Lehigh handled by Penn
10/30/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Bethlehem, PA – Lehigh had an early lead that it relinquished, and was able to tie the game after falling behind late, but it was not enough, as Ivy League member Penn defeated the Mountain Hawks 5-2 on Thursday night at the Ulrich Sports Complex. The loss drops Lehigh to 8-9-1 on the season, while the Quakers improve to 7-5-3.
Lehigh jumped on the board early when freshman Gina Lewandowski netted her tenth goal of the season, off of a dazzling lead pass from junior Jocelyn Helwig at the 7:26 mark. The game would remain that way until just less than ten minutes remained in the first half, when Katy Cross connected for the first of her four goals on the evening at the 36:36 mark, and the score was knotted at one. Both teams were able to get off six shots in the first half, and each also had one corner.
The second half saw an offensive explosion as the two teams combined for five goals, however, four of those belonged to the Quakers. Carolyn Cross scored the go-ahead goal for Penn at the 59:52 mark off of an assist from Cathy Roe, and Penn had seized control. But the Mountain Hawks did not quit and soon tied up the score when Helwig netted a goal of her own at the 68:47 clip, and deadlocked the affair at two. Penn then switched goalies and the move appeared to work, as Lehigh was unable to muster any offense the reminder of the way. Penn then seized momentum when Katy Cross found the back of the net for the eventual game winner at the 78:17 mark off of a corner that was fed to her by Lydia Bojcun.
Katy Cross then added two more goals to give her the hat trick and more on the evening and finish off the Mountain Hawks. Penn out shot Lehigh 14-10 for the game, while Lehigh had six corners, compared to the Quakers three. Junior goalkeeper Erin Iwaskiewicz finished with three saves on the night, while Anna Halse started for the Quakers and picked up four saves. Vanessa Scotto, who replaced Halse, did not register any saves, but did pick up the win.
Lehigh assistant coach Kristin Buckley was happy with how the team came out, but would have liked to see the Mountain Hawks finish this one. “I think we came out strong tonight, we were just unable to connect offensively. We broke down towards the end, and it cost us.” Buckley adds, “We could not hold them, and we paid for it.”
Lehigh will return to action on Saturday for the 2003 season finale, as the Mountain Hawks welcome the Crusaders of Holy Cross into the Ulrich Sports Complex. Game time is set for 3:00.
