Saturday, September 19
Ulrich Sports Complex
11:00 am
Lehigh University
(1-5, 0-1PL)
0
vs
1
American
(5-2, 1-0PL)
1
2
OT 1
F
American
0
0
1
1
Lehigh
0
0
0
0
Lehigh drops hard-fought 1-0 final to American in overtime
9/19/2015 2:19:00 PM | Field Hockey
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Looking for its first-ever win against American, the Lehigh field hockey team gave the Eagles all they could handle, but American scored 4:36 into overtime to hand the Mountain Hawks a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks allowed just one first-half shot and just seven shots through regulation against a strong American offense that was averaging nearly three goals per game coming in.
"I'm really proud of the team," said Lehigh head coach Stacey Eversley. "They came out hard and played for more than 70 minutes. They really gave American a run for their money. It's the team we knew they could be from the start. I'm really proud of them. Any given day, anybody can win. As long as we can compete, our games should be exciting all around."
The first half featured just one shot and one penalty corner, both by American. Most of the play was in the midfield with a few strong rushes to goal by each squad.
The second half opened up a bit with American holding a 6-5 edge in shots. Each side fired four shots on goal while penalty corners were even at two. Lehigh junior Julia Ward made her first save of the game at the 39:14 mark then Lehigh answered just over four minutes later with its first shot on goal at 43:42.
Ward came up big midway through the second stanza with two saves in the span of 1:34, denying Anne Waverly Spencer each time.
The Mountain Hawks had one of their best chances of the game in the 53rd minute as sophomore Jackie Renda found senior Lindsey Schott point blank in front of goalkeeper Kate McBeath. Schott was able to get a quick shot off, but it was stopped.
One of Ward's biggest saves came in the weighing moments of regulation as she stopped Katie Lonsky who unleashed a shot from in close. Lehigh responded with one final charge, firing three shots and two shots on goal in the final 2:11 of regulation. McBeath was there to stop them both to help force overtime.
American ended the game 4:36 into the extra session on its second consecutive penalty corner. After a series of passes, a redirection from Angela Virtu got behind Ward for the 1-0 final.
Final shots were 10-5 in favor of American while the Eagles held a 5-2 edge in penalty corners. Junior Amanda Granger led Lehigh with two shots, both on goal.
"The defense stepped up and worked together to keep that ball out for as long as they could," said Eversley. "I'm really proud of them. They connected well with the midfielders and the forwards. They did their job today."
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Sunday when they host Georgetown at 12 p.m.
Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook and follow on Twitter for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Team Stats
AMERICAN
LEHIGH
Goals
1
0
Shots
10
5
Shots on Goal
5
4
Saves
4
4
Corners
5
2
Offsides
0
0
Fouls
0
0
Scoring Plays
Virtu, Angela (1)
Assisted By: Rubas, Rafaela
Succession of passes off penalty corner.
74:36
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
F/M
/ Field Hockey
M
/ Field HockeyF
/ Field Hockey
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