CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Head coach Jennifer Stone and senior captain Lisa van der Geest were named the Patriot League Coach of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively, to go along with five All-Patriot League honorees for the Lafayette field hockey team when the Patriot League announced its all-league and major awards on Tuesday morning. Van der Geest and sophomore Molly McAndrew were selected to the All-League First Team, while senior Sarah Park, junior Anna Steps and freshman Sydney Woolston were placed on the All-League Second Team.
 
Stone flipped the script from 2018 to 2019, following up an 8-11 season a year ago with an 11-7 2019 campaign, leading her team back to the Patriot League Tournament for the first consecutive appearances since the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The seventh-year head coach oversaw a 5-1 mark for the Leopards in Patriot League play as they enter the Patriot League Tournament on Friday as the No. 2 seed in Washington, D.C.
 
Much of that success has stemmed from the play of van der Geest, who has been a force on both ends of the field and certainly deserving of being named the top defensive player in the conference. On the defensive side, she captained a unit that recorded seven shutouts on the year, the most for the program since 2009. Offensively, she led the Leopards in points with 21 on seven goals and seven assists, scoring at least once in six of the last 10 outings.
 
McAndrew was the top weapon on the attack unit for the second straight season, following up her 2018 Patriot League Rookie of the Year honor with a First-Team All-League honor. The sophomore led the Maroon and White in scoring with nine goals, six coming in conference play, and added a pair of assists for 20 points in her second season on College Hill.
 
Lafayette doesn't have the success it did this season without the stellar play between the pipes from Park, who narrowly missed out on the league's Goalkeeeper of the Year honor. Park owned a sterling a 0.64 goals-against average in conference play in her senior season, carrying a .747 save percentage with 74 saves and 25 goals allowed overall in 2019.
 
Finally, Steps and Woolston each put together impact performances to solidify their spots among the league's best. Steps was a key facilitator in the midfield, excelling in all areas of the field, both supporting the defensive unit and organizing offensive movement up the field. She registered three goals and six assists for 12 points this season, including a pair of game-winning goals.
 
Woolston stepped into the right back position for the Lafayette defense with ease as a first-year player in Stone's system. The rookie recorded a pair of defensive saves and was an integral aspect of all seven of Lafayette's clean-sheet performances.
 
Stone leads her team into the Patriot League Tournament this weekend in Washington, D.C., looking to advance past the semifinal round for the first time since 2012. The Leopards battle third-seeded Bucknell on Friday at 2:30 p.m. with the championship game set for Sunday at noon between the winner of top-seeded American and fourth-seeded Holy Cross.