Friday, August 30
Lawrenceville, N.J.
4 p.m.
Lehigh University
(1-0)
1
at
0
Rider
(0-1)
1
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4
F
Lehigh
0
1
0
0
1
Rider
0
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0
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Mountain Hawks earn hard-fought 1-0 season-opening win at Rider
8/30/2019 9:07:00 PM | Field Hockey
LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – Junior Anna Lehman scored the game's only goal midway through the second quarter, while freshman goalkeeper Maddie Kahn anchored the defense with nine saves for a shutout in her collegiate debut, as the Mountain Hawks defeated Rider 1-0 in the season opener for both sides on Friday. The season-opening win is Lehigh's third in the last four years, but first season-opening win on the road since 2002. It's also the program's first win at Rider since 2000.
"I was really happy that we made a lot of adjustments from our two scrimmages," Lehigh head coach Caitlin Dallmeyer. "We played tough opponents in preseason and they really highlighted some of our weaknesses. We continued working this past week on adjustments. One of them was corner defense, and you would not realize that was a weakness today because we were stellar on the defensive end. Another was our attacking movement going into the circle. We got a few more circle penetrations than we had previously and we were able to capitalize on a corner, which has been a strength for us over the last year or so.
"I was really happy to see that we're using our hockey IQ and adjusting really quickly – from what we learned a week ago to what we brought into the game today."
Rider was strong to begin, firing the game's only four shots of the first quarter. The Mountain Hawks turned things around in the second, outshooting the Broncs 4-3 and finding the back of the cage. In the 24th minute off a penalty corner, junior Lenke Havas looped a high pass towards the back post, where Lehman got a piece to give Lehigh a 1-0 advantage.
"We made some specific corners for this game on this surface (field turf)," said Dallmeyer. "It's really hard to beat Rider on their home turf. It's definitely a home field advantage for them. We needed to make sure that we were really creative in doing some things that we knew would at least get the ball towards the cage. Lenke executed really nicely and Anna has been doing a great job making sure she's getting those touches. It all came together on the goal."
Defensively, Kahn stood tall between the pipes all game, but no sequence was bigger than midway through the third quarter. Following a Rider corner, the Broncs had three glittering scoring chances, but Kahn made three saves in the span of just seven seconds to keep the Mountain Hawks in front. She went on to make her fourth save of the quarter with less than two minutes on the clock.
Kahn added two more fourth-quarter stops to secure the shutout. The Mountain Hawks didn't lack chances in the second half either, also firing four shots on goal in the third quarter, two coming in the final seconds off a dangerous corner attempt of their own.
"Madie is amazing. She's been amazing all preseason," said Dallmeyer. "It can be hard to have a first-year in goal, just because of experience, but she's playing like a veteran. The team seems to have a lot of confidence in her. It really helps us to be in a situation where we can go up 1-0, hold a lead and be confident that we can win a game 1-0, which is something we've struggled to do in the past. I'm really happy with Maddie's performance. She's a really great asset and we're glad to have her."
In the end, Rider held a 14-9 edge in shots while the Broncs held an 11-6 edge in penalty corners. Kahn's nine saves came across Rider goalkeeper Lena Vandam, who made seven.
The Mountain Hawks return to action next Friday when they host Towson for their home opener at 5 p.m.
Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Gallery: (8/30/2019) Field Hockey at Rider, 8/30/19
"I was really happy that we made a lot of adjustments from our two scrimmages," Lehigh head coach Caitlin Dallmeyer. "We played tough opponents in preseason and they really highlighted some of our weaknesses. We continued working this past week on adjustments. One of them was corner defense, and you would not realize that was a weakness today because we were stellar on the defensive end. Another was our attacking movement going into the circle. We got a few more circle penetrations than we had previously and we were able to capitalize on a corner, which has been a strength for us over the last year or so.
"I was really happy to see that we're using our hockey IQ and adjusting really quickly – from what we learned a week ago to what we brought into the game today."
Rider was strong to begin, firing the game's only four shots of the first quarter. The Mountain Hawks turned things around in the second, outshooting the Broncs 4-3 and finding the back of the cage. In the 24th minute off a penalty corner, junior Lenke Havas looped a high pass towards the back post, where Lehman got a piece to give Lehigh a 1-0 advantage.
Field hockey can be played on the ground and in the air. Here's a great look at Anna Lehman's goal in today's season-opening win at Rider! pic.twitter.com/JcqJq6ZV6Y
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) August 31, 2019
"We made some specific corners for this game on this surface (field turf)," said Dallmeyer. "It's really hard to beat Rider on their home turf. It's definitely a home field advantage for them. We needed to make sure that we were really creative in doing some things that we knew would at least get the ball towards the cage. Lenke executed really nicely and Anna has been doing a great job making sure she's getting those touches. It all came together on the goal."
Defensively, Kahn stood tall between the pipes all game, but no sequence was bigger than midway through the third quarter. Following a Rider corner, the Broncs had three glittering scoring chances, but Kahn made three saves in the span of just seven seconds to keep the Mountain Hawks in front. She went on to make her fourth save of the quarter with less than two minutes on the clock.
Kahn added two more fourth-quarter stops to secure the shutout. The Mountain Hawks didn't lack chances in the second half either, also firing four shots on goal in the third quarter, two coming in the final seconds off a dangerous corner attempt of their own.
"Madie is amazing. She's been amazing all preseason," said Dallmeyer. "It can be hard to have a first-year in goal, just because of experience, but she's playing like a veteran. The team seems to have a lot of confidence in her. It really helps us to be in a situation where we can go up 1-0, hold a lead and be confident that we can win a game 1-0, which is something we've struggled to do in the past. I'm really happy with Maddie's performance. She's a really great asset and we're glad to have her."
Maddie Kahn was a brick wall in goal today! pic.twitter.com/dIRFBIhAd1
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) August 30, 2019
In the end, Rider held a 14-9 edge in shots while the Broncs held an 11-6 edge in penalty corners. Kahn's nine saves came across Rider goalkeeper Lena Vandam, who made seven.
The Mountain Hawks return to action next Friday when they host Towson for their home opener at 5 p.m.
Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
We caught up with today's goal scorer Anna Lehman after the season-opening 1-0 win at Rider! pic.twitter.com/DjDdtgOskP
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) August 30, 2019
We caught up with Maddie Kahn after today's victory, following a nine-save shutout in her first collegiate game! (Part 1) pic.twitter.com/qJ2hRLucGr
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) August 31, 2019
Team Stats
LEHIGH
RID
Goals
1
0
Shots
10
14
Shots on Goal
9
9
Saves
9
8
Corners
6
11
Offsides
0
0
Fouls
0
0
Scoring Plays
Lehman, Anna (1)
Assisted By: Pecora, Drew , Havas, Lenke
into top of box from corner
23:49
Game Leaders
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
3
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
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