Mountain Hawks host #11 Lafayette Saturday on Senior Day
10/26/2012 4:29:00 PM | Field Hockey
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh field hockey team wraps up its season on Saturday with a big Senior Day matchup against the archrival Leopards. Gametime is set for 11 a.m. Saturday marks the squad's first home game in three weeks, and 10th of the season at the friendly confines of the Ulrich Sports Complex. Lafayette is the Mountain Hawks' third ranked opponent of the season and second at home (along with Penn State).
Prior to the game, Lehigh will recognize its six seniors (Kim Eng, Brittany Johnson, Mercedes Grubb, Kelsey Zeswitz, Melissa Kuhns and Carly Smith) before they play their final career games in the Brown and White.
The Mountain Hawks have struggled of late, but have continued to battle in dropping some hard-fought contests. Last time out, Lehigh fell at Bucknell 6-2, but hung tough with the Bison for most of the contest. The Mountain Hawks were only down 1-0 at the half, then even down 5-0 later in the second, they scored two of the game's final three goals in a resilient effort.
Junior Marie Mignogna got Lehigh on the board with her first-career goal while sophomore Lindsay Metzger added her eighth of the season to tie Eng for the team lead. Smith was especially strong on defense to help thwart a strong Bucknell attack.
Lafayette enters Saturday's contest with a stellar 13-1 record riding an 11-game winning streak. The Leopards' lone loss came at Penn State, currently ranked #5 in the most recent NFHCA National Coaches Poll. Most recently, Lafayette won 7-0 at Holy Cross while beating Bucknell and Rutgers by identical 2-0 finals the weekend before.
Deanna DiCroce leads the team with 33 points (team-leading 11 goals, 11 assists) while Emily Valeo is right behind with 25 (six goals, team-leading 13 assists). Jenna Seybert has 18 (seven goals, four assists) while two others have 15. The Leopards' defense has been stellar, allowing only 13 goals in 14 games. Jessica Deutsch has started all 14 games in goal, owning a 1.00 GAA and .754 save percentage.
Lafayette leads the all-time series, 34-12-3, which includes eight consecutive wins after two straight Lehigh victories (in 2004 and '05). The teams first met in 1973, a Lafayette victory while Lehigh's first win came in 1975 by a 3-1 final.
Lehigh field hockey team is organizing the First Annual Lehigh Valley Fox Trot 5K for Parkinson's Research. The event will take place on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 11 a.m. Please click here to make a donation and sign up today.
Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook and follow on Twitter for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks throughout the 2012 season.
Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook and follow on Twitter for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks throughout the 2012 season.
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