Pawlewicz honored again by PL, Lehigh preps for Army
10/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Pawlewicz was once again a major contributor to a Lehigh defense that recorded its eleventh and twelfth shutouts this season. Against Navy Pawlewicz helped preserve a 1-0 victory, thwarting the Mids’ furious second half attack while helping keep the dangerous Meggie Curran off the scoreboard. She followed up with another solid performance in a 2-0 win over the Eagles, a win that solidified Lehigh’s place in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament.
The 2-0 week on the field propelled the Mountain Hawks up in both regional polls. Lehigh improved one spot to seventh in the Mid-Atlantic region n the poll from Soccer Buzz Magazine, while the Mountain Hawks jumped three places to seventh in the region in the NSCAA poll. Both rankings are the highest ever in the history of the program.
Defense has been the primary reason for Lehigh’s success in 2005. The Mountain Hawks have allowed the fewest goals in all of Division I women’s soccer and they lead the nation in team goals-against average (0.196), shots on goal save percentage (0.958) and shutout percentage (0.8). Lehigh also ranks fifth nationally with .900 winning percentage.
Individually freshman Julie Kafka has been the beneficiary of Lehigh’s strong defensive play. Kafka is currently 12-1-1 with a school record 11 shutouts this season. Kafka needs just one more shutout to tie the Patriot League’s single season record. Kafka’s 0.21 goals against average ranks third nationally and she is second with a .955 save percentage.
At 13-1-1 overall and a perfect 5-0 in the Patriot League, Lehigh has already clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament. The Mountain Hawks are in the midst of a seven game winning streak and will look to clinch at least a share of the league’s regular season championship when they welcome Army to the Ulrich Sports Complex on Wednesday night. A Mountain Hawks victory would give them their first ever Patriot League regular season title and the opportunity to host the Patriot League tournament as the top seed.
Army can solidify its position in the Patriot League Tournament with a victory on Wednesday night. The Black Knights (9-5-1, 3-1-1 Patriot) are ranked 14th in the Northeast region by Soccer Buzz and enter the game third in the league standings after suffering their first league loss of the season, 2-1 to Colgate in overtime in their last game on Sunday.
Senior Delaney Brown is one of the Patriot League’s top scorers with 10 goals and 23 points this season and will certainly pose a challenge for the Lehigh defense. Army goalkeeper Rebecca Garcia is one of the league’s best, with a 1.01 goals against average and four shutouts this season.
Lehigh and Army were originally scheduled to meet on October 14, but a week of heavy rains in the
Wednesday night’s key tilt between Lehigh and Army gets underway at 7:00 from the Ulrich Sports Complex. The game will be broadcast online at lehighsports.com with streaming audio and video provided by Yahoo! Sports.
