A look back at Lehigh's 2007 season
12/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
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Having qualified for the previous three Patriot League tournaments, expectations were high for the Mountain Hawks in 2007. Led by a strong senior class Lehigh was picked to finish in the top half of the league standings, and after losing just once in their first seven games, the Mountain Hawks appeared to be on the right track. Once league play began however, Lehigh fell victim to three-one goal defeats and played a pair of scoreless draws, leaving the Mountain Hawks out of the league tournament for the first time since 2003. Still, the 2007 season had its share of memorable moments, and the Mountain Hawks are confident they can get back where they want to be as they prepare for 2008.
“Obviously it was disappointing not to make the tournament,” said Manny Oudin, who completed his sixth season as head coach. “Our players recognized that we were probably a better team than the results may show. They recognized that when we played up to our capabilities we were a very good team, but when we were not playing well we were very average.
Continues Oudin, “In a lot of our matches we defended well and created quality chances, but our inability to capitalize on those chances hurt us as we struggled to score goals.”
The season began on a positive note, with a 2-0 win over Quinnipiac at the Ulrich Sports Complex. One of the questions entering the season was who would replace the offensive production of Gina Lewandowski ’07? On opening night both Lehigh goals were scored by newcomers, as sophomore Liz Carlos and freshman Glynn Fitzer found the back of the net. Carlos would go on to lead the team in scoring with four goals and five assists for 13 points.
“Because she didn’t play in her first year, she was essentially a sophomore playing her freshman season,” says Oudin of Carlos. “She came in with high expectations after a strong spring, and certainly played well. She needs to learn and get adjusted to the grind of a full season and work to maintain the same level throughout.”
A tough stretch of games followed, as Oudin increased the difficulty of his non-league schedule. After a 2-0 loss to No. 11 Rutgers, the Mountain Hawks put together their most impressive weekend of the season, defeating Marist 1-0 and then rallying for a dramatic come-from-behind 2-1 overtime victory over
The next weekend brought more tough non-league opponents, but two promising results. Lehigh led Villanova 1-0 with five minutes to play, and after yielding a late tying goal was still able to hold the Wildcats to a 1-1 draw. The Mountain Hawks followed that tie, with a 2-2 draw at Monmouth.
Lehigh then alternated wins and losses in its next four games heading into league play. The Mountain Hawks opened on a Sunday at Holy Cross, and although Montalvo put Lehigh ahead with an early goal, the Crusaders stormed back with a pair of goals to stun Lehigh 2-1.
The following weekend, Lehigh hosted a pair of key league matches, but the Brown and White were only able to muster one point from the two games. The Mountain Hawks dropped another one goal game to American, then played eventual league champion Navy to a scoreless draw.
Lehigh finally broke into the win column in its fourth league game, as Carlos and Fetsick scored to propel the Mountain Hawks to their sixth straight win over arch rival Lafayette. The next weekend, Lehigh crept back into playoff contention with a 3-1 victory on the road against a Bucknell team that had been unbeaten in league play. Two days later, Lehigh suffered another tough one-goal setback, as the Mountain Hawks fell 1-0 at Colgate.
Heading into the regular season finale, Lehigh was very much alive for a spot in the league tournament, but the Mountain Hawks needed to beat Army at home, and get help in the form of wins by Navy over both Colgate and Army. The Mids held up their end of the bargain, defeating Colgate in a day game on Saturday November 3, but that night, Lehigh and Army played to a scoreless tie, which knocked the Mountain Hawks out of the tournament and ended their season with a record of 7-7-4.
The Mountain Hawks placed three student-athletes on the All-Patriot League teams, led by senior defender Michaela Pawlewicz, who became a four time all-league selection. Fetsick (team-leading five goals) and Montalvo (three goals, three assists) both earned second team laurels, the first of their careers. That trio led the way for a class of seven seniors that proved to be one of the most successful classes in program history. The three all-league selections were joined by defenders Courtney Jackson and Anndrea Yetter and midfielders Shannon Lockwood and Addie Burton.
“Looking back at the entire career of this class, they played some of the best soccer of their career at the end of their senior season,” notes Oudin. “Regardless of the overall outcome of the season; individually I was pretty pleased with their performance.
One of the biggest surprises in 2007 was successful platoon at the goalkeeper position between junior Julie Kafka and freshman Lauren Mains. Kafka played the first 45 minutes of every game and was 4-5-0 with a 1.11 goals-against average. Mains played all but 13 of the remaining minutes, and went 3-2-4 with a 0.82 goals against average.
“It wasn’t something we planned initially,” says Oudin. “We thought eventually someone would emerge. Both keepers understood their roles. It can be difficult to manage, but it seemed to work well for us, and the team responded well to the system.”
The goalkeeping duo will be back next year, as will Carlos, and junior co-captain Hailey Coonrad who was limited to just three games due to injury.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the next group of leaders emerge,” concludes Oudin. “We’re expecting leaders to emerge, to help us refocus on the heels of this past season, as we try to determine how we get this program back to where we want to be.”
