Sunday, October 3
North Andover, Mass.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
(8-3, 3-0PL)
4
at
1
Merrimack
(0-10, 0-1NEC)
1
2
3
4
F
Lehigh
1
2
1
0
4
Merrimack
0
1
0
0
1
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
Lehigh Tops Merrimack on the Road for Fourth Straight Win
10/3/2021 8:25:00 PM | Field Hockey
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Lehigh field hockey's offense continued to shine, while the defense stood tall as well, as the Mountain Hawks picked up a 4-1 road victory at Merrimack on Sunday afternoon. The win marks Lehigh's fourth straight, outscoring its opponents 20-3 over that stretch. Graduate student Lenke Havas paced the offense on Sunday with two goals, while sophomore Lotte Smorenburg scored for the third time in the last four games and junior Sydney White netted her first-career goal as well.
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Lehigh improves to 8-3 overall, its most victories since 2007. The Mountain Hawks have won six of their last seven overall, the best seven-game stretch in program history since 1986.
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"We talked a lot about the meaning of both these games this weekend," said Lehigh head coach Caitlin Dallmeyer. "Yesterday, solidifying going 3-0 in the Patriot League was really meaningful to our program because we haven't done that in a long time and today, being able to secure eight wins – which is the most that our senior class has been able to secure in their time here – was really meaningful. Just the level of success that each win is bringing for our program overall is very validating to our team."
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Merrimack had a golden opportunity just 16 seconds into Sunday's game, but junior goalkeeper Maddie Kahn shut the door with a strong save. The Mountain Hawks responded with six of the next seven shots. Scoreless late in the first quarter, fifth-year Drew Pecora set up Smorenburg with a great pass, and Smorenburg did the rest to give Lehigh a 1-0 lead at the 14:30 mark.
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Havas scored her first of the afternoon at 22:38, off a feed from senior Olivia Perrone following a corner. That gave the Mountain Hawks a 2-0 edge. Less than two minutes later, the Warriors cut the deficit in half off a corner, but less than four minutes after that, Havas scored another – also off a corner – for a 3-1 halftime lead. Bonthuis was credited with the assist, her fifth of the season to give her a team-leading 21 points.
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Just over six minutes into the third quarter, White added the first of her career off a corner. That gave Lehigh a 4-1 lead, which proved to be the final.
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"We've talked a lot about having to make adjustments and what it means to be able to adjust on the fly, be able to draw things out and execute right away without having to practice it and gets reps in beforehand," said Dallmeyer. "We drew out a corner before we went into this game, we went through it once during our warmup and then we were able to execute. I think having a higher hockey IQ and understanding that we might need to adjust multiple times throughout a game is something we are understanding and thriving in right now."
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Lehigh will turn its attention to a pair of home games next weekend, hosting American on Saturday (Oct. 9) at 11 a.m. and Temple on Sunday (Oct. 10) at 12 p.m.
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"We want to take a couple hours to breathe and enjoy the success that we've had thus far, then starting Tuesday when we're back at practice, refocus and make sure we're ready to analyze American and get the reps in we need to be prepared," said Dallmeyer.
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Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
ÂGallery: (10-4-2021) Field Hockey at Merrimack, 10/3/21
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Lehigh improves to 8-3 overall, its most victories since 2007. The Mountain Hawks have won six of their last seven overall, the best seven-game stretch in program history since 1986.
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"We talked a lot about the meaning of both these games this weekend," said Lehigh head coach Caitlin Dallmeyer. "Yesterday, solidifying going 3-0 in the Patriot League was really meaningful to our program because we haven't done that in a long time and today, being able to secure eight wins – which is the most that our senior class has been able to secure in their time here – was really meaningful. Just the level of success that each win is bringing for our program overall is very validating to our team."
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Merrimack had a golden opportunity just 16 seconds into Sunday's game, but junior goalkeeper Maddie Kahn shut the door with a strong save. The Mountain Hawks responded with six of the next seven shots. Scoreless late in the first quarter, fifth-year Drew Pecora set up Smorenburg with a great pass, and Smorenburg did the rest to give Lehigh a 1-0 lead at the 14:30 mark.
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Havas scored her first of the afternoon at 22:38, off a feed from senior Olivia Perrone following a corner. That gave the Mountain Hawks a 2-0 edge. Less than two minutes later, the Warriors cut the deficit in half off a corner, but less than four minutes after that, Havas scored another – also off a corner – for a 3-1 halftime lead. Bonthuis was credited with the assist, her fifth of the season to give her a team-leading 21 points.
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Just over six minutes into the third quarter, White added the first of her career off a corner. That gave Lehigh a 4-1 lead, which proved to be the final.
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Final shots were 21-9 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 13-3 edge in penalty corners. Kahn finished with four saves between the pipes.
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"We've talked a lot about having to make adjustments and what it means to be able to adjust on the fly, be able to draw things out and execute right away without having to practice it and gets reps in beforehand," said Dallmeyer. "We drew out a corner before we went into this game, we went through it once during our warmup and then we were able to execute. I think having a higher hockey IQ and understanding that we might need to adjust multiple times throughout a game is something we are understanding and thriving in right now."
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Lehigh will turn its attention to a pair of home games next weekend, hosting American on Saturday (Oct. 9) at 11 a.m. and Temple on Sunday (Oct. 10) at 12 p.m.
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"We want to take a couple hours to breathe and enjoy the success that we've had thus far, then starting Tuesday when we're back at practice, refocus and make sure we're ready to analyze American and get the reps in we need to be prepared," said Dallmeyer.
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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 after today's 4-1 win over Merrimack! pic.twitter.com/Nk6ca23stW
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) October 3, 2021
Lotte Smorenburg has scored in three of the last four games and we caught up with her after today's win at Merrimack. pic.twitter.com/gVHxJiMbBk
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) October 3, 2021
Here's what Lenke Havas had to say following today's win at Merrimack. pic.twitter.com/GKqzcXkxPZ
— Lehigh Field Hockey (@LehighFH) October 3, 2021
Team Stats
LEHIGH
MER
Goals
4
1
Shots
21
9
Shots on Goal
11
5
Saves
4
7
Corners
13
3
Offsides
0
0
Fouls
28
52
Scoring Plays
Smorenburg, Lotte
Assisted By: Pecora, Drew
Quick deflection in front.
14:30
Havas, Lenke
Assisted By: Perrone, Olivia
Quick turnaround shot in front.
22:28
WESTER, Julie (2)
Assisted By: BONAZZOLI, Jane
Hard shot off penalty corner.
24:11
Havas, Lenke
Assisted By: Bonthuis, Sarah
Shot through traffic.
28:01
White, Sydney
Assisted By: Gatelein, Julia
Flick to the top of the goal.
36:13
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
9
SOG
5
Goals
2
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
5
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
D/M
/ Field Hockey
GK
/ Field HockeyM/F
/ Field Hockey
M
/ Field HockeyF
/ Field HockeyD
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