Lehigh University Athletics
Coen announces 2011 Lehigh football schedule
3/10/2011 2:13:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh head coach Andy Coen announced the Mountain Hawks 2011 football schedule on Thursday. The Mountain Hawks are coming off their league-best ninth Patriot League football title and a NCAA playoff win in 2010 and the 2011 should prove to be challenging, with four games against scholarship programs, two games against Ivy League foes, and six games at picturesque Goodman Stadium including the 147th meeting between Lehigh and Lafayette.
“We have another outstanding schedule awaiting us in 2011,” explained Coen, the 2010 Patriot League Coach of the Year. “We will play three scholarship programs from automatic qualifying conferences that will present tremendous challenges for our team. We also play two of our traditional Ivy League rivals and will begin league play with three tough games on the road. It will be exciting to play our final three games at home culminating with the 147th Lehigh-Lafayette game.”The 2011 season gets underway on September 3 when Lehigh heads to West Long Branch, N.J. to take on the Monmouth Hawks. The Mountain Hawks will make their first-ever visit to Monmouth for football to take on a Hawks team that was 3-8 in 2010, but suffered four one-point losses. Lehigh won the previous two meetings, in 1999 and 2005, averaging 55 points in the two games, but since Monmouth began offering football scholarships the Hawks have become very competitive in the Northeast Conference.
The Mountain Hawks will open their home schedule on Saturday, September 10 when they host a tough New Hampshire squad out of the Colonial Athletic Association. The Wildcats went 8-5 last season, and advanced to the FCS playoffs where they defeated Bethune-Cookman before bowing to eventual national runner-up Delaware. UNH defeated Lehigh 31-10 last year in Durham, but the Mountain Hawks bounced back from that loss by winning their next eight games.
“It is great to have a program of UNH's caliber coming to Goodman Stadium for our home opener,” Coen said. “UNH currently owns the most consecutive playoff appearances in the nation. Coach McDonnell and his staff do one of the best coaching jobs in the country. I was very disappointed in our performance last year in Durham, but I am looking forward to our players stepping up to the challenge on September 10.”
On September 18, Lehigh and Princeton will meet for the sixth straight season, with this year's game being played in New Jersey. The Tigers struggled last year but should be much improved in year two under head coach Bob Surace.
Lehigh will close out the non-league portion of its schedule with games against Liberty on September 25 and October 1 against Yale. Liberty finished 8-3 last season and shared the Big South championship. The Flames finished 19th in the final coaches poll and will make their first-ever visit to Lehigh in football. The Mountain Hawks won the only previous meeting between the schools 34-16 in Virginia in 2004.
Yale visits Goodman Stadium October 1 for Lehigh's non-league finale. The Bulldogs were much improved in 2010 with a 7-3 mark. Yale handed Lehigh its first shutout loss in 23 years last time the teams met, in 2009.
“It has always been my philosophy to challenge ourselves with our non-league schedule and clearly we have done that this year,” Coen said. “We will need to improve week after week and keep our focus on winning our tenth Patriot League Championship.”
The remainder of October features the start of Patriot League play and three consecutive road games stretched over a four week span. The 2011 Patriot League season begins for Lehigh on October 8 when the Mountain Hawks travel to Lewisburg, Pa. to face Bucknell. Lehigh has defeated the Bison 13 straight times including a 32-10 last year at Goodman Stadium.
The following weekend Lehigh heads to the Bronx to face a Fordham squad that is in its second year awarding merit-based financial aid for football. The Mountain Hawks began their eight game winning streak with a 21-17 win over Fordham last year. Lehigh will be gunning for its fourth straight win over the Rams.
Following its bye week on October 22, Lehigh will play its final road game on October 29 when the Mountain Hawks travel to Hamilton, N.Y. to face the Colgate Raiders in a game that seems to always have league championship implications. Lehigh has not won in Hamilton since 2005, but in last year's meeting the Mountain Hawks took control of the league title race with a 44-14 win in Bethlehem.
Lehigh will follow up its three-game road trip with three straight home contests to wrap-up the regular season, beginning November 5 when the Mountain Hawks host Holy Cross. The Mountain Hawks clinched a share of the league title last year in Worcester, but will be looking for their first home win over Holy Cross since 2003. Georgetown visits Goodman Stadium on November 12 as Lehigh will look to defeat the Hoyas for the 11th straight year.
“The last five years have proven that our league is extremely competitive and that you must show up and play well each week,” Coen explained. “We are the only team in the league to have won outright, or shared two titles in the last five years, but it has been a while since any team won back-to-back titles. As the defending champs I know we will have a bull's eye on our back.”
The 147th meeting of college football's most played rivalry comes to Bethlehem on November 19 when Lehigh and Lafayette meet inside Goodman Stadium. The Mountain Hawks have won the last three meetings, including a 20-13 triumph in Easton last year that capped Lehigh's 9-2 regular season.
Season ticket renewals will be sent out in mid-May, while new season tickets will go on sale in early June.
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