Lehigh heads to North Carolina for adidas Classic
9/4/2008 4:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – On the heels of an opening weekend that saw Lehigh post a 1-1 record, the Mountain Hawks will take to the road for the first time in 2008 as they head to Davidson, North Carolina this weekend to take part in the adidas Classic. Lehigh, which is embarking on its furthest road trip since 2001, will face a pair of tough opponents from the Southern Conference who enter the weekend a combined 6-0-1 so far in 2008.
Lehigh managed a split of its two season-opening games at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Junior Natalie Hojnacki’s 89th minute goal, her first in nearly two years, propelled Lehigh to a 1-0 victory of Albany on Sunday as the Mountain Hawks bounced back from an opening night loss to Rutgers.
Sophomore Lauren Mains is off to a strong start as Lehigh’s No. 1 goalkeeper. Mains made a career-high seven saves against Rutgers and followed that performance with her first career solo shutout in the win over Albany, en route to Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week honors. Mains received plenty of help from her defense, led by senior Emily Means, who has emerged as a leader in central defense in the early season absence of classmate Hailey Coonrad.
Offensively, the Mountain Hawks have scored once in each game, with Means netting her first career goal on a penalty kick versus Rutgers.
The Mountain Hawks will open play this weekend with a Friday night tilt against tournament host Davidson at Alumni Stadium. The Wildcats, ranked tenth in the Southeast region by the NSCAA, enter the weekend with a 2-0-1 record. Davidson opened its season with a home win over Virginia Tech and spent last weekend at the LQ Cup in Macon, Georgia where the Wildcats defeated host Mercer and tied Kennesaw State.
Davidson was 14-5-1 a year ago and was picked second in the Southern Conference preseason poll. Junior forward Kyri Bye-Nagel leads the team with two goals and is the reigning SoCon Player of the Week. Freshman Christy Carry has seen the majority of time in goal and has allowed less than a goal per game in the early season.
On Sunday, Lehigh will wrap-up the weekend with a 1 p.m. match against another Southern Conference foe, the College of Charleston. The Cougars are off to their best start ever, with wins in each of their first four matches. The College of Charleston has posted victories over Jacksonville, North Florida, USC-Upstate and Presbyterian by a combined 7-2 margin.
Senior Megan Manthey leads the Cougars with seven points (two goals, three assists) through the first four games, while freshman Hope Atkinson has chipped in with two goals and an assist. Senior Erin Smith has started the last three games between the posts for Charleston, posting three wins and two shutouts in that span. The Cougars were 9-8-3 a year ago and were picked fifth in the SoCon preseason poll.
This weekend’s games will be Lehigh’s first ever against Davidson and the College of Charleston. The Mountain Hawks have faced two Southern Conference opponents in their history, as Lehigh faced Georgia Southern and Wofford at the Florida Atlantic Tournament in 2001. Lehigh dropped both matches losing 2-1 to Georgia Southern and 3-1 to Wofford.
Action for Lehigh at the adidas Classic gets underway Friday night when Lehigh faces host Davidson at 7 p.m. at Alumni Stadium.
