Philadelphia, PA – Lehigh used a furious comeback in the final minute, in which it scored three goals to defeat Villanova 15-14 on Sunday afternoon, in a wild back and forth affair.
Amy Chamberlain scored three goals and handed out three assists for the Mountain Hawks, while Vienna Pharoan also scored three times and recorded one assist.
The loss snaps a six-game losing streak for the Brown and White and improves it to 4-6 on the year, 1-2 in Patriot League play, while the Wildcats remain winless at 0-9 overall and 0-4 in league action.
Cassie McDonough scored the game’s first goal just 2:58 in, but Pharaon answered back for Lehigh to knot the game at one. Lissy King and Christy Smith then scored back-to-back goals for the Mountain Hawks to push their lead up to two at 3-1. Alex Garvey answered for the Wildcats to trim the Lehigh lead to one, but Barrie Cominsky scored her first goal of the contest with 16:48 left in the half and the Brown and White led 4-2. Villanova scored the game’s next five goals to go in front 7-4, but the Mountain Hawks fought their way back, as Pharaon and Amanda Segal scored one goal each to bring Lehigh to within one score. Cindy Koza scored next for Villanova to hault the Mountain Hawks run, but Cominsky found the back of the net for the second time to make the halftime score 8-7 in favor of the home team.
After Christina Bahrs scored the first goal of the second half, the Mountain Hawks scored four straight, as Sarah Starsoneck, Pharaon, Cominsky and Chamberlain each scored once to put Lehigh in front 11-9. But as was the case all day, no lead was safe, as the Wildcats pulled to within one off of a Bess Hanley goal with 20 minutes to go. Chamberlain netted her second goal of the day with 18 to play, but the Wildcats ripped off four straight scores in four minutes to surge in front 14-12 with 9:29 to go.
Starsoneck pulled the Mountain Hawks to within a single goal with 9:18 remaining, but Alex Garvey found the back of the net to make the score 15-13 with 7:36 left. Neither team would score again until the final minute, when Lissy King scored twice at the 47 and 36-second marks, and Chamberlain scored her game-winner with just 26 ticks left on the clock. Starsoneck finished with two goals and one assist, while Cominsky tallied three goals and three assists. In goal for the Brown and White, Brittany Bessler stopped six shots, while Kyle Begina sent back three.
Lehigh had 22 shots on the day, while Villanova had 23. The Mountain Hawks won 18 draw controls and scooped up eight ground balls, led by Christy Smith’s three.
Lehigh returns to action on Saturday, April 9, when the Mountain Hawks play host to Colgate at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Game time is scheduled for 1:00.
