Lehigh University Athletics
Mountain Hawks announce 2010 schedule
6/10/2010 8:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus has announced the Mountain Hawks 2010 women’s soccer schedule, which includes seven home games and a pair of match-ups with teams that reached the NCAA tournament last season. Lambinus, in his first year as head coach, has compiled a challenging 17-game slate that includes a challenging early-season tournament at Penn.
“I’m excited to announce our schedule,” said Lambinus. “This schedule should provide the team and me a lot of new experiences which is very exciting. It’s a challenging schedule, especially the tournament at Penn where we will face two very good teams. I like our home schedule. Playing well on our home field will be one of the keys to our success this season.”
The 2010 campaign begins with a trip to Syracuse, N.Y. to take on the Orange on Friday, August 27. The game marks the second time in three years that Lehigh will open against a Big East foe.
“Opening with a single game on a weekend against a team like Syracuse will be a good indicator of where we are,” explained Lambinus. “They will be a strong opponent, but one that we feel we match up well with. We’ll get a great idea of where we stand, and we will then have a full week to prepare for our home opener.”
The Mountain Hawks will open their home schedule against Quinnipiac on Sunday, September 5 before heading to Philadelphia for a weekend tournament hosted by Penn. Lehigh takes on Dayton, the 2009 Atlantic 10 Conference Champions, in the first game of the tournament on September 10. A match with Saint Joseph’s follows on September 12 as the Mountain Hawks begin their stretch of regular Friday-Sunday matches.
“The tournament will be challenging, but it will also help us get used to Friday-Sunday play,” said Lambinus. “It will be interesting to see how the team reacts on those weekends, not just on game days but on Saturday as well. Plus, we will be facing two quality opponents in Dayton, who had a great season last year, and Saint Joseph’s, who is always strong."
Lehigh returns home on Friday, September 17 as Marist visits the Ulrich Sports Complex. The Mountain Hawks will have a week off before wrapping-up the brief home stand against La Salle on September 24. Two days later, the Mountain Hawks end September with a road game at Columbia in the first of three road contests against Ivy League foes.
October brings in the start of Patriot League play, which for Lehigh begins on October 1 when the Mountain Hawks head to West Point, N.Y. to face Army.
Two days later, Lehigh returns home to host NJIT in the first of a season-long three-match home stand. The following weekend, league play heats up once again as the Mountain Hawks will host defending league champion Colgate on October 8 and Bucknell on October 10.
“From what I’ve seen within the league, most of the games are battles,” said Lambinus. “Obviously, we have a tremendous rivalry with Lafayette, but we’ve also had good rivalries develop with Colgate and Bucknell, which should make for an interesting weekend.”
Following a quick road trip to Princeton on October 13, the Mountain Hawks will come home to wrap-up their home slate against Holy Cross on October 16. Lehigh picked up its first positive result in 13 tries against the Tigers last year, drawing 0-0 in Bethlehem. The Mountain Hawks will also look to stop a three-match winless streak against the Crusaders, following last year’s scoreless tie in which Lehigh had an apparent overtime, game-winning goal waved off for offside.
Lehigh finishes the regular season with an extremely challenging four-game road trip that features three Patriot League games. The Mountain Hawks will visit Navy in Annapolis on Friday, October 22 before taking on American in the nation’s capital two days later. On October 27 Lehigh returns to Philadelphia to face a very tough Penn squad for the first time since 2004. That game will serve as a tune-up for the regular season finale on October 30, when Lehigh visits rival Lafayette. The Mountain Hawks have won eight straight games over their rivals including a 1-0 win last season.
“It was important to get Penn back on the schedule,” explained Lambinus. “We have three very good Ivy League teams on the schedule that will help prepare us for what we’ll see in the Patriot League. Facing Penn at the end of the year on the road will be challenging, but it is going to be very important to go on the road late in the season and get points from our league games.
Lambinus continues, “We have to play well at home, but we also have to go on the road and find ways to win those games. We close with a big game at Lafayette. Hopefully playing a team like Penn late in the season will prepare us for that.”
The Patriot League tournament begins November 5 on the home field of the highest seed. Lehigh will be looking to return to the postseason for the first time since 2006.
Lehigh returns a wealth of talent from last year’s team that went 9-4-5. The Mountain Hawks will open the 2010 season at Syracuse on Friday, August 27. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
