Lehigh University Athletics
Mountain Hawks unveil 2013 schedule
6/4/2013 10:20:00 AM | Women's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh head women's soccer coach Eric Lambinus announced the team's 2013 schedule on Tuesday, which includes a 17-game schedule including a nonleague trip to California and Patriot League showdowns against new members Boston University and Loyola. The Mountain Hawks are eying their third Patriot League Tournament in the last four years.
“I believe the schedule has great overall balance and we are excited to play the games,” said Lambinus. “For the first time since I've been at Lehigh, we have an equal balance of home and away games which is important because of excitement around our home games. I am happy with the timing of the games as it will allow us to fully prepare for each game individually. It's also a highly competitive schedule with a majority of teams who have competed for their respective conference championships in the last few years.”
Lehigh will play four NCAA Tournament Teams from a season ago (Colgate, Loyola, La Salle and Princeton) including one (Princeton) that won its first-round game. The Tigers defeated West Virginia, 2-1.
Nine of Lehigh's 18 games are at home, beginning with the season opener against Monmouth on Thursday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. Lehigh will head down the road to Philadelphia three days later to face the Villanova Wildcats for the first time since 2007 which ended in a 1-1 tie. The Mountain Hawks will play the Wildcats on the road for the first time since 2005.
Lehigh returns home the following Sunday to face Central Connecticut State for the first time in program history. The following weekend, the Mountain Hawks face two other opponents for the first time as they travel to California to face Pacific and host Saint Mary's as part of the Saint Mary's Tournament.
“The trip to the Saint Mary's Tournament is something everyone in the program is excited about,” said Lambinus. “We have a number of players and alumnae from California so it will be a great opportunity to play games in their home state. It will be a new experience for all the players on the team and another opportunity to grow as a student-athlete.”
That leads into the Patriot League opener at American on Saturday, Sept. 21. The Mountain Hawks face local rival La Salle just two days later at the Ulrich Sports Complex before remaining home to host Bucknell on Friday, the 27th.
Following a nonleague tilt at Penn, Lehigh will host archrival Lafayette on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. The Mountain Hawks will then face the two newest members of the Patriot League in succession, traveling to Boston University on Oct. 5 before hosting Loyola the following Saturday. A midweek game at Princeton precedes a pair of league tilts at Army (Oct. 19) and Navy (Oct. 23). The regular season wraps up at home on consecutive Saturdays against Colgate (Oct. 26) and Holy Cross (Nov. 2), respectively.
“I am really impressed with the overall competitiveness and depth of the Patriot League over the last few years,” said Lambinus. “All the teams in the league continue to improve and every game is a highly contested match. The addition of Boston University and Loyola will only increase that competitive level. I wouldn't be surprised if any of the teams in the League qualify for the six-team playoffs and as we have seen in the past, once you get to the Patriot League Tournament, any team has a legitimate chance to win it.”
The league tournament will begin on Tuesday, Nov. 5 with the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 8 and the championship game on Nov. 10. With the league's two newest members, the field has expanded to six teams; the #3 seed will host #6 and #4 will host #5 on Tuesday while the semifinals and championship from Nov. 8-10 will be held at the regular season champion and top seed.
Lehigh finished last season with a 5-13 record, 3-4 in Patriot League play, and qualified for the Patriot League Tournament after winning its final three regular season games against Patriot League opposition. Following the campaign, freshman Paige Elliot was named a First Team All-Patriot League performer and junior Murphee Greeley earned second team honors.
Like Lehigh Women's Soccer on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive team updates on the Mountain Hawks.
2013 Schedule
Thursday, Aug. 29 MONMOUTH 7:00 PM
Sunday, Sept. 1 at Villanova 1:00 PM
Sunday, Sept. 8 CENTRAL CONN. STATE 1:00 PM
Friday, Sept. 13 vs. Pacific (1) 1:00 PM (PST)
Sunday, Sept. 15 at Saint Mary's (1) 2:00 PM (PST)
Saturday, Sept. 21 at American* 1:00 PM
Monday, Sept. 23 LA SALLE 7:00 PM
Friday, Sept. 27 BUCKNELL* 7:00 PM
Sunday, Sept. 29 at Penn 2:30 PM
Wednesday, Oct. 2 LAFAYETTE* 7:00 PM
Saturday, Oct. 5 at Boston University* 1:00 PM
Saturday, Oct. 12 LOYOLA (Md.)* 7:00 PM
Wednesday, Oct. 16 at Princeton 7:00 PM
Saturday, Oct. 19 at Army* 3:30 PM
Wednesday, Oct. 23 at Navy* 7:00 PM
Saturday, Oct. 26 COLGATE* 7:00 PM
Saturday, Nov. 2 HOLY CROSS* 1:00 PM
Nov. 5-10 Patriot League Tournament
(1) Saint Mary's (Calif.) Tournament
MHT EP4 - Women's Soccer
Thursday, October 23
Lehigh Sports Central: Women's Soccer
Thursday, September 04
2025 Women's Soccer Season Preview
Tuesday, August 12
Women's Soccer vs. Navy
Friday, September 20
