Lehigh set to open league play at rival Lafayette
9/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
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In the Mountain Hawks’ last game on Sunday, senior Lauren Calabrese scored three minutes into the second overtime period to give Lehigh a come-from-behind 2-1 win at
“Lehigh-Lafayette games are always a battle and are always close,” said Lehigh head coach Manny Oudin. “We are excited about opening league play with a game of such tradition. We'll look to build off of the confidence from Sunday's win and take things one game at a time from here on out.
Oudin continues, “Our goal right now is to get ourselves into the Patriot League tournament, and then to put ourselves in a position to win the league, it's as simple as that."
Offensively, Lehigh (4-5) has survived despite not having senior co-captain Gina Lewandowski at full strength due to injury. Lewandowski entered the season four goals shy of the school record and has been kept off the score sheet so far in 2006, but classmate Daniela Molina has picked up the slack with a league-leading six goals this year. Freshman Natalie Hojnacki has also contributed to the Lehigh attack with three goals and two assists
On the defensive side, the Mountain Hawks are looking to regain the form that made them one of the top units in the country a year ago. The Lehigh back line is anchored by junior Michaela Pawlewicz and sophomore Hailey Coonrad, who have done their part to limit opponents’ scoring chances. Sophomore goalkeeper Julie Kafka does not have the sparkling goals-against average she posted last year, but she has been stopping nearly six shots per contest.
The Leopards enter Saturday night’s game with a 3-4-1 record.
Lehigh leads the all-time series against
Saturday night’s game is the third of Lehigh’s current four game road trip. Game time is set for 7:00 from Mike Bourger Field at Oaks Stadium. The Mountain Hawks’ league home opener will be on Friday, October 6, when Lehigh hosts Colgate.
