Friday, September 14
Easton, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
2
at
3
Lafayette
Spirited effort falls short at Lafayette in overtime, 3-2
9/14/2018 10:38:00 PM | Field Hockey
EASTON, Pa. – The Lehigh field hockey team scored twice in the span of 3:10 in the second half to take a 2-1 lead, but Lafayette responded with the equalizer in regulation and the game-winner 20 seconds into overtime to hand the Mountain Hawks a 3-2 defeat on Friday evening in the Patriot League opener for both sides. Goals from sophomore Lenke Havas (her second of the season) and classmate Anna Lehman (the first of her career) gave Lehigh multiple goals against Lafayette for the first time since 2007. Junior Paige Innarella was stellar in goal, making 10 saves, including a number of sensational stops.
After last season's overtime win against Lafayette, Lehigh has now either been tied (or led) Lafayette at the end of regulation for two straight years. Prior to last season, it happened just twice in the previous 20 meetings. Also, in head coach Caitlin Dallmeyer's three games against Lafayette, the Mountain Hawks are 1-2, being outscored 5-4. This came after Lehigh had three goals over the previous 10 meetings against Lafayette prior to her arrival. In the end, the Mountain Hawks scored multiple goals against the Leopards for the first time since Oct. 6, 2007 (13 games ago).
"Some mixed emotions tonight," said Dallmeyer. "It's hard to lose any Patriot League game, specifically to Lafayette. But we played well and we fought really hard and that's something we've continued to work on. I do think that at this point in the season, this was our best game. As a coach, progress is all that I can ask for. Paige played an amazing game and we've seen some awesome things from Anna Lehman, our center forward, including some great defensive work on our defensive penalty corners. Today, she came up big with a goal that changed the momentum of the game."
(9/16/2018) Field Hockey at Fairfield, 9/16/18
A defensive start saw just two combined shots in the game's first 20 minutes, one per side. The Leopards turned up the pressure late in the stanza with the final six shots of the half. Innarella made three consecutive saves between the 24th and 26th minutes, but the Leopards were able to find the back of the net at the 34:04 mark to take a 1-0 halftime lead.
Lafayette began the second half with two straight shots, but a Mountain Hawks' offensive surge not only evened the score, but gave them the lead. First, Havas scored her second goal of the season off a penalty corner, beating Lafayette goalkeeper Sarah Park up high at the 46:54 mark.
Just over three minutes later, Lehman scored her first-career goal, redirecting a feed from freshman Olivia Perrone past Park to give Lehigh a 2-1 advantage at 50:04.
It took the Leopards just 20 seconds in OT to score the game-winner, as Molly McAndrew gave her team the win with a shot near the end line into the right side of the cage.
Final shots were 20-6 in favor of Lafayette while the Leopards held a 12-2 edge in penalty corners.
"Our team is doing a nice job of making adjustments on the fly," said Dallmeyer. "[Lafayette head coach] Jennifer Stone is a great coach and she has a lot of great strategy tactics. We weren't sure what we were going to see today, so we prepared for a lot of different things. I thought we did a nice job adjusting on the fly with our game plan as subs were coming in and out, and that was seen with the score today. We hung on under tight pressure and were able to do some really nice things. Unfortunately, it just didn't result in a win."
Lehigh will return to action on Sunday when it travels to Fairfield to face the Stags. Gametime is set for 1 p.m.
Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
After last season's overtime win against Lafayette, Lehigh has now either been tied (or led) Lafayette at the end of regulation for two straight years. Prior to last season, it happened just twice in the previous 20 meetings. Also, in head coach Caitlin Dallmeyer's three games against Lafayette, the Mountain Hawks are 1-2, being outscored 5-4. This came after Lehigh had three goals over the previous 10 meetings against Lafayette prior to her arrival. In the end, the Mountain Hawks scored multiple goals against the Leopards for the first time since Oct. 6, 2007 (13 games ago).
"Some mixed emotions tonight," said Dallmeyer. "It's hard to lose any Patriot League game, specifically to Lafayette. But we played well and we fought really hard and that's something we've continued to work on. I do think that at this point in the season, this was our best game. As a coach, progress is all that I can ask for. Paige played an amazing game and we've seen some awesome things from Anna Lehman, our center forward, including some great defensive work on our defensive penalty corners. Today, she came up big with a goal that changed the momentum of the game."
A defensive start saw just two combined shots in the game's first 20 minutes, one per side. The Leopards turned up the pressure late in the stanza with the final six shots of the half. Innarella made three consecutive saves between the 24th and 26th minutes, but the Leopards were able to find the back of the net at the 34:04 mark to take a 1-0 halftime lead.
Lafayette began the second half with two straight shots, but a Mountain Hawks' offensive surge not only evened the score, but gave them the lead. First, Havas scored her second goal of the season off a penalty corner, beating Lafayette goalkeeper Sarah Park up high at the 46:54 mark.
This Lenke Havas goal off a penalty corner pulled the Mountain Hawks even tonight. pic.twitter.com/Ad7gn38LUL
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) September 15, 2018
Just over three minutes later, Lehman scored her first-career goal, redirecting a feed from freshman Olivia Perrone past Park to give Lehigh a 2-1 advantage at 50:04.
However, it took Lafayette just 1:23 to pull even off a penalty corner, and the Leopards continued with the next five shots, the final two stopped by Innarella who came up big all game. The Mountain Hawks responded with some strong chances of their own, but the teams went to overtime tied at two.What a first-career goal from Anna Lehman tonight to give the Mountain Hawks a 2-1 second-half lead at Lafayette. pic.twitter.com/e0eXKVZy6F
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) September 15, 2018
It took the Leopards just 20 seconds in OT to score the game-winner, as Molly McAndrew gave her team the win with a shot near the end line into the right side of the cage.
Final shots were 20-6 in favor of Lafayette while the Leopards held a 12-2 edge in penalty corners.
"Our team is doing a nice job of making adjustments on the fly," said Dallmeyer. "[Lafayette head coach] Jennifer Stone is a great coach and she has a lot of great strategy tactics. We weren't sure what we were going to see today, so we prepared for a lot of different things. I thought we did a nice job adjusting on the fly with our game plan as subs were coming in and out, and that was seen with the score today. We hung on under tight pressure and were able to do some really nice things. Unfortunately, it just didn't result in a win."
Lehigh will return to action on Sunday when it travels to Fairfield to face the Stags. Gametime is set for 1 p.m.
Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Players Mentioned
D/M
/ Field Hockey
GK
/ Field Hockey
F
/ Field Hockey
M
/ Field HockeyPlaying for something bigger than the game
Thursday, October 23
MHT EP3 - Field Hockey
Thursday, October 16
Field Hockey vs. Boston U.
Saturday, October 04
Field Hockey vs. LIU
Sunday, September 28
