Mountain Hawks eager to begin the season
8/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
In just her second season at the helm, Julie Mazer has begun the transformation of Lehigh field hockey, and the Mountain Hawks hope to make even bigger strides in 2004. Despite the loss of four very experienced seniors, Lehigh returns 18 players from a year ago and will add 11 newcomers, many of which will be expected to contribute from the beginning. “We really made some nice strides in the spring, as we started to play a lot smarter, more disciplined and seemed to be on the same page”, Mazer explains. “Our biggest challenge this season will be to see how quickly the freshmen can mesh with the upperclassmen. We are more skilled as a team than we were last season, and we’re going to play more of a team oriented game, which should translate into success on the field.” Lehigh was led on offense in 2003 by All-Patriot and All-Region selection Blaire Goodwin, who tallied 26 career goals. But Goodwin has since graduated, so the Mountain Hawks will have to look elsewhere for their offensive firepower. Ready to step in and assume that role is junior Maureen Harrington, whose speed and athleticism make her a tough cover for opposing defenders to stay with. Harrington has scored seven goals in her first two seasons as a Mountain Hawk, and she will look to add to that total in 2004. Senior Sheila Clabby and junior Marissa Iannarone will also look to assume a larger role on the offensive side. Clabby tied for the team lead in assists with four a season ago and she also found the back of the net once, while Iannarone scored two goals for Lehigh in ’03. Sophomore Kelsey Smith had a strong freshman season and always seemed to make good things happen on offense when she entered the game. Senior Kristi Miller, junior Melissa Fricke and sophomore Elizabeth Berretta will all add depth to the attack position for the Mountain Hawks, while freshmen Katie Noon, Marie Chervanick and Megan Linaberry will add a great deal of speed and athleticism. “The attack unit really seemed to gel in the spring and they are beginning to work off of one another. They have a better sense of positioning and that should increase our scoring chances,” Mazer explains. “Instead of one player getting ten goals, we should be able to spread the scoring out and see three of four girls score a number of goals throughout the season.” The midfield was hit by graduation with the loss of Emily Beil, but the Mountain Hawks have a host of returning players to more than make up for the loss. Leading the charge will be senior tri-captain Krista Jamieson, whose experience and heady play will help to aide both the offense and defense for Lehigh. Junior Chelsea Erdmanis and sophomore Moira Garrity both received extensive minutes a year ago, led by Garrity who appeared in all 19 games for the Mountain Hawks and made one start. . Sophomore Molly LaBonte is one of the hardest workers on the team and has the potential to be a force in the midfield. Mazer says that the Mountain Hawks may switch a few things up in the midfield this year with a good number of players to choose from. “We’ll have a different look than we had last year in the midfield and we will definitely have much more depth”, Mazer explains. “Krista, Moira and Chelsea will add strength to the defense and should be more effective in distributing the ball this year, as each of them possesses strong stick skills.” Mazer adds, “Freshmen Christine Smith and Marny Hearn bring an awful lot of experience as well as a good deal of speed, which should pay immediate dividends for us.” Junior tri-captain Mel Lepko and fellow junior Mary Beth Kuenne played in 19 and 18 games respectively a season ago and that duo will combine to form the backbone of the Mountain Hawk defense. Lepko returned from a knee injury last season and came on strong towards the end of the year, while Kuenne also came on strong late, scoring a goal versus Senior Dana Griffin also returns and she brings a wealth of experience, having appeared in almost 50 games in her first three seasons for Lehigh. While Junior Lindsay Jenschke and sophomore Jen Schmeltze will also help to bolster the Mountain Hawk defense. Behind a strong defense is always a strong goaltender and this year will prove to be no different as the Mountain Hawks feature a pair of outstanding net minders. Senior tri-captain Jeanine Hoff and junior Meghan Gove both saw extended minutes in 2003 and split many games between halves to set up what figures to be a dynamic duo in cage for the Mountain Hawks. Hoff stopped 65 shots and recorded a 2.04 goals against average, while Gove sent back 60 shots and posted a 1.67 goals against average a season ago. Both goalies saw over 680 minutes of action in between the pipes for Lehigh and that experience will only help to bolster what figures to be a strong defense. “The defense will be the strongest part of our team this year”, Mazer explains, “We will be more disciplined than a year ago, which is in large part due to the play of Jeanine and Meghan in goal. With those two back there, it allows our defenders to take more calculated risks.” Mazer adds, “We’re going to try and get Dana, Mel and Mary Beth involved in special situations a little more, which should help, and coupled with the addition of several talented freshmen, the defense should be very strong.” Mazer also has the luxury of choosing from a deep pool of talented freshmen defenders. Kelly Hansen, Meg Hess, Katie Ann McMillan, Terry Mongan, Stacy Somerfield and Lauren Volpe will all get their chances to see time on the defense. The Mountain Hawks will take on their usual slate of tough Patriot League opponents in addition to several strong out of conference foes, including a tough Davidson team, which won the NorPac in 2003. Lehigh will play host to ten games at the Ulrich Sports Complex, including three Patriot League contests and seven out of conference games. The Mountain Hawks open up their 2004 season on Saturday, August 28, when they travel to
