Lehigh University
Holy Cross
Fetsick leads Lehigh past HC and into tournament
10/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
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“It was amazing out there,” said an elated Fetsick after the game. “We came to play for the seniors tonight, and I had a couple good chances and I’m glad I was able to put it away.”
The upset-minded Crusaders put an early scare into the Mountain Hawks, scoring 56 seconds in when Casey Boland beat Lehigh sophomore Julie Kafka. From that point, Lehigh dominated play in the first half, out shooting the Crusaders 16-5 in the opening 45 minutes. Senior Gina Lewandowski hit a crossbar early on and sophomore Allison Caldwell had two attempts stopped by Holy Cross defenders on the goal line.
In the second half, Lehigh finally broke through in the 51st minute when Lewandowski sprung Fetsick on a breakaway and the junior calmly slid the ball past Jessica Pietrowicz for the equalizer. The game appeared destined for overtime, but Fetsick struck again with under three minutes to play, deflecting a pinpoint cross from senior Lauren Calabrese into the top right corner of the net for her third goal of the season.
“It was very frustrating for us, not being able to score with the chances we had,” said Lehigh head coach Manny Oudin. “Their keepers made a few key saves in the first half, but we kept up the pressure and eventually scored the game winner late. They were two great finishes by Fetsick and a great win for our team.”
Lehigh held a commanding 28-6 advantage in shots and had the only six corners of the match. Fetsick, Lewandowski and sophomore Shannon Lockwood each had five shots on the night for Lehigh. Kafka finished with just two saves for the Mountain Hawks.
With Colgate’s 2-0 win over American, Lehigh enters the postseason as the No. 3 seed with the Raiders being seeded fourth. Navy and Bucknell will meet on Sunday, with the winner earning the top seed and the right to host the Patriot League tournament, next Friday and Saturday. The Mountain Hawks will face the loser of that game, the number two seed.
