Lehigh ready for tourney, duo named All-League
9/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
Behind the largest turnaround in Division I this season, Lehigh has earned its first berth in the Patriot League Tournament. In the semifinals, the fourth-seeded Mountain Hawks will face off against the top-seed host school, American.
Lehigh has won six more games this season than last, the biggest improvement of any of the 75 Division I schools from 2002. The Mountain Hawks completed the regular season with a record of 10-3 overall, and 3-3 in league play.
Lehigh’s tough defense earned a pair of players all-league honors. Senior defender Rosie Sherry was named to the All-Patriot League first team, while sophomore midfielder Barrie Cominsky earned second team honors. Sherry ranks sixth in the nation in caused turnovers per game with 2.92, while Cominsky is 15th at 2.42. Cominsky’s average of 4.0 ground balls per game also ranks her 13th in the country. Freshman goalkeeper Kyle Begina also rates among the nations top twenty in several statistical categories. She ranks 18th in both goals against average (8.23) and save percentage (.540). As a team, Lehigh ranks 12th in caused turnovers and 17th in scoring defense.
The Mountain Hawks feature a balanced offensive attack as just four points separate the top three scorers. Junior Emily Studdiford leads the team with ten assists and 33 points. With 31 points and a team-best 25 goals is sophomore Kellan Van Hoesen. Junior Meredith Carso is tied for second in goals scored with 23 and third in points at 29.
The Lehigh defense faces a tough challenge, as American enters the game with the country’s fifth best scoring offense, led by Gina Riitano and Rebecca Copeland. The duo is just two of five Eagle players with at least 30 points on the season. Riitano leads the team with 15 assists and 47 points. Copeland is the team’s top goal scorer with 38 and ranks second to Riitano with 45 points. Katy Zaweski, Nadia Harmsen, and Nicole McCarthy also have topped the 30 point barrier for American. Riitano also leads the team in both ground balls and caused turnovers with 51 and 25, respectively. In goal for the Eagles, Kathleen Finnegan has started all 14 games and has a 10.00 GAA and a .540 save percentage.
The two teams squared off in the regular season on March 22, with American taking a 10-9 decision in double overtime to hand Lehigh its first loss of the season. Pending a contest with Johns Hopkins, American stands at 9-5 and finished the regular season with a league record of 5-1. In the other semifinal, the second-seed Colgate plays third-seeded Bucknell. The Lehigh-American contest gets underway at noon on Saturday and can be heard live on the Lehigh website at www.lehigh.edu.
For more information, please contact Geoff Goyne, Lehigh Sports Media Relations.
Posted Wednesday, April 23, 2003
