Friday, October 22
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
(11-5, 4-2PL)
3
vs
2
Lafayette
(11-4, 3-2PL)
1
2
3
4
5
F
Lafayette
0
1
1
0
0
2
Lehigh
0
1
1
0
1
3
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Senior Night Thriller: Resilient Mountain Hawks Come Back to Beat Lafayette in OT, 3-2
10/22/2021 11:40:00 PM | Field Hockey
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lafayette scored to take leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but in each instance, the Lehigh field hockey team answered less than four minutes later, setting the stage for graduate student Lenke Havas in overtime, as the Mountain Hawks topped the Leopards, 3-2 on Friday night. The Rivalry was presented by Lehigh Valley Health Network and Coordinated Health. On her Senior Night, Havas had a hand in all three Lehigh goals, tallying two assists before converting a penalty stroke in the extra session. The Mountain Hawks improve to 11-5 overall and finish Patriot League play 4-2. In the process, Lehigh handed Lafayette just its fourth overall loss of the season as the Leopards fall to 11-4 and 3-2 in league play.
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"I don't think there's any better way to end Senior Night," said Lehigh head coach Caitlin Dallmeyer. "It was an exciting game. We know Lafayette is a phenomenal team. It was really hard to prepare for them. We had to be really focused and disciplined. Not everything went perfectly at practice, so that was challenging. We had to continue to make adjustments and know we were going to be prepared to make adjustments today. We played with a lot of passion, heart and resilience. That showed, and that's how we came out with a win."
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Lehigh's 11 overall wins are most since 1994 when it also had 11 during its Patriot League Championship Season. The Mountain Hawks have now won three of their last five vs. Lafayette, the best five-game stretch in The Rivalry since winning six-of-seven between 1983-86. Prior to this 3-2 stretch, Lehigh had won three the previous 26 meetings, spanning 1994 to 2016. Havas and classmate Drew Pecora finish their careers 3-2 against Lafayette (pending meeting in the Patriot League Tournament), which would make them the first LUFH student-athletes to graduate with a winning record vs. the Leopards since the mid 1980s.
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The three goals scored vs. Lafayette are also Lehigh's most since 2004 (19 games ago).
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"It was amazing," said Havas, whose two assists on Friday gave her 21 in her career to tie a school record. "It really showed how hard we work for each other and how badly we wanted this today. The vibes were so great going into the game. The girls did so many great things for us in the locker room. We had a great warmup, the energy was great, emotions were very high. And I think as a senior class, we really wanted to end with a really good game on this turf."
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Lafayette held a 4-1 first-quarter shots edge, but shots on goal were even at one, with each goalkeeper making a save. The Leopards opened the scoring at the 24:33 mark off a penalty corner, but less than four minutes later, the Mountain Hawks converted a corner of their own. After making the insert, Pecora headed to the front of the cage and deflected a Havas feed past Hailey Abbott to make it 1-1 at 28:16.
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After the teams traded shots on goal early in the extra session, the Mountain Hawks ended with five of the last six chances. The sixth saw Havas convert the penalty corner for her 11th goal of the season, to send Lehigh home winners.
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"I think we do a really good job of being locked in during pressure situations," said Dallmeyer. "We worked hard in the first half to keep the game competitive and we knew if we weren't playing our best, the game could get out of control. Lafayette certainly has some people who can score quickly so we needed to maintain possession as long as we could to keep momentum. That was a focus point going into the second half and we were able to do that well."
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Prior to the game, the Mountain Hawks recognized a truly transformative senior class that has been integral parts of the rise of the Lehigh field hockey program – Leah Mullery, Sam Nason, Olivia Perrone, Havas and Pecora.
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"This senior class, as I'm sure everyone's heard me say so many times, is something special," said Dallmeyer. "We're really proud that they're in our program, that they said yes to Lehigh many years ago and that they have worked to be the change. I think that showed tonight."
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"Today has been such a day of mixed emotions," said Pecora. "We were all so excited. Honestly, thinking back to my freshman year, we beat Laf in overtime in the same way we did today. It was just a great way to end [the last game on our home turf]."
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Lehigh will close out the regular season next Sunday at Wagner. The Mountain Hawks have qualified for the Patriot League Tournament, which begins with the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 4 at American University. Lehigh's exact seeding is dependent on the result of next weekend's Bucknell at Lafayette game.
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Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
ÂGallery: (10-22-2021) Field Hockey vs. Lafayette (Senior Night)
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"I don't think there's any better way to end Senior Night," said Lehigh head coach Caitlin Dallmeyer. "It was an exciting game. We know Lafayette is a phenomenal team. It was really hard to prepare for them. We had to be really focused and disciplined. Not everything went perfectly at practice, so that was challenging. We had to continue to make adjustments and know we were going to be prepared to make adjustments today. We played with a lot of passion, heart and resilience. That showed, and that's how we came out with a win."
The Mountain Hawks' four Patriot League victories are the program's most since 1996 when they had five. Lehigh will finish league play with a winning record for the first time since 2011 – the last time it advanced to the Patriot League Tournament.Incredible night. Incredible victory. Incredible game. Relive it all in less than 60 seconds. pic.twitter.com/9mnNVeZN01
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) October 23, 2021
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Lehigh's 11 overall wins are most since 1994 when it also had 11 during its Patriot League Championship Season. The Mountain Hawks have now won three of their last five vs. Lafayette, the best five-game stretch in The Rivalry since winning six-of-seven between 1983-86. Prior to this 3-2 stretch, Lehigh had won three the previous 26 meetings, spanning 1994 to 2016. Havas and classmate Drew Pecora finish their careers 3-2 against Lafayette (pending meeting in the Patriot League Tournament), which would make them the first LUFH student-athletes to graduate with a winning record vs. the Leopards since the mid 1980s.
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The three goals scored vs. Lafayette are also Lehigh's most since 2004 (19 games ago).
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"It was amazing," said Havas, whose two assists on Friday gave her 21 in her career to tie a school record. "It really showed how hard we work for each other and how badly we wanted this today. The vibes were so great going into the game. The girls did so many great things for us in the locker room. We had a great warmup, the energy was great, emotions were very high. And I think as a senior class, we really wanted to end with a really good game on this turf."
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Lafayette held a 4-1 first-quarter shots edge, but shots on goal were even at one, with each goalkeeper making a save. The Leopards opened the scoring at the 24:33 mark off a penalty corner, but less than four minutes later, the Mountain Hawks converted a corner of their own. After making the insert, Pecora headed to the front of the cage and deflected a Havas feed past Hailey Abbott to make it 1-1 at 28:16.
The Leopards retook a lead less than five minutes into the second half, but the resilient Mountain Hawks had another answer. On Lehigh's fourth corner in less than a minute, sophomore Sydney White took a hard shot, which deflected off a Lafayette defender and past Abbott to pull even at two at 37:45.Fifth years connect! Here's how the Mountain Hawks evened the score at one, as Drew Pecora redirected a Lenke Havas feed in front. pic.twitter.com/2AvKj4auzf
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) October 23, 2021
From there, the Mountain Hawks continued to control play, holding an 8-3 third-quarter shots advantage and 3-0 in the fourth, as Lehigh headed to its second overtime game of the season.Here's how the Mountain Hawks pulled even for a second time. After review, Sydney White was credited the goal, from Lenke Havas, as it deflected off a Lafayette defender's stick. pic.twitter.com/y7jSjFsdlu
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) October 23, 2021
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After the teams traded shots on goal early in the extra session, the Mountain Hawks ended with five of the last six chances. The sixth saw Havas convert the penalty corner for her 11th goal of the season, to send Lehigh home winners.
Final shots were 19-11 in favor of the Mountain Hawks, including 17-5 after halftime. Penalty corners were 11-5, Lehigh. Junior Maddie Kahn finished with three saves while Abbott tallied seven.Here's how the Mountain Hawks won it, as Lenke Havas converted a penalty stroke to #BeatLafayette and give Lehigh an unforgettable Senior Night victory! pic.twitter.com/XpJb56Aptq
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) October 23, 2021
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"I think we do a really good job of being locked in during pressure situations," said Dallmeyer. "We worked hard in the first half to keep the game competitive and we knew if we weren't playing our best, the game could get out of control. Lafayette certainly has some people who can score quickly so we needed to maintain possession as long as we could to keep momentum. That was a focus point going into the second half and we were able to do that well."
Â
Prior to the game, the Mountain Hawks recognized a truly transformative senior class that has been integral parts of the rise of the Lehigh field hockey program – Leah Mullery, Sam Nason, Olivia Perrone, Havas and Pecora.
Â
"This senior class, as I'm sure everyone's heard me say so many times, is something special," said Dallmeyer. "We're really proud that they're in our program, that they said yes to Lehigh many years ago and that they have worked to be the change. I think that showed tonight."
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"Today has been such a day of mixed emotions," said Pecora. "We were all so excited. Honestly, thinking back to my freshman year, we beat Laf in overtime in the same way we did today. It was just a great way to end [the last game on our home turf]."
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Lehigh will close out the regular season next Sunday at Wagner. The Mountain Hawks have qualified for the Patriot League Tournament, which begins with the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 4 at American University. Lehigh's exact seeding is dependent on the result of next weekend's Bucknell at Lafayette game.
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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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Coach Dallmeyer following tonight's thrilling overtime win over Lafayette! pic.twitter.com/7fJSLVqVwG
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) October 23, 2021
Lenke Havas following tonight's 3-2 overtime thriller over Lafayette! pic.twitter.com/FSz3n9iM6x
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) October 23, 2021
ÂHere's what Drew Pecora had to say following tonight's memorable victory! pic.twitter.com/pTAtVWgPmi
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) October 23, 2021
Team Stats
LAFAYETT
LEHIGH
Goals
2
3
Shots
11
19
Shots on Goal
5
10
Saves
7
3
Corners
5
11
Offsides
0
0
Fouls
0
0
Scoring Plays
Hannes, Felicitas
Assisted By: Sawers, Audrey
On corner, #16 slid to left to 15 who be
24:33
Pecora, Drew
Assisted By: Havas, Lenke
Off corner, #17 tipped in front.
28:16
McAndrew, Molly
Assisted By: Sawers, Audrey
#16 feed to #1, who beat GK low.
34:40
White, Sydney
Assisted By: Havas, Lenke
#1 hard shot off corner, #3 tipped past
37:45
Havas, Lenke
LEHIGH Havas, Lenke PENALTY STROKE GOAL.
69:20
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
6
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
2
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
D/M
/ Field Hockey
GK
/ Field Hockey
M/F
/ Field Hockey
M/F
/ Field Hockey
M
/ Field HockeyD
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