against quality teams.

Friday, November 20, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College and Lehigh University football teams meet for 145th time with much at stake
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
Football coaches at Lafayette College had the players gather around Sunday afternoon in the center of the field at Fisher Stadium, right on top of the team's maroon logo. "We had a long talk," head coach Frank Tavani said. "It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day in the middle of November" a stark contrast to 24 hours earlier, when drenched and chilled by a New England nor'easter, the remnants of Hurricane Ida, the Leopards' dreams of a Patriot League championship and automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs were doused by Holy Cross. A handful of plays could have reversed the outcome two failed extra points, missed assignments here and there and a blatant third-down pass interference call at the Holy Cross 35-yard line that wasn't made, killing a Leopards' drive on their next-to-last possession.

FOOTBALL: Leopards hope to continue season of fond memories
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
From ''The Breakout'' of wide receiver Mark Layton at Georgetown to ''The Second-Chance Kick'' against Penn, ''The Drive'' against Columbia, ''The First'' at Yale, ''The Sweep'' at Harvard, or ''The Seven-Times-Six'' against Colgate, the 2009 football season has provided a scrapbook loaded with happy moments for No. 22/21 Lafayette. But the most recent entry into that book -- let's call it ''The Sack'' -- is one the Leopards would like to have back. It was the defensive play by Holy Cross' Jimmy Thomas that broke the Leopards' back in the game that could have earned them a trip to the FCS postseason tournament and no worse than a tie for the Patriot League's regular-season championship.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

FOOTBALL: Quarterback Rob Curley has stepped up as the leader of the Lafayette College football team
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
Rob Curley's last visit to Lehigh University's Goodman Stadium as Lafayette College's quarterback, in November 2007, is one he won't soon forget. "I remember it being cold, and breaking my finger on the last drive," he said. "And the game just flew by. I looked up at the scoreboard and it was the fourth quarter." It should be known that Lafayette prevailed 21-17 and Curley, a sophomore, won the game's MVP award. The Leopards defeated the Mountain Hawks for the fourth time in a row for the first time since 1949 in a storied rivalry that spans three centuries. He completed 15 of 25 passes for 257 yards and a touchdown in only his fourth game as a full-time starter. Seemingly recovered from last Saturday's disappointing, two-point, championship-game loss at Holy Cross, in which the Crusaders locked up the Patriot League's automatic bid in the NCAA playoffs, a relaxed and smiling Curley was enjoying attention from the media earlier this week at Lafayette's posh football headquarters, the spacious Bourger Varsity House at Fisher Stadium.

FOOTBALL: Patriot League Notebook: League has make its mark nationally
The Morning Call/ By Keith Groller
As the Patriot League grapples with the issue of allowing member schools to give athletic scholarships --Fordham has said it will go ahead and do it with its next recruiting class and will not be eligible for league honors beginning next season -- there's little question that the PL has had a banner 2009 football season. Who knows if the league will be rewarded with more than one qualifier for the FCS playoffs (Holy Cross has already secured the automatic berth) or if the league can win a playoff game for the first time since Colgate reached the national championship game in 2003.

FOOTBALL: No name for their game
The Morning Call/ By Keith Groller
They own more quarterback sacks -- 37 -- than any unit in the country and yet the Lehigh defense doesn't seem to have a slick nickname like ''The Sack Exchange,'' ''Steel Curtain'' or ''Fearsome Foursome.'' Considering the quiet nature of captains Matt Cohen and B.J. Benning, maybe ''The South Mountain Silencers'' fits best. Cohen, an outside linebacker, and Benning, a nose guard, lead Lehigh in sacks with nine and seven, respectively.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette quarterback Rob Curley a tough competitor
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Rob Curley remembers all too well having to watch from the sidelines at the start of the 2008 Lafayette-Lehigh game. ''It wasn't fun,'' he said Monday, without elaborating. Curley also remembers that, at the start of 2009 spring practice back in April, he was told that the Lafayette quarterback job was his to lose, but also that there would be ''open competition'' with Marc Quilling and Ryan O'Neil. Curley said the Lehigh-game benching and the coaches' spring-drills edict to ''go get your job back'' have been ''a huge driving force in the way this whole season has gone.''

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

FOOTBALL: 'Best time of the year' for Gary Laubach
The Morning Call/ By Keith Groller
Lafayette College is believed to be the only Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) program in the country to have all of its games televised. Home and away, near and far, the Leopards are on the Lafayette Sports Network, which translates locally into being seen on RCN-4 or on WBPH-60, a channel that has a spot on several area cable lineups, including Service Electric's. This is the seventh straight season that all Lafayette football games are televised and LSN announcers Gary Laubach and John Leone will be at Lehigh's Goodman Stadium on Saturday for the 145th edition of college football's most-played rivalry.

Monday, November 16, 2009

FOOTBALL: Leopards still have hope for playoffs
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Rob Curley's dilemma was very real. He was trying to think about how he could have made things different, while at the same time fighting with the emotions of the biggest defeat of his collegiate football career. ''I'm holding back tears right now,'' Lafayette's senior quarterback said Saturday, moments after his team lost 28-26 in its bid for a Patriot League championship at No. 13/14 Holy Cross. ''I'm so Â... my emotion is Â... I don't know what to feel. I feel like I could have done one more thing. If I didn't throw that pick down close in there. Something. I just feel empty right now.'' Undoubtedly, Curley was not the only Lafayette player second-guessing himself after Holy Cross rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to break Lafayette's seven-game winning streak, win the league title and secure an automatic spot in the NCAA FSC postseason tournament.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College football team loses 28-26 to Holy Cross in battle for Patriot League title
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
WORCESTER, Mass. | So close, yet so far. With the Patriot League football championship hanging in the balance, the Lafayette Leopards' gallant effort fell short on Saturday afternoon. Holy Cross star quarterback Dominic Randolph passed for 348 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Crusaders to a 28-26 victory over the Leopards in a winner-take-all grudge match at Fitton Field. The victory clinches a share of the league title for Holy Cross, and guarantees coach Tom Gilmore's team its first NCAA appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs since 1983. Both teams went into the game at 8-1 overall and 4-0 in the league. With the league's first tie-breaker being head to head, Holy Cross (9-1, 5-0) is granted the automatic bid.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette loses to Holy Cross
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
For Tom Gilmore, it was the day he was finally able to enjoy the Christmas present he received in 2003. For Rob Curley, it was as if someone had stolen his Christmas present out from under the tree before he had a chance to open it. Holy Cross weathered an early storm Saturday and did the thing it does best - allowed Dominic Randolph to make plays - and scored 21 straight points in the second and third quarters to end Lafayette's dream of a championship season and earn the Patriot League championship with a 28-26 victory on soggy Fitton Field. The Crusaders, who fell five points short of winning league titles the last three years, won their fifth straight Patriot League game and ninth in 10 games overall while handing the Leopards their first PL loss and second in 10 starts. Holy Cross also earned an automatic berth into the NCAA FCS tournament. For the second year in a row, missed extra points by Davis Rodriguez figured into a Holy Cross victory over Lafayette. The Crusaders ruined the Leopards' championship bid by winning by a single point 27-26 in Fisher Stadium. And this time it was a virtually identical outcome.

FOOTBALL: Crusaders clinch PL's bid to NCAAs
Worcester Telegram & Gazette/ By Jennifer Toland
WORCESTER -- Even the remnants of Hurricane Ida couldn't blow Dominic Randolph off course. The star quarterback returned to Holy Cross for a fifth season with a purpose -- to win a Patriot League championship. That's what was missing from his record-breaking résumé, and that's what was on the line yesterday at Fitton Field in No. 13 HC's showdown with No. 20 Lafayette. In the rain, wind and mud, a determined Randolph and his equally resolute Crusaders teammates went out and beat the talented Leopards, 28-26, to give HC at least a share of its first PL title since 1991 and the league's automatic FCS playoff berth.

Friday, November 13, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette, Holy Cross will settle Patriot League football title
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
Both teams remember the celebrations. Lafayette watched jubilant Holy Cross players pummel Rob Koster in the end zone last November after the 6-foot-6 wide receiver caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Dominic Randolph in the closing seconds, rallying the Crusaders to a 27-26 victory at Fisher Stadium. Holy Cross did the watching one week later in the regular season finale the Patriot League's championship game. On a snow-covered afternoon in Hamilton, N.Y., better suited for the Iditarod, the Crusaders had the ball all of 5:11 in the frustrating second half of a 28-27 Colgate victory that sent the Raiders dancing off the field and into the NCAA playoffs. Which team Dances with the Stars this year, Lafayette or Holy Cross, will be known around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, roughly three hours after kickoff at Fitton Field in Worcester, Mass.

FOOTBALL: HC, Lafayette in a poll-vaulting battle for playoff lives
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph will play in the final regular-season home game of his celebrated career tomorrow, and coach Tom Gilmore has this advice for Central Mass. football fans -- "Come out and see Dom play," he said. "Players like him don't come along too often." In the biggest game at Fitton Field in at least 20 years, Randolph leads No. 13 Holy Cross against No. 20 Lafayette for the Patriot League championship and an automatic NCAA playoff berth.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

FOOTBALL: Patriot League notebook
The Morning Call
It's the game of the year in the Patriot League -- Lafayette at Holy Cross Saturday in Worcester, Mass. -- and it's hard to find a statistical clue to the outcome. No. 13 ranked Holy Cross is the No. 1 scoring offense in the league, averaging 34.8 points per game. No. 20 ranked Lafayette is the No. 1 scoring defense, allowing just 19.6 points per game. They are ranked No. 1 (Lafayette) and No. 2 (Holy Cross ) in passing efficiency, and No. 2 (Holy Cross) and No. 3 (Lafayette) in defensive pass efficiency.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette women hoping to build off appearance in Patriot League final
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Correcting flaws on the court is something Lafayette women's basketball coach Tammy Smith and her staff did an admirable job of last season. However, Smith sought some outside help for correcting a different type of flaw. Last season, Lafayette (10-22) lost its final 10 regular-season games, then made a stunning run to the Patriot League tournament championship game before losing to Lehigh 64-56. In the 2007-08 season, Lafayette lost seven of its final nine regular-season games. Smith, who's entering her ninth season on College Hill, hopes to break the agonizing late-season trend as the Leopards try to build off last season's runner-up finish.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette eyes identity, more wins
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Coming off an eight-win season, Lafayette seniors Jeff Kari, Mike Gruner and Marek Koltun figured they needed to try different measures to improve. They also need to bond. So they moved in together and spent much of the day and night together in the summer.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

FOOTBALL: Unfinished business for Leopards
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
On the surface, the number 31 seems inconsequential; but members of the Lafayette football team have been reminded of it almost every day since the end of the 2008 season. Weight training workouts end with 31 repetitions. Practices don't end until 31 wind sprints have been completed. Tired or worn out, the work continues. Why 31? Well, Lafayette gave up 31 points to arch-rival Lehigh in the final game of the season. Also, the Leopards allowed 14 fourth-quarter points to Colgate and 17 fourth-quarter points to Holy Cross -- a total of 31. Lafayette lost all three games and slid from 3-0 to 3-3 in the Patriot League.

MEN'S SOCCER: Lehigh, Lafayette men's soccer players named all-league
The Morning Call
The Lafayette men's soccer team, heading to its eighth-straight Patriot League Tournament, saw two of its players earn All-Patriot League honors. Senior Philip Nelson (Attleboro, Mass./Attleboro) was named the Patriot League Goalie of the Year, the first ever Leopard to earn the honor, while B.J. Glenn (Philadelphia, Pa./Shipley School) earned Second-Team status.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

BASKETBALL: Lafayette men and women excited about upcoming basketball season
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON | The Lafayette College men's and women's basketball teams were each picked to finish dead last in the Patriot League's preseason polls. However, expectations appeared to be much higher Monday at the Lafayette Basketball Media Night on the second floor of Kirby Sports Center.

BASKETBALL: It's where you finish for Leopards' men's, women's teams
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Tipoff to the 2008-09 men's and women's basketball season for Lafayette comes Friday in a doubleheader at Kirby Sports Center. On Monday night at Lafayette's basketball media day, men's coach Fran O'Hanlon and women's coach Tammy Smith, shared thoughts on the upcoming season and also reflected on last season. Smith had a more memorable flashback. That's because the Leopard women, who lost their last 10 regular-season games, won back-to-back Patriot League Tournament games and then played rival Lehigh for the championship in an electric environment at Stabler Arena.

Monday, November 9, 2009

FOOTBALL: HC-Lafayette title clash on tap
Boston Herald/ By John Connolly
Three straight 7-4 seasons are usually a cause for joy. In the case of Holy Cross, however, it merely meant close-but-no-cigar. That could all change this Saturday for the No. 13 Crusaders (8-1, 4-0) when No. 25 Lafayette (8-1, 4-0) comes to Fitton Field in Worcester with the Patriot League title and automatic berth in the FCS playoffs at stake. It will also be a marquee matchup between HC senior quarterback Dominic Randolph, who has rewritten the school and league record books, and Lafayette senior Rob Curley, who tied a Patriot League mark with seven touchdown passes in a 56-49 win against Colgate (8-2, 3-2) over the weekend.

FOOTBALL: Tavani's decisions turned out well for Lafayette
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Lafayette scored touchdowns on a 45-yard pass to a tight end (Michael Bolton) and a 50-yard pass to a fullback (Jeff Cumming), but in looking back at the Leopards' incredibly entertaining 56-49 victory over Colgate on Saturday, some little things stick out. On a Colgate series near the end of the first half, Lafayette Coach Frank Tavani called three straight timeouts instead of allowing the clock to run. And on a Leopards series late in the fourth quarter, Tavani elected to push for a touchdown instead of playing safe and taking an almost automatic field goal. Both moves worked perfectly for the Leopards, who on Saturday will play their most important game in three seasons when they travel to Holy Cross for a game in which the winner assures itself of the Patriot League championship.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

FOOTBALL: Records shattered in PL showdown
The Sports Network / By Brett Kahn
Easton, PA (Sports Network) - No one is saying that the Patriot League is as prominent as the Colonial Athletic Association or the Southern Conference. But Football Championship Subdivision fans and critics can't deny that Lafayette and Colgate fought in one of the best offensive battles anywhere this season, Saturday, at Fisher Field as Lafayette took down Colgate 56-49.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College football team outlasts Colgate University 56-49 in Patriot League thriller
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON | Rob Curley and Nate Eachus spent better than three hours fighting it out for Patriot League supremacy on Saturday. Ultimately, it was Curley who delivered the knockout punch. The senior quarterback passed for 373 yards and tied a league record with seven touchdown passes to lead Lafayette College to a wild 56-49 football victory over Colgate at Fisher Stadium. Curley's final touchdown pass, a 5-yard strike to wide receiver Mark Layton, proved to be the deciding points. It gave the Leopards a 56-42 lead with 2:24 remaining.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette scores big over Colgate
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
It might be difficult to buy into the theory that, in a football game that featured a record-setting explosion that included seven touchdown passes for Lafayette's Rob Curley, five rushing TDs for Colgate's Nate Eachus, 105 points and 1,033 yards of offense, the final result might have come down to three plays of defense. But you could make a good case for that Saturday as a beleaguered Lafayette defense rose up with only its second three-and-out series against potent Colgate, and the Leopards' offense capitalized on a 3-yard punt to turn a short field into a breathing-room touchdown and outlasted Colgate 56-49 to set up a showdown with Holy Cross for first place in the Patriot League. Lafayette's seventh straight victory -- fourth in the league -- combined with Holy Cross' 24-20 comeback win over Lehigh means that when the Leopards and the Crusaders meet Saturday in Worcester, Mass., the winner will clinch no worse than a tie for the title.

Friday, November 6, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College to face its toughest Patriot League test against Colgate
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
It has come down to this, the four perennial favorites in Patriot League football: Lafayette and Holy Cross, unbeaten in league games; Colgate and Lehigh, each with one loss. "This is a championship football game," Lafayette coach Frank Tavani said this week in advance of the Leopards' showdown with defending champion Colgate (8-1, 3-1) unbeaten through seven games until being chewed up for six touchdowns at Holy Cross two weeks ago by Crusaders quarterback Dominic Randolph. "It's that simple," Tavani said. "It's a championship game for them and for us." The Leopards (7-1, 3-0) finish the regular season at Holy Cross and Lehigh.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

FOOTBALL: Leopards likely to be at less than full strength
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Coach Frank Tavani was not himself at Tuesday's weekly Lafayette football media luncheon. He was running a fever of 101 degrees, and he had just taken several kinds of medication to try to get his flu in check. But that wasn't his worst piece of news. Asked if he might be the sickest member of the team, Tavani said, ''I can only tell you, I'm not going to identify them, but as I was leaving the infirmary, there were four more of our players -- and two of them starters -- going in, and they looked worse than me.''

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette makes national rankings
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Lafayette joined its next two Patriot League opponents -- Colgate and Holy Cross -- among the top teams in the country in two Football Championship Subdivision polls released Monday. At the same time, Leopard quarterback Rob Curley, who led Lafayette to its sixth straight victory and seventh in eight 2009 games on Saturday, was named Patriot League offensive player of the week for the first time this season. Lafayette came in at No. 25 in The Sports Network's Top 25 and at No. 24 in the FCS Coaches Poll -- the sixth straight year the Leopards have gotten into the Top 25.

Monday, November 2, 2009

FOOTBALL: LAFAYETTE Tavani: 'We got back to Lafayette business'
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
When Frank Tavani looked at the first-half statistics of his football team's game with Bucknell on Saturday, the Lafayette coach saw something that ''really rubbed me the wrong way.'' The something was a net four yards rushing on 13 attempts. The longest run of the half was a seven-yarder, and a 19-yard loss on a botched center-quarterback snap virtually wiped out any gains the Leopards did have against a Bucknell defense that was ready for the Lafayette ground game. Everyone who knows how feisty Tavani can get at times figured he would be especially animated in the locker room at halftime, given the 7-7 score and the lack of offensive production.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

FOOTBALL: Quarterback Rob Curley leads Lafayette College to 35-14 win over Bucknell in Patriot League football
The Express-Times/ By Michael Blouse
EASTON | Rob Curley might not have the name recognition of several other Patriot League quarterbacks. But the Lafayette College senior is proving to be effective, efficient and excellent this season. Curley enjoyed the finest day of his collegiate career Saturday, completing 30 of 35 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns in the Leopards' 35-14 victory over Bucknell before a crowd of 5,549 at Fisher Stadium.

FOOTBALL: Curley wakes lazy Leopards with second-half spurt
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Bucknell coach Tim Landis said Saturday that he read somewhere that Lafayette quarterback Rob Curley ''manages the game. I don't think that's fair. He manages the game, but he's a game-changer as well.'' Landis saw it first hand. Curley had arguably the best passing day of his life as he led a second-half explosion in which the Leopards scored touchdowns on their first four possessions to pull away and whip Bucknell 35-14 at Fisher Stadium for their sixth straight victory and seventh in eight games. And as satisfying as that might be, coach Frank Tavani reminded his media audience that his team had seven victories in 2008, too, but lost three games down the stretch to finish with a pedestrian 7-4 record.

Friday, October 30, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College going for sixth straight win
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
Lafayette College's current five-game winning streak has seen the Leopards sweep four Ivy League opponents, including preseason favorite Harvard, and hold off Fordham with John Skelton, the Rams' NFL quarterback prospect. Bucknell comes to town next, on Saturday, in what Leopards coach Frank Tavani calls a "trap game" if he ever saw one. It's the Leopards' next-to-last home game this season. The Bison (3-4, 1-1 Patriot) were soundly beaten last Saturday by another struggling outfit, Lehigh, before a homecoming crowd in Lewisburg, Pa.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

SOCCER: A doctor gives homeless a healthy chance
The Philadelphia Inquirer/ By Monica Yant Kinney
Any good coach knows the off-season matters. That's why Dr. Wilbur "Billy" Oaks has no plans to let his players slack off until spring. The men of the Body and Soul Soccer Team at St. John's Hospice (www.saintjohnshospice.org) may be homeless, but they must stay focused just like the pros.

FOOTBALL: Healthy Leopard tailbacks ready for breakout game
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
The eighth game of Lafayette's 2008 football season was at Colgate. The Leopards were down to their fourth different starter at tailback and actually prepared starting fullback Joe Russo as the backup to Jerome Rudolph at TB. This is Week 8 for the Leopards; the opponent is Bucknell, which flip-flopped with Colgate on this year's schedule. Unlike a year ago, Lafayette has all of its tailbacks ready for duty.

Monday, October 26, 2009

FOOTBALL: Leopards keep their feet on the ground after win
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
They didn't dance in the Lafayette locker room Saturday following the Leopards' 26-21 Patriot League victory over Fordham. It wasn't that the victory was insignificant. It was that the dancing was inappropriate. ''That was for the first half of the season,'' coach Frank Tavani said Sunday. ''There will be no more dancing until the proper time.'' He never identified ''the proper time,'' but it doesn't take a genius to read between the lines. It's about focus. The next dance should not be expected until the Leopards can check off the phrase ''Patriot League champions'' on their 2009 goals list. Lafayette, Lehigh and Holy Cross are deadlocked for first place in the league with 2-0 records and four games to play. From this point last year, the season went downhill, so Tavani and his players know they cannot lose their focus if they hope to make this season different.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette defense holds Fordham offense
The Sports Network/ By Brett Kahn
Easton, PA (Sports Network) - Coming into today's game against Lafayette at Fisher Stadium, Fordham boasted the nation's top offense, led by their near NFL-ready quarterback John Skelton. But 60 minutes of football later, Skelton had his head down, while the Leopards defense held its collective head high after a victorious 26-21 effort. Most FCS critics picked Lafayette to finish near the top of the Patriot League, but most likely not ahead of Holy Cross and the Rams. But after today's showing, people are beginning to warm up to the fact that Lafayette can hang with anyone in the league, especially with its defense.

FOOTBALL: Rob Curley, stout defense lead Lafayette College to 26-21 win over Fordham in Patriot League football
The Express-Times/ By Michael Blouse
EASTON | Lafayette College quarterback Rob Curley took a backseat in this week's pregame hype to a more prolific signal-caller, John Skelton of Fordham. But on Saturday, with a big assist from his wide receivers and a stout defense, Curley outplayed Skelton and the Leopards pulled out a 26-21 win over the Rams in a Patriot League game at Fisher Stadium. Lafayette, now 6-1 overall, led throughout the second half but needed a defensive stop in the final seconds to stay unbeaten in league play.

FOOTBALL: Leopard Spots
The Express-Times
-- Defensive coordinator John Loose's unit held Fordham eight points under its season scoring average in Saturday's 26-21 victory at Fisher Stadium.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette quarterback steals the spotlight
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
The scout from the New Orleans Saints came to Fisher Stadium Saturday to see a quarterback show. He got one - but not from the QB he expected. Lafayette's Rob Curley upstaged highly touted John Skelton of Fordham, passing for a career high 305 yards and helping his team out of several jams as the Leopards defeated Fordham 26-21 for their fifth straight win and sixth in seven games overall.

FOOTBALL: Fordham at Lafayette college football
The Morning Call
Photo gallery.

Friday, October 23, 2009

FOOTBALL: Fordham quarterback John Skelton poses big problem for Lafayette College football team
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
Lafayette's drive for its first Patriot League football championship in three years and a return to the NCAA playoffs begins in earnest Saturday when the Leopards tackle the high-octane Fordham Rams. The Leopards (5-1, 1-0 Patriot) have proven themselves serious contenders after running the table of four Ivy League opponents in the last four weeks, capped by last Saturday's 35-18 thrashing of preseason favorite Harvard. Fordham (3-3, 0-1) already has stubbed its toe in the league, losing 20-12 last month at Colgate. The Rams, behind NFL quarterback prospect John Skelton, have since won three in a row, including last week's 39-27 romp at Cornell. Skelton threw for a school-record 420 yards and five touchdowns and added a sixth score on a 1-yard run.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

FOOTBALL: 'Dancing' Leopards a close-knit bunch that wins
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
When Lafayette coach Frank Tavani and three of his football players walked into the postgame media conference Saturday at Harvard Stadium, Tavani was almost apologetic that the time with his team after the game went longer than usual.

Monday, October 19, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College ready to push for league title
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Victories over arguably the top four teams in the Ivy League may be nice scrapbook material for Lafayette's football players. But the reality is that, at 5-1, they are no better off than, let's say, 1-5 Lehigh when it comes to playing games beyond the 145th meeting between the rivals on Nov. 21. The regular-season champion is the only Patriot League team guaranteed a berth in the Football Championship Subdivision (Division I-AA) championship tournament, and right now, the Leopards and the Brown and White are both 1-0 with five league opponents remaining. And if Lafayette coach Frank Tavani was late getting home from the Bourger Varsity Football House Sunday night, it might have been because he was watching the latest aerial show put on by the next foe on the Leopards' schedule: Fordham.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette Finds Motivation in Teammate
The Express-Times/ By Kate Leist
With eight consecutive losses to Harvard, the Lafayette football team didn't need much extra motivation for Saturday's game. But the Leopards got it in the form of freshman Peter Bross. Bross, a fullback from Allentown, Penn., was diagnosed with cancer just before his high school graduation. The rookie had been doing well in his first weeks on campus until a setback on Friday required hospitalization.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College completes sweep of Ivy League foes
The Express-Times/ By Craig Larson
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. | The long bus ride up to Boston on Friday afternoon was different. More focus, more determination, more belief. And unquestionably, more passion. "Usually, guys are sleeping but they were more focused, a lot of guys were talking about the game," said Lafayette quarterback Rob Curley, who as a senior, was making the third trip of his career to play Harvard. This was a turning point during Lafayette College's decisive 35-18 victory before 7,142 chilled folks at Harvard Stadium that was one for the Leopards to savor.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette football team defeats Harvard, 35-18
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Frank Tavani wanted to downplay use of the ''d'' word Saturday afternoon, but if what Lafayette did to Harvard didn't qualify as domination, the word needs a new definition. The Leopards' offense scored 21 points off two early turnovers and a third Crimson error that could be classified as a turnover, and the defense limited the Crimson to 156 offensive yards before giving up a pair of meaningless touchdowns in the final quarter of a 35-18 victory that gave Tavani his first win over Harvard as a head coach. It was a historic victory -- the first time Lafayette has defeated four Ivy League teams in one season -- in a historic setting, 106-year-old Harvard Stadium.

FOOTBALL: Crimson miscues costly
The Boston Globe/ By Ed Laubach
Operating out of the spread option, Collier Winters looked right and zipped his first pass of the afternoon to the sideline, intended for sure-handed wideout Chris Lorditch. The collision, and turnover that followed, put Harvard in an early hole and certainly reinforced the belief of a determined Lafayette squad looking to halt a decade of misery against the Crimson.

Friday, October 16, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College alumnus Blake Costanzo making an impact in NFL for Cleveland Browns
The Express-Times/ By Michael Blouse
During his playing days at Lafayette College, Leopards coach Frank Tavani thought of Blake Costanzo as a "psycho" on the football field. And now, "Psycho" has arrived in the NFL. Costanzo, a 2006 Lafayette graduate and the only Patriot League player currently competing in the National Football League, is a hero in Cleveland as his timely fumble recovery late in Sunday's game at Buffalo set up the Browns' winning field goal in a 6-3 victory. The win was Cleveland's first this season.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College football team looking for sweep of Ivy League foes at Harvard
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
Five games into a football season in which Lafayette was picked to finish third in the Patriot League, the Leopards are showing they just may have the ingredients to take it all. But first things first: Harvard on Saturday. The Crimson, chosen in the preseason to win the Ivy League, has strung eight consecutive wins over Lafayette, including one over each of the last six years. A victory would make Lafayette 4-0 against the Ivies and give the Leopards their first sweep of Ancient Eight opponents in the Patriot's 24-year history. The Leopards did go 3-0 in 1982, pre-Patriot, when they defeated Columbia, Penn and Princeton.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette football team going for sweep of Ivy foes at Harvard
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Leonard Moore remembers it. B.J. Gallis, Andy Zabinski, Quincy Miller, Brian Menecola and Shawn McHale do, too. Those guys were the playmakers for Lafayette in the 1996 season, the last time the Leopards defeated Harvard in football. Leopard head coach Frank Tavani is 0-8 against the Crimson; but if the Leopards can end that skid Saturday at Harvard, they will make some history of their own. They can become the first Lafayette team to go 4-for-4 against Ivy League teams in one season.

Monday, October 12, 2009

FOOTBALL: Several Leopards deserve credit for 'The Drive'
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
When people talk about Lafayette's dramatic last-seconds victory over Columbia, they'll single out Maurice White, who scored the touchdown; Greg Stripe, who made three big pass receptions, and quarterback Rob Curley, who engineered it all Saturday night. Michael Wojcik, Brian Wycinowski, Ryan Hart-Predmore and Jeff Cumming will have to settle for unsung-hero status. Center Wojcik, left guard Wycinowski, left tackle Hart-Predmore and fullback Cumming did the grunt work in the third-and-goal situation, however, opening the lane for White to almost walk into the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the season.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College football team rallies to beat Columbia University
The Express-Times/ By Michael Blouse
EASTON | As excited as Rob Curley was over Lafayette College's 24-21 come-from-behind victory over Columbia on Saturday night at Fisher Stadium, the senior quarterback was just as enthusiastic about what it might mean for the team's future. The Leopards drove 88 yards in the final six minutes and senior tailback Maurice White's 2-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds remaining capped the dramatic comeback. Curley passed to sophomore wideout Greg Stripe for gains of 5, 19 and 32 yards to highlight the final series, which started at Lafayette's 12-yard line.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette Leopards roar back to defeat Columbia
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Maurice White said he talked to the Lafayette football team early in the week about accountability. When it came down to the final minute Saturday night, he had a chance to show them exactly what he was talking about. Stopped on two straight plays from inside the 3-yard line, White summoned all the energy he had when his number was called for the third straight time, and, with 13 seconds left to play, he fought his way into the end zone standing up to complete a second-half comeback that gave Lafayette a 24-21 victory over Columbia. Actually, the entire offensive unit, which struggled at times because its leader, quarterback Rob Curley, had an off night, pulled together after taking possession on its own 12 with 6:09 to play.

Friday, October 9, 2009

FOOTBALL: Columbia University football team won't be the pushover Lafayette College is used to facing
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
You remember Columbia gem of the ocean, last in Ivy League football. Not to mention a graveyard for its head coaches -- and one of Lafayette College's favorite opponents. Norries Wilson, the jocular former offensive tackle at Minnesota is the latest Lions coach hellbent on changing the losing culture on New York's Upper West Side. Four years removed from his offensive coordinator stint at UConn, the results are beginning to look encouraging. Especially last week's rare 38-0 drubbing of Princeton on the Tigers' home turf. Columbia teams typically do not "drub" anybody, and 38 points used to be three weeks' production.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

FOOTBALL: The passing game a big part of Lafayette's success
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
It may be a bit premature to refer to the Lafayette offense as Air Fein, but there is no doubting that the Leopards have a bit of a different look through the first four games of 2009. The Lafayette offense, now under the tutelage of former University of Maine and Arena Football League quarterback Mickey Fein, has racked up 929 yards through the air while posting a 3-1 record. The ground game has produced 603 yards. That means that the passing game, with senior quarterback Rob Curley pulling the trigger, has accounted for 60.7 percent of Lafayette's yardage.

Monday, October 5, 2009

FOOTBALL: Leopards' victory over Yale the stuff of 'legends'
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Frank Tavani had a pretty simple message for his Lafayette football team prior to its game Saturday against Yale in the Yale Bowl. ''Let's go out and be legends today,'' the 10th-year coach challenged them. Lafayette had lost all seven previous games with the Bulldogs ''and when you have the opportunity to become the first to do something, that's excitement,'' Tavani said after Lafayette posted an emphatic 31-14 decision for its third win in four games and second straight against an Ivy League opponent.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College beat Yale 31-14 for first football victory over the Elis in eight tries
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
NEW HAVEN, Conn. | The way Lafayette College's football team is playing, the Leopards are on their way to claiming the Ivy League championship by proxy. Last week, Lafayette knocked off Penn in overtime and on Saturday, the Leopards made it two in a row over the Ivies by using a second-half domination to spank Yale 31-14 before 3,879 at the Yale Bowl. The win was Lafayette's first over the Bulldogs in eight tries.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette Wears Down Yale In 31-14 Victory
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
NEW HAVEN - -- Larry Abare forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, Peter Balsam recovered and six plays later, Balsam caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Witt. It was a big moment for Yale, but there were few more like it Saturday at Yale Bowl. Lafayette wore down the Bulldogs, dominated the second half and won 31-14 before 3,879. It was the Leopards' first victory over Yale in eight meetings.

FOOTBALL: Curley firing on all cylinders in return vs. Yale
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
The guy wearing No. 5 and playing quarterback for Lafayette Saturday afternoon did a marvelous Rob Curley imitation. Check that, it WAS Rob Curley. All but written off all week after being injured last week, the senior was not only healthy, but also extremely aggressive as he, receiver Mark Layton, tailback Maurice White and a couple of lines that took up the challenge led the Leopards to a 31-14 victory over Yale in the historic Yale Bowl.

Friday, October 2, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College football team will start Ryan O'Neil at quarterback
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
Expect Lafayette and Yale to rely heavily on their closers Brad Lidge, don't take your jacket off to salvage a victory in Saturday's college football matchup at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Conn. Two high-powered defenses are installing schemes to tee off on a pair of inexperienced quarterbacks, leaving the final word to Lafayette's Davis Rodriguez, whose 28-yard field goal Saturday ruined Penn's night for the second time in his career, and Yale's Tom Mante, the All-Ivy kicker and punter who tied the league record with a 54-yarder in a 14-12 loss to Cornell. Ryan O'Neil gets the start for Lafayette in place of Rob Curley, who left the Penn game with concussion symptoms, while Nebraska transfer Patrick Witt goes under center for Yale.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

FOOTBALL: O'Neil makes debut
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
EASTON | Sophomore quarterback Ryan O'Neil is expected to get his first varsity start for Lafayette College on Saturday, when the Leopards meet Yale at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Conn. the second of four consecutive games against Ivy League opponents.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

FOOTBALL: When Ryan O'Neil trotted onto the field Saturday night in Lafayette's Fisher Stadium, the only words center Michael Wojcik said to him were, ''Let's go!''
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
On the sideline, Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani was ''worried about [O'Neil] taking the snap.'' O'Neil was rushed into combat when the Leopards' starting quarterback, Rob Curley, was slow getting up after running for a first down against Penn. No time to take practice snaps with the backup center, or for a strategy session with offensive coordinator Mickey Fein. It was first-and-10 at the Penn 31; the Quakers had just tied the game at 17, and a steady rain was falling. In short, these were not the circumstances under which anyone would have wanted to make a change.

Monday, September 28, 2009

FOOTBALL: Leopards getting other QBs ready in case Curley is out
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Lafayette quarterback Rob Curley intended to lob the football into the flat on the first play of the third quarter Saturday night, but the Penn defense blitzed on the play and the Quakers' Kevin Gray got a hand on the pass. As the ball fluttered above the players, Curley leaped into the air and spiked it to the ground. It was not your routine incomplete pass. Curley's heads-up play may have averted an interception -- and maybe even a touchdown -- by the Quakers. After he made the play, Curley was whacked by another Penn player. He fell backward, and his head bounced off Fisher Field's artificial FieldTurf surface. Leopard coach Frank Tavani said Sunday that it may have been on that play that his senior quarterback sustained the first of a couple of blows that resulted in him leaving the game and spending several hours in the hospital undergoing tests for a concussion.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College football team edges Penn 20-17 in overtime
The Express-Times/ By Bruce Buratti
EASTON | Davis Rodriguez was 0-for-4 in field goal attempts coming into Saturday night's game against the University of Pennsylvania. The Lafayette placekicker, however, came out the hero with a 28-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Leopards to a 20-17 win and their third straight victory over the Quakers.

FOOTBALL: Field goal in OT sinks Quakers
The Philadelphia Inquirer/ By Elliott Denman
EASTON, Pa. - For the third consecutive year, the Penn football team is 0 for September. But Coach Al Bagnoli and his Quakers aren't fretting. They won four of seven after a 0-3 start in 2007, six of eight after beginning 2008 at 0-2. So, after Lafayette's 20-17 overtime decision over the Quakers, in front of 10,197 in the rain last night at Fisher Stadium, they are in familiar territory.

FOOTBALL: Redemption is sweet for Lafayette's Davis Rodriguez
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Davis Rodriguez had no earthly reason to be very confident as he approached the football on the third play of Lafayette's overtime series against Penn Saturday night. But the Leopards' junior placekicker had lots of heavenly reasons - like the words ''faith, strength, courage'' on his shoesÂ...or the memory of high school buddy Tyler Pillion, who was killed in a diving accident earlier in the week, in his heartÂ...or the prayers of the majority of the Fisher Stadium crowd that hung around in the rain to see what would happen to the kid who had been so accurate a year ago and so erratic this season. After waiting through two timeouts to have the chance to kick the 28-yarder, and after getting a perfect snap from Michael Wojcik and a perfect hold from Chris Cosgrove, Rodriguez banged the ball through the uprights and touched off a championship-type celebration that resulted from a 20-17 victory over the Quakers.

Friday, September 25, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College football team set to host Pennsylvania Quakers
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore'
Tony Giglio, Rodger Shepko, Nick "Special K" Kowgios, Ryan Priest, Bruce McIntyre, Tom Costello, Erik Marsh, Leonard Moore, Joe McCourt, Jonathan Hurt and ... Maurice "Mo" White was supposed to be next, No. 11, Lafayette College's featured running back/1,000-yard rusher and the heir apparent to Hurt, who put up 1,165 yards his senior year for the Leopards' third consecutive league championship and NCAA playoff squad in 2006.It never happened. White, who began with 282 yards as Hurt's sophomore backup in '06, suffered a season-ending ankle injury after starting the first four games in 2007 and went down-and-out again a year later with serious turf toe after five games.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

FOOTBALL: Opponent Spotlight | Curley offers a shoulder to lean on
The Daily Pennsylvanian/ By Neil Fanaroff
In many ways, Lafayette senior quarterback Rob Curley is the perfect big brother. He is supportive and protective and always manages to tease his younger siblings in just the right manner. On the first day of his senior year of high school, he gave his younger sister Lauren an appropriate introduction to the school. As the first guy approached Lauren to engage her in conversation, two of Curley's offensive linemen teammates - Phil Costa and Dennis Landolt, now starters at Maryland and Penn State, respectively - picked the suitor up and threw him up against a locker.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

FOOTBALL: Tavani, Leopards want complete game
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
If Lafayette coach Frank Tavani had a football wish for this week, it might be that his team would combine last year's first half against Penn with last week's second half against Liberty. The Leopards outscored the Quakers 24-0 in the first half a year ago and squeezed out a 24-17 victory. Last week, Lafayette outscored Liberty 13-3 after intermission, which was not good enough to overturn a 19-13 defeat.

Monday, September 21, 2009

FOOTBALL: Leopards hope to learn from missed opportunities
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
The way Frank Tavani sees it, his Lafayette football team got a reality check Saturday night. The Leopards passed the test, but did not win the game. The important thing now is what they take from their first loss, a 19-13 setback to No. 24 Liberty University.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

FOOTBALL: Liberty University quarterback Mike Brown carries Flames to 19-13 win over Lafayette College
The Express-Times/ By Michael Lore'
EASTON | Lafayette College football players, coaches and fans were probably up late Saturday into this morning with nightmares of Mike Brown running and passing in their heads. The Liberty University sophomore quarterback ran for 88 yards and a touchdown and was 29-for-36 passing for 256 yards and one score as the No. 24 Flames defeated the Leopards 19-13 at Fisher Stadium.

FOOTBALL: Leopards can't come back from disastrous first half
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
While most of the Lafayette football team was inside Bourger Varsity Football House -- undoubtedly getting as bad a beating from its own coaches as it had taken from the Liberty Flames in the first 30 minutes Saturday night -- Davis Rodriguez was on Fisher Field. He placed the field-goal kicking tee on the 7-yard line. That's right -- he was practicing a 17-yard field goal. Rodriguez's woes -- he missed his fourth straight field goal (and later had a PAT blocked) -- were a microcosm of the those felt by the Leopards, who had only 22 offensive plays and 100 yards while falling behind 16-0 at the half. The Leopards (1-1) did regroup and win the second half. But, in the final analysis, Liberty's Mike Brown and a guy who had only five catches for his career but got almost three times that many in one game -- Chris Summers -- carried the No. 24-ranked Flames (2-1) to a 19-13 victory before a disappointing crowd of 8,921 in Fisher Stadium.

Friday, September 18, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College football team hosts Liberty University at Fisher Stadium
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
Lafayette College's $33 million update of venerable Fisher Field, completed in 2007 with a state-of-the-art synthetic playing surface, lights, Jumbotron and magnificent football field house, transformed an 81-year-old stadium into the envy of many Football Championship Subdivision schools. And then Lafayette scheduled home-and-home games with Liberty University, where last fall the Leopards were dazzled by 12,000-seat Williams Stadium while upsetting the 14th-ranked Flames 35-21 in Lynchburg, Va. In the process, the Leopards ended the nation's longest winning streak at 11 games.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

FOOTBALL: No. 24 Liberty U. big test for Lafayette
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
If Frank Tavani and his Lafayette football team were in even a little hot water Saturday night in Washington, D.C., that was nothing compared to the Flames that will engulf the Leopards this week. ''That won't be good enough,'' Tavani said of the Leopards' 28-3 Patriot League victory over Georgetown. That comment came at Lafayette's weekly media luncheon Tuesday. He said pretty much the same thing immediately after the game, and while he never mentioned any names then, it was pretty clear what he was saying: Lafayette will have to be a different team if it expects to win its home opener against the nationally ranked Liberty University Flames at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Monday, September 14, 2009

VOLLEYBALL: Lafayette knocks off Coppin volleyball in home debut
The Morning Call/ By Keith Henry
There were some signs on Wednesday night that Coppin State volleyball can snap out of their funk. Unfortunately for the Lady Eagles, they couldn't pay attention at times when they needed to on the court at the Coppin Center. That costed Coppin as Lafayette exposed them consistently on defense in their 25-16, 25-16, 25-20 win. This result marked the Lady Eagles' 50th straight loss overall.

FOOTBALL: Leopards healthy, happy after opening victory
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Two dozen doughnuts went uneaten Sunday in the Lafayette trainer Matt Bayly's physical therapy room in the Bourger Varsity Football House. ''Leftover doughnuts,'' head coach Frank Tavani said, ''is a good Sunday morning.'' What it meant was the Leopards came out of their season-opening 28-3 victory over Georgetown without a lot of injuries that required immediate therapy. The biggest question concerned Tyrell Coon, one of the key components of the Lafayette running game. He took a hit to the ribs and to the jaw in the first half and did not play again, but Tavani declared the senior ''much better'' during a team run-around Sunday.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College football team opens season with 28-3 win over Georgetown University
The Express-Times/ By Michael Blouse
WASHINGTON, D.C. | If the first half of the first game of its season is any indication, Lafayette College is in for a productive and exciting 2009. Explosive plays on offense and a dominant defense were on display in the first 30 minutes of Saturday's Patriot League opener for the Leopards -- a 28-3 win over Georgetown in the first night game at Multi-Sport Field. Coach Frank Tavani's troops put it on cruise control for most of the second half but the Maroon and White looked plenty impressive in the first and second quarters.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette make lots of big plays
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Mark Layton didn't have a touchdown catch a year ago. He had two in the second quarter Saturday night. Jerome Rudolph was fourth in line at tailback. On his first touch, he raced for a 48-yard touchdown. DeAndre Morrow's longest pass reception last season was for 9 yards. He had a 38-yard touchdown play in the third quarter Saturday. Lafayette didn't set the world on fire during its Patriot League and regular-season opener against Georgetown, but it did make a couple of meaningful points in a 28-3 victory.

Friday, September 11, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College football team opens season at Georgetown
The Express-Times/ By Nick Fierro
EASTON | A new-look coaching staff has led to a streamlined playbook with the goal of a more efficient offense as Lafayette College prepares for its season opener Saturday night at Georgetown. After a rare bye in Week 1, the Leopards can't wait to try out their offense in the first game ever played under the lights on the Washington, D.C. campus.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

FOOTBALL: Leopards of Lafayette ready for some football after sitting the first week
The Express-Times/ By Nick Fierro
Lafayette College football coach Frank Tavani can't remember ever having the first weekend off. "But of course I'm getting older now, so there's a possibility I may not remember," he said this afternoon at the team's first news conference/luncheon of the season. After being idle this past weekend, the 'Pards will open their season Saturday night on the road against Patriot League rival Georgetown.

FOOTBALL: Leopards champing at the bit to get started
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
To say that Lafayette football coach Frank Tavani can be animated on the sidelines on game day is definitely an understatement. Last Saturday was a game day. But, for the first time in Tavani's coaching career at Lafayette -- and that goes back to 1987 -- the Leopards had a bye in Week 1. Given Tavani's intensity level, one can only imagine how it must have felt for him when, instead of opening the 2009 season along with all the other Patriot League teams, he was relegated to another practice session and occasionally watching football on television from his favorite recliner.

Monday, September 7, 2009

FOOTBALL: Curley, Lafayette looking to bounce back in 2009
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Rob Curley doesn't have the strongest arm or the quickest feet among the Lafayette College quarterbacks. Junior Marc Quilling and freshman Andy Shoop may have more zip. Sophomore Ryan O'Neil may be the fastest of the quartet. That's not to say that Curley can't make the tough throw or elude an onrushing defensive lineman; but Curley's best quality is more intangible: for some reason, good things happen when he's running the offense. The 6-1, 200-pound senior from Cinnaminson, N.J., has only 12 starts on his career stats at Lafayette, but the Leopards have won nine of those games -- and in one of the losses, Curley left with an injury while Lafayette was leading.

FOOTBALL: Five questions for Lafayette football
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Can Maurice White go toe-to-toe with the opposition? This kid has superstar potential, but injuries have limited him to nine games over the last two seasons. He says the combination of a special tape job and an orthotic leave him with no pain. If that continues, the running game gets a huge boost.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette quarterback Rob Curley talks about football and his future -- Five Questions
The Express-Times/ By Nick Fierro
Lafayette College quarterback Rob Curley said he's shaken off the hard knocks from last season, including a concussion, and is excited about what this year could bring.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette Leopards vow to finish strong
The Express-Times/ By Nick Fierro
They could see the finish line while running out in front with four games to go less than a year ago. By the time the Lafayette Leopards reached the end, however, the only visions they had were of the three Patriot League football games they let slip away, spoiling a once promising season and keeping them out of the Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for a second straight season. Lafayette went from 6-1 with a win at nationally ranked Liberty to 7-4 and fourth place in the Patriot League with a 3-3 mark. That its season began spiraling out of control almost from the moment quarterback Rob Curley suffered a concussion on what coach Frank Tavani believes was a late hit by Colgate made it hurt more. But it was no excuse.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

FOOTBALL: FCS squads chock-full of locals
Bucks County Courier Times/ By Ken Mandel
A capsule look at regional Football Championship Series teams; area Ivy League teams will be previewed Sept. 8.

FOOTBALL: Cautious Lafayette Leopards want to be ready to pounce in football opener
The Express-Times/ By Nick Fierro
Don't be alarmed, at least not yet. That's the message Lafayette College football coach Frank Tavani was sending to the public at Lafayette Football Media Day today on College Hill. The team just conducted its first full-fledged scrimmage of summer camp last night with many players sitting out with various bumps and bruises. But considering the Leopards, who have been picked in the Patriot League preseason poll to finish in a third-place tie with Lehigh, don't open their season until Sept. 12 (at Georgetown, 6 p.m), there's plenty of time to get better.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette College football team excited about its prospects for return to top of Patriot League
The Express-Times/ By Nick Fierro
Considering how banged up the Lafayette College Leopards are at the moment, being idle until Sept. 12 might be the best thing that could happen to them. Actually, the schedule sets up nicely for them in their quest to get back to the top of the Patriot League, which they were in command of last season until a brutal final month dropped the Leopards out of contention.

FOOTBALL: Leopards are preparing for a championship
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
It was probably no coincidence that Tyrell Coon and DeAndre Morrow sat at a table with offensive linemen Ryan Hart-Predmore, Michael Wojcik and Brian Wycinowski on Wednesday at Lafayette's football media day luncheon. Coon and Morrow have spent the last couple of months eating like burly offensive linemen. Meanwhile, Maurice White, who has a plan that encourages him to eat six meals a day, sat at the other end of the room. Maybe that was by design, too, because unlike Coon and Morrow, putting on weight is not the goal for White. In fact, he'd welcome losing a bit.

Friday, August 21, 2009

TENNIS: Lafayette College tennis teams earn awards
The Morning Call
The Lafayette men's and women's tennis teams have both been awarded the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Academic Award for the 2008-09 year. The women's team has now captured this award six straight years while it marks the fifth straight year of recognition for the men's squad. The Leopards were the only team in the Patriot League to win the award.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

GENERAL: Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon to be inducted into Lafayette College Hall of Fame
The Express-Times
Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Madden heads the 2009 class for the Lafayette College Maroon Club's Hall of Fame, according to a news release from the college. Maddon, who played three years of baseball for the Leopards in the mid-1970s, led the Rays to the World Series last year. He joins football and baseball player Bob Howard, class of 1961; track and field athlete Noreen Chamberlain Wagner, class of 1988, and soccer player and benefactor Dr. Wilbur Oaks, class of 1951. They will be inducted at the annual Maroon Club Hall of Fame dinner Nov. 20 at the college's Marquis Hall.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

MEN'S SOCCER: Lafayette soccer match to be televised nationally
The Morning Call
For the third consecutive season, Patriot League soccer will be making an appearance on national television. Fox Soccer Channel will televise the Oct. 30 contest between Lafayette and Bucknell, which will be played at 8 p.m. at Bucknell's Holmes Stadium in Lewisburg. The televised contest was made official on Thursday afternoon by Fox Soccer Channel.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

FOOTBALL: Lafayette and Lehigh tied for third in Patriot League preseason football poll
The Express-Times/ By Nicholas Pizzino
BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. | As if the rivalry between Lehigh University and Lafayette College wasn't fierce enough, more fuel was added to the fire. Both teams were selected to finish tied for third place according to the Patriot League preseason football poll announced Tuesday at the league's annual media event at Green Pond Country Club. Holy Cross, led by Preseason Offensive Player of the Year quarterback Dominic Randolph, was selected as the favorite to capture the crown with seven first-place votes and 67 overall points. Defending champion Colgate was a strong second with six first-place votes and 64 points.

FOOTBALL: Senior Leopards will help rookies adjust
The Morning Call/ By Paul Reinhard
Lafayette linemen Ryan Hart-Predmore and Roy Wotring have been roommates the last three years, but Hart-Predmore said on Tuesday that ''as freshmen, we didn't talk that much the first week; it was kind of an awkward stage.'' Leopard linebacker Mark Leggiero remembers his first week, too -- ''sitting there with my roommate, no air conditioning, dying sweating, not knowing what was going on; we got a little nervous,'' he said. And defensive tackle Andrew Poulson said, ''I'm pretty sure my first week as a freshman was miserable, tough physically and mentally, a real eye-opener.'' Hart-Predmore, Leggiero and Poulson, Lafayette's 2009 captains, will have a chance to ensure that the new arrivals on the Easton campus a week from today won't have some of those rookie pitfalls. Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani and the Leopard senior players will debut a peer-mentoring system in which a senior will bunk with a freshman the first eight days of summer camp.

FOOTBALL: Fordham scholarships the focus
The Morning Call/ By Keith Groller
For the coach of a team picked fifth in a seven-team league, Tom Masella of Fordham attracted lots of interest at Tuesday's Patriot League Football Media Day at Green Pond Country Club in Bethlehem Township. Masella's a good guy and a good coach who led the Rams to the league title in 2007. And, they're expected to be better than last year's 5-6 record this fall. But that's not why Masella was the man of the hour.

Monday, August 3, 2009

FOOTBALL: Curcio living a dream as part of ESPN's team
The Morning Call/ By Keith Groller
Like everyone caught in the waiting game on Sunday at Pocono Raceway, Matt Curcio's life was complicated by the rain. But Curcio's concerns weren't necessarily for himself. As a senior financial analyst for ESPN, Curcio was worried about how the postponement of the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 would impact the self-proclaimed ''worldwide leader'' financially. ESPN was on hand to televise the NASCAR race and this particular event brought Curcio, a former football standout at Pen Argyl High and Lafayette College, back home.