BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Mountain Hawks look to continue their impressive start to the Patriot League season as they open a three match homestand Friday night against the Army Black Knights. Lehigh comes into the game on a five game win streak and the Brown and White stand atop the Patriot League standings with a 3-0 record. Reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Week
Christin Johnson has been on a scoring tear as of late, scoring three goals in Lehigh’s last two matches, including the lone goal in Lehigh’s 1-0 victory over Bucknell on Tuesday night.
Juniors Gina Lewandowski (11 points) and Daniela Molina (10 points) have also contributed significantly to Lehigh’s offensive attack. Defensively the Mountain Hawks pitched their tenth shutout of the year against the Bison. Freshman Goalkeeper Julie Kafka is now 10-1-1 with a 0.25 goals against average and a single season record nine shutouts this season.
The win over Bucknell was also a milestone for head coach Manny Oudin, who became the winningest coach in the history of the Lehigh women’s soccer program, picking up win number 36.
Army is coming off a 1-1 tie to Patriot League rival American on Sunday in Washington D.C. The Black Knights are currently riding a four match unbeaten streak. Their attack is led by junior forward Delaney Brown, who currently ranks third among Patriot League goal scorers with eight. Army’s defense has kept the team in every game this season, losing only one game by more than one goal. Defender Claudia Keen is the reigning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week, while goalkeeper Rebecca Garcia’s 0.94 GAA puts her second behind Kafka for the league lead.
These two teams met last year in Bethlehem with Lehigh winning 3-0 behind two goals from Lewandowski and one from Melissa Montalvo. Friday night’s game gets underway at 7:00 from the Ulrich Sports Complex.
