Lehigh University
Colgate
Lehigh clinches postseason berth with OT win
10/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
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“I could not be more proud of this group,” said head coach Julie Mazer. “The game was what we expected. We knew it would be back-and-forth. We worked a lot on corner defense, and staying organized and those things helped us today.”
All five goals in the game came off of penalty corners, a statistic in which Colgate held a 16-7 advantage on the day.
Smith put Lehigh in front 10 minutes in as she took a pass from junior Kalynn Davies and fired it past Sarah Pederson for her seventh goal of the season. The Raiders tied the game at the 24:14 mark as Lauren Carey found herself wide open at the top of the scoring circle, and beat freshman Jessica Miller for her tenth goal of the year.
The game was tied 1-1 at halftime with Colgate out shooting Lehigh 12-6 in the first 35 minutes.
Lehigh took the lead for the second time in the 57th minute, as junior Kara Zweizig deflected in a Christy Smith drive off a penalty corner for her eighth goal of the season. Both Smith sisters, Christy and Lindsey added assists on the play.
The Raiders immediately pressed for a tying goal, but senior Lauren Volpe thwarted a golden scoring opportunity clearing a Raider shot off the goal line. Colgate finally answered just three minutes after Zweizig’s goal as Courtney Kundtz deflected a Laura Flisnik drive past Miller to tie the game.
In overtime, Lehigh wasted little time putting the game away. Smith intercepted a Colgate pass and drove into the scoring circle to earn a penalty corner, then blasted a shot past Pedersen for the game-winner. Smith scored overtime game-winning goals to propel Lehigh to all three of its Patriot League regular season wins.
Colgate finished the game with a 25-14 advantage in shots, but Miller responded with a career-high 14 saves. Pedersen finished with four saves for the Raiders, who fell to 8-8, 2-3 in league games.
The Mountain Hawks will return to action next Friday when they will face Lafayette in the Patriot League semifinals. American will host the tournament at the William I Jacobs Recreational Complex and the host Eagles will face No. 4 Colgate at 11 a.m., with the second semifinal between Lehigh and Lafayette to follow at 1:30 p.m. The championship game is set for noon on Saturday.
