Bethlehem, PA – Lehigh hung tough all evening with La Salle on Wednesday, but the Mountain Hawks could not seem to find the back of the net enough times, eventually falling 14-9 to the Explorers at the Ulrich Sports Complex.
Lehigh out shot
La Salle 32-22 for the game, and hit the goal post on numerous occasions, but it simply was not the Mountain Hawks night. With the loss, Lehigh falls to 4-9 on the season, while the Explorers rise above .500 and now sit at 7-6.
Amy Chamberlain scored season goal number 31 just four minutes into the contest, but La Salle answered back quickly as Kate Henwood found the back of the net on a free position shot just 2:21 later. La Salle scored again, but senior Sarah Starsoneck scored her 19th goal of the season to even things up at two with 15:57 left in the opening half. Tiffany Grossi scored the game’s next goal, but freshman Christy Smith netted her 18th score of the year on a free position shot with 13:02 remaining to once again tie the game, this time at three.
The Explorers then scored the contest’s next two goals to go up 5-3, but the Mountain Hawks fought back with Starsoneck and Chamberlain scoring back-to-back goals in a span of 34 seconds to knot the game at five. Davis then scored two goals to close the half and send the Explorers to the locker room ahead 7-5.
Senior Barrie Cominsky opened the second half with her 24th tally of the season and Lehigh was within one at 7-6. But La Salle went on the offensive, scoring six straight goals in 20 minutes and with 7:40 left in the game, the Explorers were in front 13-6. As they have done all season though, the Mountain Hawks staged a comeback, as Lissy King scored at the 7:29 mark. Kara Chalanick and Chamberlain then netted two more goals in a span of 57 seconds to draw Lehigh to within four goals with 1:28 to go. The Brown and White continually tried to score again, but could not and La Salle escaped with the 14-9 decision.
Chamberlain led the Mountain Hawks with three goals, while Starsoneck had two. Vienna Pharaon dished out two assists on the evening and Smith handed out one. Kyle Begina got the start in goal for the Brown and White and sent back two shots before giving way to Brittany Bessler, who registered two saves of her own. Lehigh scooped up 42 ground balls for the game and won 18 draw controls, led by Chalanick’s five. Chalanick also scooped up seven ground balls, while Starsoneck totaled six and King had five.
Head Coach Liz Ota liked the way her team battled on Wednesday evening, especially against Emily Bonczek, who came into the game with 46 goals, but did not score a single one on Wednesday. “They (La Salle) had three very powerful offensive players and we just shut down (Bonczek). I am proud of what our team did against La Salle tonight, we had many opportunities, and we played smart out there. I can count several times that the ball hit the post and that is the difference right there.” Ota continued, “Our goal all season long has been possession and draw controls and we did an excellent job in those two areas. We just had trouble shutting down all three of their potent scorers. We took out one of them, but the other two gave us trouble on the defensive end of the field.”
Lehigh returns to action on Saturday afternoon as the Mountain Hawks play host to Bucknell at the Ulrich Sports Complex, in a game that should go a long way in determining the post season fate of both schools. Game time is set for 1:00 and the contest will be televised live on Service Electric 2 Sports with Jeff Tourial and Steve Lomangino providing the commentary. The game will also be broadcast live on lehighsports.com, beginning at 1:00.
