Lehigh set for final two home games of 2008
10/23/2008 4:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Fresh off its first Patriot League win of the season, Lehigh opens up its final home stand of 2008 with a critical league showdown against the Bucknell Bison Friday night at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Despite earning just three points through their first four league matches, the Mountain Hawks remain very much alive for a Patriot League tournament berth, but Lehigh must pick up victories this weekend in its matches Bucknell and Colgate to have a shot at a tournament berth.
The Mountain Hawks snapped a goal drought of nearly 400 minutes with two goals in the first seven minutes of Saturday night’s 2-0 victory at arch rival Lafayette. An own goal put Lehigh ahead 1-0 in the fifth minute, and two minutes later freshman Ali MacLeod scored to give the Mountain Hawks a two-goal cushion. The Lehigh defense held from there en route to its fifth shutout of the season, and sixth consecutive shutout win over Lafayette. MacLeod was rewarded with Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors, as she took over the team lead in scoring with her tally. Sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Mains earned an honorable mention, making seven saves to earn her fifth clean sheet of the season.
Bucknell enters the penultimate weekend of the regular season with a 2-2-0 Patriot League record, which puts the Bison in a fourth place tie with Colgate with six points. The Bison are the defending regular season league champions and feature the 2007 Offensive Player of the Year in senior Jennifer Dervarics, who leads Bucknell with ten goals and 24 points this season. Junior Chelsea McGorry is the reigning Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week after leading Bucknell to a 3-1 win over Colgate. The Bison also have a league win against Holy Cross, but have suffered overtime losses to Navy and Army.
The Bison lead the series versus Lehigh 9-7-2, but Lehigh has won the last four regular-season meetings, including a 3-1 win last year in Lewisburg.
On Sunday, Lehigh will play its final home game of the season as the Mountain Hawks welcome the Colgate Raiders to Bethlehem. The game will mark the final Ulrich Sports Complex appearance for Lehigh’s senior class, which consists of goalkeeper Julie Kafka, defenders Hailey Coonrad, Amy Mastromonaco and Emily Means, and midfielder Allie Caldwell.
Like Bucknell, Colgate is 2-2 in the Patriot League and tied for fourth place in the league standings heading into its game Friday at Lafayette. The Raiders own wins over American and Holy Cross, and losses to Army and Bucknell in league play and are 5-9-1 overall this season. Colgate has struggled somewhat offensively, with just 16 goals in 15 matches. Danielle Wessler and Jessica Bitsack pace the Raider attack with nine points apiece, while Rebecca Michlin has played every minute in goal for Colgate.
The Raiders lead the Mountain Hawks 13-4-1 in the all-time series, including a 1-0 win last year in Hamilton, N.Y.
Action gets underway on Friday with the Lehigh-Bucknell showdown at 7 p.m. Sunday’s Lehigh-Colgate tilt is set for a 1 p.m. kickoff. Both games can be seen on Lehighsports.com with streaming powered by Yahoo! Sports College Broadcast.
