BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women’s lacrosse team held Navy’s offense at bay, but the Mountain Hawks struggled offensively in an 8-3 loss on a chilly Wednesday evening at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Sophomore Allison LaBeau scored two of Lehigh’s goals while classmate Taylor Tvedt entered the game in the second half and made five saves between the pipes.
Lehigh led the way in several statistical categories, including a 17-12 edge in groundballs, led by a career-high five from freshman Kierstyn Voiro. Senior Michelle Abramczyk also had four groundballs while classmate Kelly Scott and junior Kendall Garden each had two caused turnovers. Lehigh held Navy to its third fewest goals scored in 14 games this season. The Mountain Hawks held Navy’s leading scorer Loren Generi to just a goal and assist; she entered the game with 60 points over the first 13 contests.
“Give Navy credit. They play hard. Their draw control was excellent, which gave them a bunch of possessions,” said Lehigh head coach Jill Redfern. “They finished some really nice shots in tight that our goalkeeper didn’t have a whole lot of play on. They’re a tough team.”
Navy opened the game with two quick goals, making it 2-0 just 1:33 into the game. From there, the defenses took over and neither side scored for the next 24:02. The Mids broke the drought at the 4:25 mark and went on to score three goals in a 1:22 span to take a 5-0 lead. Garden scored Lehigh’s first of the game with 29 seconds left on the clock to pull her squad within 5-1 at the half.
After more than 10 minutes with no score, due in large part to tremendous goalkeeping from Tvedt, LaBeau pulled the Mountain Hawks within 5-2 at 19:14. However, the Midshipmen went on to score the next two, at 12:08 and 2:36. LaBeau scored her second of the game with 1:16 remaining, but Navy responded 12 seconds later for the 8-3 final.
Final shots were 18-15 in favor of Lehigh while the Midshipmen held a 10-3 edge in draw controls. Tvedt made all five of Lehigh’s saves while Navy goalie Annie Foky was strong, stopping nine.
The Mountain Hawks will finish up their regular season schedule with games at American on Sunday (April 12) and at Holy Cross next Friday (April 17). With identical 2-4 league records, Lehigh and American are currently tied for the sixth and final spot in the Patriot League Tournament.
“We just need to keep our confidence up and execute at this point,” said Redfern. “I think (American) will be a hard-fought game. It’s down there. Honestly, we’ve been a lot better away this year than we’ve been home, so we don’t mind to be going on the road. I think it can be good for us. It will be a tough contest. These next two games are our entire season. We definitely want to send our seniors out with a trip to the Patriot League Tournament.”
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