Lehigh University
Columbia
Lehigh falls to Columbia in final non-league game
10/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
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NEW YORK – In its final non-league game of the season, Lehigh dropped a 3-1 decision to Columbia Wednesday night at the Columbia Field Hockey Venue. The Mountain Hawks bounced back from a loss to rival Lafayette on Saturday with a much better all-around showing but Gabby Kozlowski came off the bench to score two goals as the Lions raced to a 3-0 lead. Junior Taryn Hartzell accounted for Lehigh’s goal as the Mountain Hawks fall to 5-9 with the setback.
“We improved tremendously from Saturday,” said Lehigh head coach Julie Mazer. “We out-cornered Columbia tonight. We possessed the ball much better. We were organized defensively. We just didn’t finish. Columbia is a very good team. They were fast and aggressive, but we need to do a better job capitalizing on our opportunities.”
Kozlowski put the home team in front 12:37 into the contest when she capped a long run with a hard shot to the top of the cage. The first half ended with Columbia leading 1-0 and out-shooting Lehigh by a slim 7-6 margin. The Mountain Hawks had the only five penalty corners of the first 35 minutes.
In the second half, the Lions extended their lead when Desi Scherf converted a penalty stroke at the 39:41 mark. Kozlowski added her second goal of the night 11 minutes later with an assist from Christine Buszczak.
Hartzell finally put Lehigh on the scoreboard at the 62:54 mark with a flick to the upper part of the cage, as she capitalized on a rebound following a penalty corner to net her third goal of the season.
Columbia (6-6) finished the game with a 14-12 advantage in shots while Lehigh out-cornered the Lions by a 9-4 margin.
Junior Jess Miller made her first start in over a month as a last-minute replacement for classmate Lilia Stefaniwsky who was under the weather and made five saves for the Mountain Hawks. Christie O’Hara and Erin Conway totaled five saves for the Lions.
“I’m pleased with the progress we made between Saturday and tonight,” explained Mazer. “We need to continue to make better passes and better decisions on restarts and show better organization on defense. Hopefully we can continue to make positive progress going into a very important game for us on Saturday.”
The Mountain Hawks return to Patriot League play when they return to action Saturday against Holy Cross. Game time is set for 12 p.m. from the Hart Turf Field in Worcester, Mass.
