A look back at the 2005 season
11/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Mazer continues, “I really liked the way we fought all year long. With so many road games, we were forced to learn how to win away from home, and I think we did that. I continually challenged the team to make plays, to remain focused and to give a great effort, and it paid off. I think our skill level improved from the beginning of the season up through the Patriot League Tournament. Now, it’s up to the returning players to work hard through the spring and into the summer to be as ready as possible for next season.”
After dropping its season opener to
In
Back-to-back road games at
Following five straight road games, Lehigh made its way back home to face the nation’s No. 17 ranked squad in Villanova on September 21, and the Mountain Hawks hung tough with the Wildcats, keeping them off the scoreboard for the entire first half, before ultimately falling to the Big East runner-up.
To close out the month of September, Lehigh opened Patriot League play in
Two tough road trips to
On October 22, Lehigh welcomed Colgate, a team it had not beaten since 1996, to the Ulrich Sports Complex for a crucial league showdown. After falling behind 2-0, the Mountain Hawks staged a furious comeback. Iannarone inserted the ball into play on a penalty corner, got it back and fired a shot into the back of the cage at the 48:40 mark to slice the deficit in half. Lehigh continued to have its chances, but with less than one minute remaining, seemed as though it might be headed for a tough loss, but Smith took a lead pass from Harrington and made several moves past Raider defenders before scoring the game-tying goal with just 52 ticks left on the clock to send the game into overtime.
In the extra session, Colgate was awarded a penalty stroke, but missed it, giving the Mountain Hawks new life, which they took advantage of. Iannarone took control of the ball on the left side of the field, beat a Colgate defender and knocked the ball into the cage past Raider keeper Jacque DeMarco to lift the Brown and White to an incredible 3-2 victory. For the third time in 2005, Gove was honored as the Defensive Player of the Week by the Patriot League, and Iannarone joined her as the Offensive Player of the Week.
One week later, Lehigh hosted Bucknell in the regular season finale, and for the second straight league contest, the game would need overtime to decide a winner. The two teams went over 65 minutes without scoring, and then totaled two goals in a span of just 18 seconds, which sent the game into the extra session. Smith scored the game-tying goal for the second straight game, as she sprinted past nearly every Bison player and scored her third goal of the year.
In the first overtime, both teams were awarded penalty strokes, but neither took advantage, sending the contest into a second overtime period, where Bucknell’s Kelly Hofmann slipped the ball past Gove, after Gove had just sent back a shot, and the Bison escaped with a 2-1 victory. Despite the loss, Lehigh qualified for its second straight Patriot League Tournament, where it would face the number-seven American Eagles for the second straight season.
For their efforts, Iannarone, Harrington, Gove and Smith were named to the All-League teams, the most selections in school history, and a sure sign that Lehigh is quickly gaining respect around the league. Mazer and the Mountain Hawks will begin their winter workouts soon, with a heavy emphasis on strength and conditioning. “We’ll work closely with the strength team here (at Lehigh) and really focus on overall conditioning. If we can come into camp next year in great shape, it starts the season off the right way.”
Lehigh will lose six seniors from the 2005 team, in Iannarone, Gove, Harrington, Kuenne, Melissa Fricke and Chelsea Erdmanis. The Mountain Hawks top three scorers this year were seniors, so Mazer will have to look for new players to step up and fill those roles. “This senior class accomplished a lot in the time they were here, and now it’s time for the younger girls to assume expanded roles, on offense, on defense, in terms of leadership and also off of the field. We return a nice amount of talent and skill next year, but it will depend on how hard we work and how badly we want it, that will ultimately determine how far we can go.”
