Mountain Hawks reflect on successful '07 campaign
12/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
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Four all-league selections, a winning Patriot League record, and a third league tournament appearance in four years highlight the recently completed Lehigh field hockey season. After a 5-12 season in 2006, the Mountain Hawks were picked to finish last in the Patriot League, but with strong senior leadership and resilient attitude, Lehigh upped its win total to eight, and thanks to three dramatic overtime wins, finished second in the Patriot League standings, proving once again that this program is on the right track.
“One of the undeniable highlights of the season was entering the Patriot League Tournament seeded second,” said senior back Lauren Volpe. “A lot of my teammates were discouraged with our preseason ranking, but with our performances during league games this year we proved that our team was a threat.
Leading the charge for Lehigh was senior midfielder Christy Smith, who earned her fair share of individual accolades in 2007. Just third on the team in scoring with eight goals and 21 points, Smith was recognized for the impact she has on a game when she’s on the field, as the league’s head coaches voted her as a first team all-league selection and the Offensive Player of the Year. Smith played a prominent role in Lehigh’s return to the postseason, as she scored game-winning goals in overtime in all three of Lehigh’s Patriot League wins.
Smith added first team
“Christy had such an important presence on the field,” said head coach Julie Mazer. “She did a great job as a senior, a captain and a central midfielder, but the best thing about Christy is that she’s a team player in the truest sense. She really pushed herself for the team.”
“Anyone who has played a team sport will tell you that an individual honor is really earned by the effort of ones teammates,” notes Smith. “It’s their unselfishness, hard work and dedication, which allows an individual to take full advantage of the opportunities that go her way.”
The Mountain Hawks showed their resiliency early in the season. After dropping its first three games, Lehigh bounced back with three hard-earned victories to even its record at 3-3 as of September 11. The Mountain Hawks won their first game 3-1 at
Lehigh’s forward line made tremendous strides in 2007, and should play a major role as the Mountain Hawks begin work towards 2008. Davies benefited from being at full health for the first time in her career, and showed her proficiency as a corner striker with a team leading 12 goals. She led the league in goals per game and joined Christy Smith as a first team all-league selection.
With eight goals and seven assists Zweizig enjoyed another solid year as well, as she finished second on the Mountain Hawks in scoring. The third member of the forward line, Kelly Fox enjoyed a breakout sophomore season, with five goals and a team best eight assists. Fox’s ability to control the ball and set up her teammates earned her a spot on the All-Patriot League second team.
After seeing its three game winning streak snapped, Lehigh alternated losses and wins in its next six games. The Mountain Hawks lost at
The Mountain Hawks’ Patriot League opener against Bucknell may have proved to be a springboard to the team’s future league success. Trailing 2-0 with six minutes to play, sophomore Lindsey Smith and Davies delivered late goals to send the game to overtime. In the extra period, Christy Smith intercepted a pass, drove towards the goal cage and scored to give Lehigh the dramatic 3-2 come-from-behind win. Overtime wins, 3-2 scores and Christy Smith goals would become common for the Brown and White in league play.
A heartbreaking loss at
At 2-1 in the league Lehigh was in terrific shape to return to the postseason, but three consecutive losses at Princeton, at American and at home against Drexel left the Mountain Hawks in a position where they needed a win over Colgate in the regular season finale to ensure a spot in the playoffs.
On a rainy Saturday afternoon, Lehigh and Colgate battled, with the postseason on the line for both. Christy Smith put Lehigh ahead, but the Raiders tied the game at one. Zweizig redirected a Smith drive for a go-ahead goal in the second half, but the Raiders answered again. Once more in 2007, overtime was needed, and again, Christy Smith delivered, this time on a drive off of a penalty corner, to clinch a tournament berth for Lehigh.
“It was the rainiest Saturday of my life, the kind where your uniform is saturated, shoes
are drenched, and the diagonal rain actually hurts your face,” said Volpe, who added a key defensive save in the victory. “At that time I realized how much fun the 26 of us where having. It was by far the most miserable weather I’ve played in regardless of sport or season but I would not have wanted to be anywhere else. “
Lehigh’s 3-2 league mark gave the Mountain Hawks a winning record in the league for the first time since Lehigh’s championship season of 1996. The Mountain Hawks claimed the No. 2 seed in the league tournament, but bowed out in the semifinals against Lafayette 2-0, as Lehigh scored 40 goals during the regular season, the fifth most in school history, but were kept off the board for the only time in 2007. Despite the season-ending setback, both Mongan and Fox were named to the All-Tournament Team, for their performance in the semifinal game.
Mazer credits her senior class for shaping the direction of the program. Christy Smith received most of the accolades, but backs Terry Mongan, Lauren Volpe and Stacy Sommerfield were all multi-year starters, with Mongan earning second team all-league honors for the second straight year. Midfielder Marny Hearn dished out six assists in 2007, and rounds out Lehigh’s senior class.
“The five seniors who will graduate from this program saw how much it changed from start to finish,” said Mazer. “A lot of who this team was stems down from that senior class. The team chemistry was strong. The seniors had specific goals in mind for this season, and were able to accomplish many of them.”
“The experience in my senior class coupled with our determination to qualify for the tournament provided a positive and confident presence on the field in close situations,” adds Smith. “Our confidence in the defense and our goalkeeper allowed us to be aggressive on offense and get the winning tallies.”
One of Lehigh’s biggest questions heading into the season was the goalkeeper position, but freshmen Jessica Miller and Lilia Stefaniwsky combined to become a formidable tandem for the Mountain Hawks. Miller started 18 games and ranked among the national leaders in saves per game. She had five games of double-digit saves, including 14 in the overtime win over Colgate. Miller was twice named Patriot League Rookie of the Week. Stefaniwsky saw action in four games and did not allow a goal.
The Mountain Hawks can now set their sights towards 2008. Lehigh returns four of its top five goal scorers. Along with the two goalkeepers, freshmen Claire Horn, Cassie Willard, Taryn Hartzell and Katey Fardelmann saw significant action in 2007 and will look to gain expanded roles in 2008. Lehigh loses all three starting backs, but the Mountain Hawks do have talented reinforcements waiting in the wings, as Lehigh looks to take another step forward and challenge for the Patriot League title.
