W. Long Branch's Andersen making big strides in college
Freshman started nine games for Lafayette field hockey team in '07
BY DOUG McKENZIE Correspondent
After enjoying a stellar, championship filled high school career as a goalie for the Shore Regional High School field hockey team, Kelsey Andersen has taken her game to the next level.

The freshman at Lafayette University in Pennsylvania overcame stress fractures in both legs to put together a solid debut season for the Leopards, launching her college career in impressive fashion.

The former Blue Devil star, who was a three-year letter-winner as part of the Shore's top program and recorded 10 shutouts in her senior year, wasn't in goal to start the season at Lafayette, as she rehabbed from the injuries to her legs.

However, once healthy, she quickly emerged as the Leopards' top goalie.

"Overall, I think being able to play as a freshman was a great accomplishment for me," she said. "I was injured for the first eight games, then came back and played in the final 11 and started 10 of them."

And toward the end of the year is when Lafayette was playing its best, reaching the Patriot League championship game before seeing its season come to an end at 9-11 with a 3-1 loss to No. 17 American University in the final.

With Andersen between the pipes, the Leopards won four straight games late in the year to position themselves in the conference tournament hunt. With a Patriot League tournament berth in sight, Lafayette won four consecutive games, posting two wins after regulation and one important conference victory.

The Maroon and White won 3-2 in penalty strokes against Georgetown on Oct. 14, putting the team on the right track to close the 2007 regular season. The following two games resulted in back-to-back 1-0wins, with Andersen recording her first career shutouts. In the final home game against Rider (Oct. 17), Andersen and the Lafayette defense limited the Broncs to just three shots. Returning to Patriot League action at Colgate (Oct. 20), Lafayette posted another 1-0 win with Andersen recording another shutout, before falling to Bucknell, 3-2, in their regular-season finale. Andersen made three saves in the loss.

In their second consecutive Patriot League Tournament appearance, the Leopards defeated Lehigh 2-0 in a semifinal game as Andersen recorded her third shutout of the season, making seven saves en route to the first shutout theMountain Hawks suffered on the season.

Unfortunately, the Leopards' shot at the conference title fell short: the team from American was simply too good that day for Lafayette.

"We battled evenly with American for long periods of time, but they finished their opportunities well. Lafayette was definitely in the game throughout," said head coach Andrew Griffiths.

"Although we did lose, we finished the season on a very positive note. The team should be proud of its level of play in the big game," Griffiths added.

And their freshman goalie certainly did her part.

For the season,Andersen finished with 14 goals against, good for an average of 1.35 goals-allowed. She also had a save percentage of 65 percent, making 27 saves on the season. Andersen helped Lafayette boast the second-ranked goalie tandem in the conference, trailing only American in the goals-allowed department.

"I guess it was a pretty successful season for both the team and myself," said Andersen.

"The college game is different - the speed of the game and the surface in particular. In high school we played on grass, where in college we play on Astroturf. There's also such a high level of competition in college. It was great going against an opposition with international talent."

AndAndersen is quick to credit her high school experiences with her being able to adapt to the changes of the college game.

"Coming from the Shore program was such an amazing advantage for me, even over the players on my own team," she said. "There's such a strong sense of pride and dedication you have when playing for (Shore coach) Nancy Williams. It was really helpful."

Now that the season is over,Andersen is working hard to prepare for next fall, when Lafayette returns a number of players to a team that should once again challenge for the Patriot Division championship.

"There are a lot of things I need to work on as an individual player," Andersen said. "I need to improvemy speed, agility, strength andmy knowledge of the game.

"We have three days a week of lifting, four days of running, and there's a couple of days a week where I put the pads on for some work," she added.

"We'll get back to playing in the spring, when we'll have four practices a week and play in five tournaments."

With such an impressive freshman season already on her résumé, it will be interesting to see what Andersen can do for an encore.