Mountain Hawks set for Patriot League Semifinal showdown against No. 10 Navy

Friday, May 4

Baltimore, Md.

7 p.m.

Lehigh University

Navy (Semifinals)

Mountain Hawks set for Patriot League Semifinal showdown against No. 10 Navy

5/3/2018 11:54:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse

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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After a thrilling 16-15 overtime win over Holy Cross in the Patriot League Quarterfinals, the Lehigh women's lacrosse team returns to action less than 72 hours later when the third-seeded Mountain Hawks square off against second-seeded and No. 10 nationally-ranked Navy in the semifinals Friday night. Opening draw is set for 7 p.m. on the Patriot League Network. Friday will mark a rematch of last year's semifinals, which the Midshipmen won, 9-8. A nip-and-tuck game saw neither team lead by more than two goals as Navy scored two goals in the final five minutes for the victory.

Last season, the Mountain Hawks finished 12-6, including 6-3 in Patriot League play. This year, Lehigh has done one better (currently owning a 13-5 mark and 7-2 record in league play), despite losing All-Patriot League honorees Allison LaBeau and Lauren Beausoleil to graduation, along with starting goalkeeper Taylor Tvedt (who made 16 saves in last season's semifinal contest). The Mountain Hawks have also lost three starters to season-ending injuries - freshman Hannah Cermack, graduate student Julianne D'Orazio and junior Courtney Henig - but have continued to win. Lehigh's seven league victories this season mark a school record while the 13 overall victories are tied for second most in school history. A win on Friday would equal the Mountain Hawks' school record for wins (14 in 2010). Lehigh brings a seven-game winning streak into Friday's game, its longest streak since 2016.

Out of Lehigh's five losses this season, four have come against nationally-ranked opponents - No. 12 Penn State, No. 14 Princeton, No. 10 Loyola and No. 13 Navy - while the other came on the road vs. one of the NEC favorites in Wagner, who currently stand 11-5 on the season. On Tuesday, the Mountain Hawks won their third straight Patriot League Quarterfinal game. Lehigh is now 38-16 over the last three seasons, by far the most wins over a three-year stretch in school history. The Mountain Hawks' five straight Patriot League Tournament appearances have tied a school record (also 2007-11). Overall, Lehigh has advanced to 10 of the last 12 league tournaments.

Tuesday's win over Holy Cross marked the 100th at Lehigh for head coach Jill Redfern. Earlier this season at Columbia, Redfern picked up her 100th collegiate win (which includes her one season at Lafayette), coming in equally exciting fashion. While her 100th Lehigh win came in overtime, her 100th win as a college head coach came after sophomore Sondra Dickey scored the game-winning goal at Columbia with just 12 seconds left in regulation.

Tuesday's game was full of runs. Holy Cross went up 3-0 before Lehigh responded with a 5-0 run. The Crusaders began the second half by scoring four of the first five goals to pull even at 8-8, but the Mountain Hawks responded with five in a row. However, the Crusaders came back with four straight and seven of the last nine of regulation to force overtime. That's where junior Kellie Gough was the hero, finishing a feed from junior Olivia Kelly for her fourth goal of the game, sending the Mountain Hawks back to the Patriot League Semifinals for a third straight season. Lehigh is now 3-2 over its last five Patriot League Tournament games after winning just one of its first 10 (spanning 2003 through 2015).

Gough was one of four Mountain Hawks to record a hat trick Tuesday, along with Dickey (four goals), senior Haley Wentzel (three goals, one assist) and junior Mary Ellen Carron (three goals, one assist). It was the Mountain Hawks' most goals in a game since the season opener vs. St. Bonaventure. Dickey added two assists for a career-high tying six points while Carron's four points tied a career high. Freshman Julianne Puckette added a goal and two assists for her sixth straight game with multiple points. Sophomore Autumn Ryan had a goal and assist. Defensively, both Olivia Kelly and senior Alexis King tied career highs with four caused turnovers apiece. Dickey tied a career-high seven draw controls while freshman Samantha Sagi made nine saves in goal, including a key stop in overtime.

Despite losing 22-of-33 draws in regulation, Lehigh came up with both draws in overtime, which proved critical. Tuesday marked Lehigh's second overtime win of the season and fourth one-goal victory of the year. The two overtime wins are Lehigh's most since the 2003 season and four one-goal victories are most since 2006. The Mountain Hawks have won three consecutive overtime games spanning the last two seasons.

Currently No. 10 in the IWLCA National Poll, Navy stands 14-3 on the season, 8-1 in Patriot League play. The Mids' lone losses have come against top 10 opponents Boston College (20-14), Florida (19-16) and Loyola (16-12), who ironically, were all ranked No. 6 at the time of the game. Navy has won five straight since its loss to the Greyhounds, most recently defeating Boston University last Saturday, 23-6. The Mids are led offensively by three players with 70+ points - Kelly Larkin (95 points: 53 goals, 42 assists), Jenna Collins (92 points: 70 goals, 22 assists) and Julia Collins (70 points: 48 goals, 22 assists). Jenna leads the team with 86 draw controls while sister Julia has 69. Jenna's 42 groundballs also lead the team while Marie Valenti leads the defense with 27 caused turnovers. Ingrid Boyum has seen the majority of time in goal, tallying a 10.56 goals against average and 0.402 save percentage.

The Midshipmen have won nine consecutive games against Lehigh to take a 11-4 lead in the all-time series. The Mountain Hawks won four of the first six meetings between the two sides, with the first meeting coming in 2008 - a 15-12 Lehigh win. Lehigh's most recent victory in the series came on Apr. 23, 2011 at Navy by a 15-13 final. Friday will mark the fifth all-time meeting in the Patriot League Tournament, with the Mids owning a perfect 4-0 record. Along with last season's semifinals, Navy won in the semifinals in 2009 and 2011 semifinals, along with the 2010 Patriot League Championship Game.

If the Mountain Hawks win, they would advance to the Patriot League Championship Game for the first time since 2010. Lehigh would face the winner of No. 1 Loyola and No. 5 Boston University on Sunday at 12 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

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