Mountain Hawks hand out awards at annual end-of-season banquet
12/10/2018 12:45:00 PM | Field Hockey
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh field hockey team looked back to the 2018 season at its annual end-of-season banquet, held Saturday at the Asa Packer Dining Room in the University Center. As part of the day, team award winners were announced following a season that saw plenty of progress, on and off the field.
Athlete of the Year was presented to sophomore Lenke Havas, who was named a first team All-Patriot League honoree, along with being named NFHCA second team All-Mideast Region. Only the fourth All-Region honoree in program history, Havas led the Mountain Hawks in goals (6), assists (9) and points (21). The assist total marked a Lehigh single-season record. She was the only player in the Patriot League to finish top five in both points and defensive saves (3).
2018 Lehigh Field Hockey Seniors
Junior Amanda Boyer, who owns a stellar 3.99 grade point average as a molecular biology major, was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A two-time Academic All-Patriot League honoree, Boyer owns three perfect 4.0 GPAs in her career and has twice been named an NFHCA Scholar of Distinction. On the field, Boyer started all 18 points with three points (one goal, one assist). Among her highlights, she scored Lehigh's first-ever goal at Boston University while assisting the Mountain Hawks' goal at Yale the following day.
Presented to the player who is selfless in her actions and may go unnoticed by others, the Coaches Award went to senior Isabel McKeown. McKeown played in 16 games (all starts) while serving as a steadying presence in the midfield. She had one point on the season, an assist, but her impact went far beyond any statistics. McKeown finished her career with 10 points behind three goals and four assists.
The Unsung Hero Award went to first-year Leah Mullery, who started the season at forward and by the end of the year, served as an important piece of Lehigh's back line. Mullery finished second on the Mountain Hawks in goals (5) and tied for second in points (11). Mullery scored two goals at Villanova early in the season, while creating the Mountain Hawks' other goal via a penalty stroke, to earn Patriot League Rookie of the Week. She went on to score a goal in Lehigh's first win over Ball State since 1984, while scoring twice against Rider and dishing an assist vs. Bucknell.
Lehigh Field Hockey Alumnae
Fellow first-year Sam Nason was named Most Improved Player. Nason started all 16 games she played, primarily on the back line. She scored two goals on the season, both coming vs. LIU Brooklyn. Both goals came in the second half to help get the Mountain Hawks back in the game against the Blackbirds.
Sophomore goalkeeper Stephanie Brabender won the Mountain Hawk Award. A walk-on the spring of her freshman year, Brabender helped enhance the team culture, serving as a positive and supportive teammate. She also stepped up when her number was called, starting four games during the middle of the season. One of her highlights was making three saves, allowing just two goals, against a strong Bucknell squad.
Along with a 3-2 win at Towson in the season finale, the Mountain Hawks beat Ball State for the first time since 1984, topped Patriot League foe Colgate and took archrival Lafayette to overtime for a second straight year. Lehigh also scored nine more goals than all of last season, netting 24 in 2018. The Mountain Hawks scored 17 goals off penalty corners, converting on 18.7 percent of their corners -- more than double the number of goals (and percentage) as the year prior.
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