Lehigh University
No. 15 Drexel
Mountain Hawks downed by No. 15 Drexel
10/28/2008 8:15:00 PM | Field Hockey
 |
PHILADELPHIA – Sophomore Lauren Cawley scored twice, but it was not enough to lead Lehigh past 15th-ranked Drexel in the Mountain Hawks final non-league game of the season. Christina Mastropaolo scored three goals to lead the host Dragons to a 7-2 victory over the Brown and White Tuesday night at Buckley Field. The loss drops the Mountain Hawks to 3-13 on the season, while the Dragons set a new school record with their 14th win of the season as they improve to 14-3.
The Mountain Hawks were under pressure all night from the high power Drexel attack. The Dragons totaled 37 shots on the night to just eight for the Mountain Hawks, and also enjoyed a 14-7 advantage in penalty corners.
“You have to give credit to Drexel,” said Lehigh head coach Julie Mazer. “They are a very good team. Possibly the best team we’ve faced all year. At moments we played well, and Lilia (Stefaniwsky) was phenomenal in goal, but Drexel played a disciplined game and executed their game plan well.”
Stefaniwsky, Lehigh’s sophomore goalkeeper, made a career-high 18 saves on the evening.
The contest was scoreless for over 25 minutes until Carolina Gibernau scored an unassisted goal to put the Dragons on the scoreboard. Three minutes later Mastropaolo found the back of the cage for her first goal of the night. Lehigh managed to pull within one in the final minutes of the first half as Cawley netted her third goal of the season with a drive off a penalty corner. Sophomore Claire Horn and Kara Zweizig assisted on the goal, which left Lehigh down 2-1 at halftime.
The Dragon offense erupted for five straight goals in the first 25 minutes of the half to take a 7-1 lead. Megan Keller opened the second half scoring, and then Mastropaolo followed with her second and third goals of the game. Susan Ciufo and Gibernau rounded out the scoring for Drexel. Cawley struck again with a drive off a penalty corner for Lehigh’s second goal with just over five minutes to play. The Bethlehem native is now second on the team with four goals. Horn picked up her second assist on the play and junior Kelly Fox was credited with an assist as well.
Ciufo led all players with 12 shots, including eight on goal. Cawley registered five of Lehigh’s eight shots, with Fox, junior Lindsey Smith and freshman Abby Tilton also registering chances.
The Mountain Hawks will wrap-up the regular season on Friday when they face 19th-ranked and Patriot League leading American. Game time is set for 8 p.m. from Lafayette’s Rappolt Field, where Lehigh will host the game, while the Ulrich Sports Complex undergoes a facility upgrade.
