Monday, May 3
Bethlehem, Pa.
1 p.m.
Lehigh University
8-3
13
vs
12
Navy (Quarterfinals)
8-4
1
2
OT
F
Navy
5
7
0
12
Lehigh
6
6
1
13
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Lehigh Beats Navy, 13-12 in Thrilling OT Finish to Advance to Patriot League Semis
5/3/2021 6:56:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Navy twice rallied to pull even, but the Lehigh women's lacrosse team always had an answer. In the end, junior Nora Giordano scored 2:30 into overtime to give the Mountain Hawks a resilient 13-12 win over the Midshipmen in the Patriot League Quarterfinals on Monday afternoon. With the win, Lehigh advances to the semifinals against Army West Point, set for Thursday at 7 p.m. at Loyola University's Ridley Athletic Complex.
"Just a tremendous win to have the fortitude to stay with it," said Lehigh head coach and 2021 Patriot League Coach of the Year Jill Redfern. "Navy made a really great run, credit them. They stayed in it the whole game, but super proud of our resilience."
The Mountain Hawks jumped out to early leads of 4-0 and 5-1 before the Mids scored four goals in the span of 1:40 to pull even at five with 10:17 left in the first half. Lehigh answered, though, as goals from graduate student Sondra Dickey (her fourth of the game), and sophomore Emma Eberhardt, gave Lehigh a 7-5 advantage.
The Mountain Hawks held the lead until deep into the second half, upping their lead to as much as three (11-8 and 12-9). But Navy had an answer, scoring three times in 3:34 to pull even at 12 with 3:57 remaining.
Both teams had chances in the final minutes of regulation, but Navy goalkeeper Jo Torres made a couple big saves, including one with 17 seconds remaining, to help force overtime.
Navy gained the draw control to begin the extra session, but a turnover gave the Mountain Hawks possession. After a timeout, sophomore Gabby Schneider found Giordano, who put it past Torres to send Lehigh to the semifinals.
"Excited for Nora to have a big goal in a really big game," said Redfern. "We have such a team-first group of players. Everyone's just really excited."
Named the Patriot League's Midfielder of the Year earlier in the day, Dickey was sensational with five goals, four groundballs and five caused turnovers. In the process, she moved to 108 career caused turnovers, breaking a tie with Julianne D'Orazio for the program's all-time career record.
Eberhardt added four goals while Schneider tallied two goals and four assists. Senior Cecily Redfern led Lehigh with four draw controls while Dickey had three.
Final shots were 28-23 in favor of the Mountain Hawks while Lehigh held a 19-13 edge in groundballs. Navy finished with a 17-9 advantage in draw controls. Senior Samantha Sagi made six saves across Torres, who tallied eight.
Monday marked Lehigh's first postseason win against Navy in program history and the first time the Mountain Hawks have beaten the Midshipmen twice in a season.
Lehigh will return to action on Thursday night at 7 p.m. against Army in the semifinals. That will follow Colgate against Loyola in the first semifinal of the day at 3 p.m. Both games can be seen live on ESPN+.
Like Lehigh Women's Lacrosse on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Gallery: (5-3-2021) Women's Lacrosse vs. Navy, 5/3/21, PL Quarterfinals
"Just a tremendous win to have the fortitude to stay with it," said Lehigh head coach and 2021 Patriot League Coach of the Year Jill Redfern. "Navy made a really great run, credit them. They stayed in it the whole game, but super proud of our resilience."
Nora Giordano gives us insight into her game-winning goal and the feeling after scoring in overtime to send the Mountain Hawks to the Patriot League Semifinals! pic.twitter.com/VqIX8MFi9j
— Lehigh W Lacrosse (@LehighWLacrosse) May 4, 2021
The Mountain Hawks jumped out to early leads of 4-0 and 5-1 before the Mids scored four goals in the span of 1:40 to pull even at five with 10:17 left in the first half. Lehigh answered, though, as goals from graduate student Sondra Dickey (her fourth of the game), and sophomore Emma Eberhardt, gave Lehigh a 7-5 advantage.
The Mountain Hawks held the lead until deep into the second half, upping their lead to as much as three (11-8 and 12-9). But Navy had an answer, scoring three times in 3:34 to pull even at 12 with 3:57 remaining.
Both teams had chances in the final minutes of regulation, but Navy goalkeeper Jo Torres made a couple big saves, including one with 17 seconds remaining, to help force overtime.
Navy gained the draw control to begin the extra session, but a turnover gave the Mountain Hawks possession. After a timeout, sophomore Gabby Schneider found Giordano, who put it past Torres to send Lehigh to the semifinals.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK HAS ARRIVED 🚨@LehighWLacrosse gets the overtime winner from Nora Giordano to down @NavyWLax in the Patriot League first round.
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 3, 2021
Get ready for more of this in the coming days, folks. pic.twitter.com/LbPVLS1ort
"Excited for Nora to have a big goal in a really big game," said Redfern. "We have such a team-first group of players. Everyone's just really excited."
Named the Patriot League's Midfielder of the Year earlier in the day, Dickey was sensational with five goals, four groundballs and five caused turnovers. In the process, she moved to 108 career caused turnovers, breaking a tie with Julianne D'Orazio for the program's all-time career record.
Eberhardt added four goals while Schneider tallied two goals and four assists. Senior Cecily Redfern led Lehigh with four draw controls while Dickey had three.
Final shots were 28-23 in favor of the Mountain Hawks while Lehigh held a 19-13 edge in groundballs. Navy finished with a 17-9 advantage in draw controls. Senior Samantha Sagi made six saves across Torres, who tallied eight.
Monday marked Lehigh's first postseason win against Navy in program history and the first time the Mountain Hawks have beaten the Midshipmen twice in a season.
Lehigh will return to action on Thursday night at 7 p.m. against Army in the semifinals. That will follow Colgate against Loyola in the first semifinal of the day at 3 p.m. Both games can be seen live on ESPN+.
Like Lehigh Women's Lacrosse on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content, team updates and more.
Team Stats
NAVY
LEHIGH
Shots
23
28
Turnovers
17
11
Caused Turnovers
6
10
Draw Controls
17
9
Free-Position Shots
1
5
Ground Balls
13
19
Game Leaders
G
5
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
4
CT
5
G
4
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
2
A
4
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
GK
/ Women's LacrosseA
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