Lehigh celebrates season of progress at annual banquet
12/9/2019 2:27:00 PM | Field Hockey
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh field hockey team celebrated a 2019 season full of progress on Saturday at its annual banquet, held in the Asa Packer Room at the University City. The day included a reflection on the year, a celebration of senior Amanda Boyer, the handing out of team awards and a season highlight video.
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Boyer won a pair of awards – garnering Scholar-Athlete of the Year (for a second straight season) and the Mountain Hawk Award. The senior has continued her impressive success on the field and in the classroom. Embodying an all-around student-athlete, Boyer was named to the Academic All-Patriot League team for a third straight season. She currently owns a 3.98 cumulative grade point average in molecular biology, has been named a Scholar of Distinction, has posted a perfect 4.0 term in four of her six semesters and has been named to the Dean's List every semester. Named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll every year, Boyer has also garnered the Faculty Athletics Council Award.
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Boyer also won the Mountain Hawk Award for all she has meant as a leader of the program. The award is presented annually to the player whose character, spirit, dedication and leadership best represent the team and program. Boyer helped the Mountain Hawks to a 5-1 start (best start since 1983) and finish with seven wins (the program's highest win total since 2007). Boyer posted four points on the season – dishing assists in wins over Towson and Wagner, while scoring a goal at La Salle.
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Junior Lenke Havas was named Athlete of the Year for a second straight season. Anchoring Lehigh's defense at center back, Havas finished second on the Mountain Hawks in points (15) behind five goals and a team-high five assists. As an integral member of Lehigh's penalty corners (both defensive and offensive), Havas assisted on the game's only goal in a season-opening win at Rider. She went on to score goals vs. Richmond, at Wagner, at Bryant, vs. American and at Sacred Heart. Havas was a first team All-Patriot League honoree and named to the All-Region team for a second straight years. She was a two-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week, winning the award on Monday (following wins over Saint Louis and Boston University) and on Sept. 2 (following the win over Rider).
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Juniors Drew Pecora and Stephanie Brabender each received the Coaches Award, presented to the player(s) who is selfless in her actions and may go unnoticed by others. Pecora's impact went far beyond her record-setting season on the field, having a strong presence in helping those around her and the collective team as a whole. On the field, she was a second team All-Patriot League and second team All-Region honoree following a program-record 14 goals. In the season finale, Pecora broke Kim Eng's previous record of 13 goals scored in 2009. Pecora scored just 1:56 into the extra session to give Lehigh the thrilling 2-1 win over defending Patriot League Champion Boston University, and the program's first-ever win vs. the Terriers.
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Brabender won the award after garnering the Mountain Hawk Award a season ago. A walk-on, Brabender has continued to play an important part of the team's culture, serving as a positive and supportive teammate.
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Meanwhile, freshman MJ Schwab was named Most Improved Player. Schwab continued to get better and better as the year progressed, capped off by scoring her first-career goal against Saint Louis.
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Sophomore Leah Mullery won the Unsung Hero Award for a second straight season, an award presented to the player who made a substantive yet unrecognized contribution to the team. Mullery has continued to serve as an important team member, playing all over the field for the Mountain Hawks. Selfless and team-first, Mullery started all 18 games and tallied a goal and three assists. She dished a pair of assists in a win over Towson while scoring the game-tying goal at Holy Cross and recording an assist on Schwab's goal against Saint Louis.
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Highlights were aplenty for the Mountain Hawks in 2019. Lehigh improved its final record to 7-11, including 2-4 in league play. The Mountain Hawks finished in a three-way tie for fourth place (with Holy Cross and Boston University), but the Crusaders won the tiebreaker. Fourth was Lehigh's best finish since the expansion of the Patriot League to seven teams (with the addition of Boston University). Along with their best start since 1983 and best overall record since 2007, the Mountain Hawks' 35 goals were also their most since 2007 while their 43 goals allowed were fewest since 2003. Lehigh's goal differential (-8) was also its best since 2004.
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Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
ÂGallery: (12/9/2019) 2019 Field Hockey Banquet
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Boyer won a pair of awards – garnering Scholar-Athlete of the Year (for a second straight season) and the Mountain Hawk Award. The senior has continued her impressive success on the field and in the classroom. Embodying an all-around student-athlete, Boyer was named to the Academic All-Patriot League team for a third straight season. She currently owns a 3.98 cumulative grade point average in molecular biology, has been named a Scholar of Distinction, has posted a perfect 4.0 term in four of her six semesters and has been named to the Dean's List every semester. Named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll every year, Boyer has also garnered the Faculty Athletics Council Award.
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Boyer also won the Mountain Hawk Award for all she has meant as a leader of the program. The award is presented annually to the player whose character, spirit, dedication and leadership best represent the team and program. Boyer helped the Mountain Hawks to a 5-1 start (best start since 1983) and finish with seven wins (the program's highest win total since 2007). Boyer posted four points on the season – dishing assists in wins over Towson and Wagner, while scoring a goal at La Salle.
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Junior Lenke Havas was named Athlete of the Year for a second straight season. Anchoring Lehigh's defense at center back, Havas finished second on the Mountain Hawks in points (15) behind five goals and a team-high five assists. As an integral member of Lehigh's penalty corners (both defensive and offensive), Havas assisted on the game's only goal in a season-opening win at Rider. She went on to score goals vs. Richmond, at Wagner, at Bryant, vs. American and at Sacred Heart. Havas was a first team All-Patriot League honoree and named to the All-Region team for a second straight years. She was a two-time Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week, winning the award on Monday (following wins over Saint Louis and Boston University) and on Sept. 2 (following the win over Rider).
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Juniors Drew Pecora and Stephanie Brabender each received the Coaches Award, presented to the player(s) who is selfless in her actions and may go unnoticed by others. Pecora's impact went far beyond her record-setting season on the field, having a strong presence in helping those around her and the collective team as a whole. On the field, she was a second team All-Patriot League and second team All-Region honoree following a program-record 14 goals. In the season finale, Pecora broke Kim Eng's previous record of 13 goals scored in 2009. Pecora scored just 1:56 into the extra session to give Lehigh the thrilling 2-1 win over defending Patriot League Champion Boston University, and the program's first-ever win vs. the Terriers.
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Brabender won the award after garnering the Mountain Hawk Award a season ago. A walk-on, Brabender has continued to play an important part of the team's culture, serving as a positive and supportive teammate.
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Meanwhile, freshman MJ Schwab was named Most Improved Player. Schwab continued to get better and better as the year progressed, capped off by scoring her first-career goal against Saint Louis.
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Sophomore Leah Mullery won the Unsung Hero Award for a second straight season, an award presented to the player who made a substantive yet unrecognized contribution to the team. Mullery has continued to serve as an important team member, playing all over the field for the Mountain Hawks. Selfless and team-first, Mullery started all 18 games and tallied a goal and three assists. She dished a pair of assists in a win over Towson while scoring the game-tying goal at Holy Cross and recording an assist on Schwab's goal against Saint Louis.
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Highlights were aplenty for the Mountain Hawks in 2019. Lehigh improved its final record to 7-11, including 2-4 in league play. The Mountain Hawks finished in a three-way tie for fourth place (with Holy Cross and Boston University), but the Crusaders won the tiebreaker. Fourth was Lehigh's best finish since the expansion of the Patriot League to seven teams (with the addition of Boston University). Along with their best start since 1983 and best overall record since 2007, the Mountain Hawks' 35 goals were also their most since 2007 while their 43 goals allowed were fewest since 2003. Lehigh's goal differential (-8) was also its best since 2004.
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Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Players Mentioned
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