Mountain Hawks visit rival Leopards on Saturday
10/16/2009 10:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Rivals Lehigh and Lafayette will renew their rivalry Saturday afternoon in a critical Patriot League matchup for both teams. Through two weekends of league play the Mountain Hawks are 1-1 within the league, a game ahead of their rivals, who were picked second in the league’s preseason poll but have dropped their first two league games. Lehigh is coming off a 3-2 overtime win over Fairfield on Wednesday and the Mountain Hawks head to Easton looking to snap a four-game slide against their arch rivals.
Senior Morgan Christopher delivered the game-winning goal 7:06 into overtime for Lehigh (5-7) against Fairfield on Wednesday. The Mountain Hawks were able to rebound after losing one-goal leads late in the first and second halves on Wednesday. Freshman Kim Eng assisted on Christopher’s game-winner and added her league leading tenth goal of the season in the win. Eng continues to lead the Patriot League in all offensive categories and her 28 points are ten more than the next closest competitor. Christopher has scored in each of her last two games and is second on the team with five goals and 12 points.
Defensively, junior Taryn Hartzell has led the way with help from backfield mates Lauren Cawley, Claire Horn and Cassie Willard. Junior goalkeeper Lilia Stefaniwsky has started the last eight games in the goal cage for Lehigh, going 4-4 with 68 saves.
Willard offered her thoughts on the significance of the Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry, “The Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry is such a great part of the tradition here at Lehigh. Everyone always comes out fired up and ready to play with that extra competitive edge. In all sports, the outcome of the games mean much more than just a win or a loss; it is all about school pride.”
“The Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry is all about tradition and pride,” added junior midfielder Courtney Tamm, who will square off against former high school and club teammate Amanda Saber, who plays for the Leopards. “It is rivalries like these that are what makes playing sports so great. Both teams always play with heart and leave it all on the field.”
Lafayette enters Saturday’s game at 9-4 overall. The Leopards were arguably the hottest team in the Patriot League prior to the start of league play as Lafayette won eight of its first nine games. In Patriot League play, the Leopards dropped their opener 1-0 at Bucknell and then lost 2-1 to Holy Crass in a stroke-off last Saturday. Lafayette did rebound to shut-out West Chester 3-0 Sunday in its last game.
Deanna DiCroce paces Lafayette’s attack with eight goals and two assists for 18 points, ranking her second in the league behind Eng. Kelly Hilovsky and Lindsay Majno have added four goals apiece for the Leopards, while Kelsey Andersen has been one of the league’s top goalkeepers with a 1.35 goals-against average in 13 games this season.
The Leopards lead the series versus Lehigh 30-12 with three ties. Lehigh will be looking for its first win over Lafayette since a 1-0 triumph in Easton in 2005.
Saturday’s game gets underway at 1:30 p.m. from Rappolt Field. It will be preceded by the first annual Lehigh-Lafayette Alumni Game, which is scheduled for a 10 a.m. start.
