Friday, September 17
Bethlehem, Pa.
4 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Boston University
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
Lehigh Opens Patriot League Play vs. BU Friday, Travels to LIU Sunday
9/16/2021 9:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Standing 3-2 overall, the Lehigh field hockey team is preparing for its Patriot League opener on Friday as the Mountain Hawks host Boston University at 4 p.m. on ESPN+. Lehigh will wrap up its weekend at LIU on Sunday at noon on NEC Front Row. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 2-1 win over Georgetown to improve to 3-0 at home for the first time since 1998. Lehigh enters its league opener with a winning record for the second straight fall (last season was played in the spring and didn't include any nonleague games). Prior to 2019, a winning record entering Patriot League play hadn't happened since 2000.
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Lehigh's offense has continued to impress, scoring multiple goals in each of the first five games of the season for the first time since 1983. The Mountain Hawks' 14 goals through five games are their most since 2004.
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On Sunday, Lehigh jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind first-half goals from junior Sarah Bonthuis and senior Leah Mullery. Bonthuis also assisted on Mullery's goals and now owns a team-leading 11 points on the season (four goals, three assists). Bonthuis has recorded at least one point in all five games thus far. Georgetown pulled within one late in the first half, but that's as close as the Hoyas would come. Lehigh's defense stood tall, anchored by junior goalkeeper Maddie Kahn, who made seven saves – including some spectacular first-half stops and three big saves in the final 30 seconds off Georgetown penalty corners.
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The win came two days after a tight 4-3 loss at La Salle, which saw fifth-year Drew Pecora post a career-high five points via two goals and two assists. Like they did after the season-opening Villanova defeat (by the same 4-3 final), the Mountain Hawks bounced back to win their Sunday home game for a third straight week.
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Boston University stands 2-4 on the young season with two of the losses coming to teams ranked third in the nation at the time – Iowa and Boston College. BU's wins have come against Monmouth (2-1) and New Hampshire (3-1). Payton Anderson leads the Terriers in goals (3), assists (2) and points (8). Casey Thompson is also tied for the team lead in assists with two. Rachel Borzymowski owns four defensive saves while Caroline Kelly has seen the majority of time in goal (210:00), posting a 2.29 goals against average and 77.1 save percentage. Kate Thomason has also played 137:25, recording a 3.06 GAA and 53.3 save percentage.
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The Terriers lead the all-time series, 7-1, with all meetings happening in the Patriot League era, when BU joined the league in the fall of 2013. The last meeting at Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks came out victorious, winning 2-1 in overtime in 2019 as Pecora scored the game-winner (which was also her program-record 14th goal of the season).
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LIU stands 1-4 on the season following a 3-1 loss at Hofstra on Wednesday. The Sharks' win came at home vs. Georgetown by a 2-1 final, while they've also fallen at Bucknell (2-1 in overtime), Columbia (3-1) and Providence (5-2). Last spring, LIU was 4-2. Sammy Bell leads LIU with four goals and eight points while Felicia King is right behind with four points (one goal, team-leading two assists). Rachel Vellis has played every minute between the pipes, recording a 2.79 GAA and 58.8 save percentage.
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LIU leads the all-time series with Lehigh, 2-1. The Mountain Hawks won the first-ever meeting (when they were LIU Brooklyn), 1-0 in 2017, but LIU won in both 2018 and 2019.
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Following this weekend, Lehigh will look ahead to a pair next weekend – at Colgate on Saturday (Sept. 25) and home vs. Sacred Heart on Sunday (Sept. 26).
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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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Lehigh's offense has continued to impress, scoring multiple goals in each of the first five games of the season for the first time since 1983. The Mountain Hawks' 14 goals through five games are their most since 2004.
Â
On Sunday, Lehigh jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind first-half goals from junior Sarah Bonthuis and senior Leah Mullery. Bonthuis also assisted on Mullery's goals and now owns a team-leading 11 points on the season (four goals, three assists). Bonthuis has recorded at least one point in all five games thus far. Georgetown pulled within one late in the first half, but that's as close as the Hoyas would come. Lehigh's defense stood tall, anchored by junior goalkeeper Maddie Kahn, who made seven saves – including some spectacular first-half stops and three big saves in the final 30 seconds off Georgetown penalty corners.
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The win came two days after a tight 4-3 loss at La Salle, which saw fifth-year Drew Pecora post a career-high five points via two goals and two assists. Like they did after the season-opening Villanova defeat (by the same 4-3 final), the Mountain Hawks bounced back to win their Sunday home game for a third straight week.
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Boston University stands 2-4 on the young season with two of the losses coming to teams ranked third in the nation at the time – Iowa and Boston College. BU's wins have come against Monmouth (2-1) and New Hampshire (3-1). Payton Anderson leads the Terriers in goals (3), assists (2) and points (8). Casey Thompson is also tied for the team lead in assists with two. Rachel Borzymowski owns four defensive saves while Caroline Kelly has seen the majority of time in goal (210:00), posting a 2.29 goals against average and 77.1 save percentage. Kate Thomason has also played 137:25, recording a 3.06 GAA and 53.3 save percentage.
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The Terriers lead the all-time series, 7-1, with all meetings happening in the Patriot League era, when BU joined the league in the fall of 2013. The last meeting at Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks came out victorious, winning 2-1 in overtime in 2019 as Pecora scored the game-winner (which was also her program-record 14th goal of the season).
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LIU stands 1-4 on the season following a 3-1 loss at Hofstra on Wednesday. The Sharks' win came at home vs. Georgetown by a 2-1 final, while they've also fallen at Bucknell (2-1 in overtime), Columbia (3-1) and Providence (5-2). Last spring, LIU was 4-2. Sammy Bell leads LIU with four goals and eight points while Felicia King is right behind with four points (one goal, team-leading two assists). Rachel Vellis has played every minute between the pipes, recording a 2.79 GAA and 58.8 save percentage.
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LIU leads the all-time series with Lehigh, 2-1. The Mountain Hawks won the first-ever meeting (when they were LIU Brooklyn), 1-0 in 2017, but LIU won in both 2018 and 2019.
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Following this weekend, Lehigh will look ahead to a pair next weekend – at Colgate on Saturday (Sept. 25) and home vs. Sacred Heart on Sunday (Sept. 26).
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Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Players Mentioned
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