Lehigh Beats Temple to Clinch First Winning Regular Season Since 1994

Sunday, October 10

Bethlehem, Pa.

1 p.m.

Lehigh University

(9-4)

Temple

(7-5)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Temple	0	0	1	0	1
Lehigh	0	2	0	0	2

Field Hockey Team Celebration vs. Temple

Photo by: Justin Lafleur

Lehigh Beats Temple to Clinch First Winning Regular Season Since 1994

10/10/2021 6:41:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score Photo Gallery

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh field hockey team turned six shots into two goals, while also playing stellar defense, in an impressive 2-1 win over a strong Temple opponent on Sunday. A defensive game saw limited chances for either side, as the Owls had just eight shots themselves. The win improves Lehigh's record to 9-4, good for the program's most wins since 2004 while also securing the program's first winning regular-season record since 1994.

"Three decades is a long time," said Lehigh head coach Caitlin Dallmeyer. "All of these athletes hadn't been born [in 1994]. For us, this is a really big moment for the program. We're really happy to have come to Lehigh knowing this is what we could be."

Also on Sunday, the Mountain Hawks improved to 4-0 after losses this season, bouncing back from a close 2-0 defeat vs. No. 23 American on Saturday. Lehigh improved to 6-1 at home. The offense scored two goals against the No. 12 ranked defense in the nation (based on goals against average). The Owls were allowing just 1.13 goals per contest entering Sunday.

Sunday victory highlights! 🎥 pic.twitter.com/ZrtQG2AAft
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) October 10, 2021

"We ended up yesterday a little bit frustrated with our performance in the fourth quarter," said Dallmeyer. "We played a great game, but had some mental lapses, which resulted in a loss. Today, we wanted to put out four really strong quarters – making sure we were adjusting to the film we had seen last night on Temple, making sure we were prepared for how they play, while doing what we do well at the same time.

"We were able to do both fairly well today," Dallmeyer continued. "We executed in the circle. We had few opportunities, but were able to put the ball in the net, which was critical, and then we were able to hold strong on defense for the majority of the game."

The first half saw five combined shots – three from Lehigh and two from Temple – with each goalkeeper making a pair of saves. Midway through the second quarter, the Mountain Hawks broke the ice as sophomore Erica Steele fired a hard shot off a penalty corner that deflected off an Owls' defender and past goalkeeper Megan Ragusa to give Lehigh a 1-0 lead.

Just over four minutes later, the Mountain Hawks capitalized on their next corner, as sophomore Lotte Smorenburg found graduate student Lenke Havas, whose ensuing shot beat Ragusa for the 2-0 advantage.

That score remained until late in the third quarter, when Temple scored on a direct shot off a penalty corner at the 42:42 mark. Despite the Owls creating four second-half corners, they fired off just four shots (including none in the fourth quarter and none after their goal) as Lehigh finished off the 2-1 victory.

"I cannot compliment this team enough," said Dallmeyer. "They have done a really great job of owning their own process and understanding how hard they need to work to be able to make adjustments, mentally and physically. They've done a great job of normalizing a lot of behaviors we needed to normalize to get to this point – extra reps, getting extra touches when things aren't going well for them, making sure we have a really strong bench culture and making sure the grind is something we're committed to, all understanding that it can produce moments like today."

The Mountain Hawks return to the field next Saturday when they travel to Bucknell to face the Bison (11 a.m.) before hosting Rider on Sunday (1 p.m.).

Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.

Coach Dallmeyer following today's 2-1 win over Temple! pic.twitter.com/TI9FoudNXW
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) October 10, 2021

Lenke Havas scored what proved to be the game-winner in today's 2-1 win over Temple and we caught up with her after the victory! pic.twitter.com/m1l8LfK5qs
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) October 10, 2021

Here's what Drew Pecora had to say following today's 2-1 win over Temple! pic.twitter.com/KMBkxZqpBV
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) October 10, 2021

Gallery: (10-10-2021) Field Hockey vs. Temple, 10/10/21