Two key PL matches await Lehigh this weekend
10/22/2009 1:45:00 PM | Women's Soccer
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With three games remaining in the regular season the Lehigh women’s soccer team finds itself in fifth place in the Patriot League standings, four points out of first place and two out of the top four. The Mountain Hawks will begin their late season push towards a return to the Patriot League tournament this weekend when Lehigh opens a season-ending three game home stand with games against Navy and American.
Lehigh recorded its school-record fifth draw of the season last time out when the Mountain Hawks played Holy Cross to a 0-0 tie in Worcester, Mass. The Mountain Hawks are now 7-3-5 overall and 1-1-2 in Patriot League games. Lehigh will look to jump-start an offense which played a pair of 0-0 draws last week. Senior forwards Liz Carlos and Natalie Hojnacki have been catalysts on the offensive end, while juniors Glynn Fitzer and Lena Cannon have picked up some scoring slack with a total of 13 points between them this season.
Defensively, the Mountain Hawks have now pitched seven shutouts this season including both contests last week. Junior Lauren Mains was named the Patriot League’s Goalkeeper of the Week on Monday. Mains has played every minute in goal this season and has been unscored upon in the last 233 minutes of action.
The weekend slate begins Friday night when Lehigh hosts Navy. The Midshipmen enter action at 11-3-2 overall and 2-1-1 in the league. Navy has seven points through four league games, tying the Mids for third place in the league standings, two points ahead of the Mountain Hawks.
The Midshipmen suffered their first league loss, 3-1 to Bucknell in their last game on Saturday. The setback snapped a four-match unbeaten streak for Navy which owns wins over Army and Holy Cross and has tied Colgate in league play.
Navy is the Patriot League’s top scoring team with 32 goals this season. The Mids are led by Carissa Youker, who has seven goals and five assists for 19 points. The defense is led by senior back Shelly Moeller and goalkeeper Beth Reed who has a slight edge over Mains for the league lead in goals-against average.
The Mids lead the all-time series 11-3-3 and are unbeaten in the last four meetings, including a 2-0 Navy win last year in Annapolis, Md.
On Sunday, Lehigh will battle an American team that enters the weekend tied for first place with Bucknell. The Eagles are 8-8 overall and 3-1 in the league and like Navy, American suffered its first league loss last time out, a 1-0 double-overtime setback at Colgate. American’s attack is let by Kelsey Brasher, who owns six goals this season and Brooke Sheppard, who has handed out five assists. Ariana Efstathiou has started 15 of 16 games in goal and is allowing less than a goal per game.
Prior to Sunday’s game, American will visit Lafayette on Friday night. Like Navy, American owns wins over Holy Cross and Army, while the Eagles also own a victory over Bucknell.
American owns an 8-3 edge in the series and has won the last three meetings all by one goal, including a 1-0 win last year in Washington, D.C.
Friday’s Lehigh-Navy match gets underway at 7 p.m. from the Ulrich Sports Complex. Sunday the Mountain Hawks and Eagles will get things started at 1 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live on Lehighsports.com.
