Mountain Hawks clean up Patriot League honors
11/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
The Mountain Hawks nearly swept the league’s top honors. Head coach Manny Oudin was named Coach of the Year, midfielder Gina Lewandowski was named Freshman of the Year, and goalkeeper “It’s nice to have recognition for our turnaround. We took a big step forward this year,” said head coach Manny Oudin. “Last year was a learning experience, and this year we really started to improve on the field. It’s a shame the season is over, we feel like we’ve just started to play our best soccer.” Oudin got an early glimpse of the team’s potential, as the team shook off an overtime loss to nationally-ranked Villanova and ran out to a 4-1 start, the best in school history. Eventually the team would reach a 7-3 record, with the four games over .500 another school first. The Mountain Hawks would stumble in conference play, losing close, winnable games against many of the league’s top teams. But on a team that started as many as six freshmen at a time this year, growing pains were to be expected. “The inexperience was a factor,” said Oudin. “Not that we used so many freshmen, which we did, but that we have not been used to winning. Some of the games we lost we could have won, but it takes that attitude of knowing we can get it done. We have to work on consistency, which is the biggest obstacle for a young team.” One area of consistency carried over from a year ago was the stellar play of Iwaskiewicz, who recorded a personal-best six shutouts in earning the league’s defensive honors. She says the credit for the award goes to her teammates. “The defense played so well this season,” said Iwaskiewicz, “a lot of games I didn’t really have to do much. They made my job just so much easier.” Lewandowski becomes the first Mountain Hawk to garner Freshman honors. “Her play has been phenomenal,” said Oudin. “She was probably our most consistent player the whole year. She is so strong with the ball, especially against pressure. That’s really impressive for a freshman. Plus, she is a great finisher.” Lewandowski led the team with 12 goals, second-best ever at Lehigh in a single season. Included in that total was a hat trick in a 9-0 win over That’s a sentiment agreed upon by Iwaskiewicz. “He is a great coach because he is honest and straightforward with us,” she said. “He doesn’t play any head games, and the players respect that. It’s no surprise he won the coaching award.” Oudin was pleased with the honor, but says there is still much left to accomplish. “It’s unexpected to win considering we didn’t make tournament, but it’s always nice to be recognized by your peers. I think the thing for us is to take another step forward next year. I’m a firm believer that the product you put on the field is as important as wins and losses, if not more so. A team is going to catch some breaks, good and bad, that may determine their record. But our product improved this year, and that is a positive step. What we need to do is continue to improve the product, and the wins will come along with that.” Lehigh is already getting excited about next season, but will have to replace some valuable parts in its three departing seniors Anne Johnson, Adrienne Grunwald, and Lauren Rybas. Each of them started over 15 games in their careers, and made a major impact on the team both on and off the field. “They were certainly instrumental to our turnaround,” said Oudin. “They should leave knowing they each helped us to get to where we are today and where we are headed as a program.”
