Field hockey getting it done

By Mike McDonald
Collegian Editor
September 12, 2007

The 2007 Explorer field hockey team has suffered a few losses in this young season, but overall, the results have been positive. After jumping out to a 2-0 start, the squad settled down to earth at 3-3. Sunday, however, the team picked up a big win over Robert Morris to get back over .500 at 4-3.

Here’s a quick recap of the beginning of the 2007 slate:

The first two games of the season were good, solid wins for the Explorers, as they defeated Monmouth and Ball State without allowing a goal. The opener was a game at Monmouth, in which La Salle pulled out the low-scoring battle, 2-0.

After that, the Explorers returned home to 20th and Olney where they faced off against Ball State. La Salle kept it rolling though, and beat Ball State by a score of 3-0.

The next two games were frustrating ones for La Salle, as the Explorers dropped back-to-back overtime decisions. However, their next time out, the Explorers were able to bounce back and defeat Sacred Heart, 4-2. This moved the team’s record to 3-2.

That brings us to this week.

It was an action-packed weekend of road competition for the Explorers, as they traveled to Lock Haven on Saturday and Robert Morris on Sunday. With over three weeks left before the Atlantic 10 schedule kicks in, the Explorers looked to make the most of these valuable non-conference tune-ups.

On Saturday, the Explorers simply didn’t do that.

The game started off close enough, as Lock Haven took a one-goal lead into halftime. But La Salle’s senior goalkeeper Ellen Axelsen had a rough second half, as Lock Haven put the ball in the net four times. On the day, Axelsen was able to record 10 saves, but the lack of offense from the Explorers prevented them from making it close. Lock Haven won the game, 5-0.

La Salle didn’t dwell on the disappointing loss, though; they came right back the next day with a little more fire. In an afternoon matchup at Robert Morris, the Explorers took the lead early and put it away late.

Sophomore Whitney Madron got the Explorers going 17 minutes into the game, and she gave La Salle a 1-0 lead. This would be the score going into halftime, but it was a incredible second half performance that stole the show.

Sophomore Colleen Lechner was the star in this one, as she scored three goals in the second half to capture her first collegiate hat trick.

“I’ve never scored that many at the college level, so it’s exciting,” Lechner said.

Lechner’s offensive output was enough to put Robert Morris away for good. Axelsen recorded a shutout for La Salle, making six saves in the game. The final score was La Salle 4, Robert Morris 0.

With the win, the Explorers climbed to 4-3 on the season. The team is in the midst of a travel-heavy stretch, playing six of eight games on the road. The team doesn’t seem to mind traveling, though.

“I actually don’t mind traveling too much; I’m used to it,” Lechner said.

Apparently, the rest of the team doesn’t mind traveling, either, as they have held their own on the road thus far. They stand at 2-2 on the road this season.

The Explorers are happy with their strong start to the season, but make no mistake about it: this team is very focused on its ultimate goals for the season.

“I think we really can go far into the A-10s and win it all if we really put our minds to it,” Lechner said.

But for right now, La Salle will have to focus on the upcoming weekend. The Explorers will go back on the road Friday to play Bucknell, and their next home game will be Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. when Lafayette comes to town. La Salle has experience against both of these teams, so they will look to build on that this weekend.

“We did play them this past spring, and I think we had good results from both,” Lechner said. “They’ll both be good matches. It’ll be interesting.”

mcdonaldm2@lasalle.edu