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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women’s lacrosse team will look to get back on track when the Mountain Hawks head to Army West Point on Wednesday in a rematch of a 2021 Patriot League Semifinal matchup. Gametime is set for 4 pm on ESPN+. Lehigh is coming off three consecutive defeats, but two were against nationally-ranked league opponents in which there were a number of strong stretches to build upon.
Most recently, the Mountain Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead at No. 17 Navy Saturday with three goals in the span of 42 seconds in the first quarter. Lehigh held a 6-4 lead at the half, but the Midshipmen outscored Lehigh 7-1 in the second to pull away, 11-7.
Junior Katia Carnevale continued her strong play, scoring three goals – including a behind-the-back goal that was No. 6 on SportsCenter’s Plays of the Day. It was Carnevale’s second top 10 play in as many Saturdays, Lehigh’s fourth of the spring season and fifth of the school year. Carnevale also had five goals and two assists against UC Davis, as she had a hand in 10 of the Mountain Hawks’ 18 goals on the week to earn honorable mention on the Patriot League weekly honor roll. Junior Emma Eberhardt also posted two goals and an assist at Navy. She enters Wednesday with 49 career goals and 49 career assists, vying to become the second Mountain Hawk (along with junior Gabby Schneider) to eclipse 50 goals, 50 assists and 100 points all in the same game. Schneider did just that on Mar. 2 against La Salle.
Sophomore Hayley Hunt continued her stellar season, tying a career-high 17 saves. She now leads the nation in save percentage (55.4) and is second in saves per game (13.11). Schneider dished two assists on Saturday and is up to 22 on the season – good for ninth nationally. As a team, Lehigh held a 13-9 edge in draw controls – the first time it’s held the edge in that category against Navy since the 2011 Patriot League Semifinals.
Army stands 8-2 on the season, losing the first two games (at Temple and Rutgers) before reeling off a program-record eight in a row heading into Wednesday’s game. The Black Knights are 3-0 in the Patriot League with wins at Boston University (13-7), vs. Holy Cross (21-10) and at Colgate (20-12). Kathleen Sullivan leads Army in points with 48 via 28 goals and 20 assists. She’s top 20 nationally in points per game. Julia Gorajek owns a team-leading 32 goals (to go with eight assists for 40 points). Reigning Patriot League Midfielder of the Week Jolie Riedell also owns 30 goals. As a team, the Black Knights are averaging 15.20 goals per game which is 16th nationally. Caroline Raymond leads Army with 23 draw controls while Malina Hatton’s 13 caused turnovers are tops on the team. Goalkeeper Lacey Bartholomay’s 18 groundballs lead the team, while she’s recorded an 11.36 goals against average and 42.1 save percentage between the pipes.
Lehigh is 5-2 all-time against Army West Point, with the first meeting coming in 2016 during the Black Knights’ first varsity season. After Lehigh won in 2016, 2017 and 2018, the Black Knights won both meetings in 2019 (including in the Patriot League Quarterfinals). The teams didn’t play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Lehigh responded by going 2-0 in 2021 – including a hard-fought 10-8 semifinal victory. The Mountain Hawks are 2-1 at West Point, with the last meeting happening in the 2019 quarterfinals – a 12-9 Army win.
After Wednesday’s game, Lehigh returns home on Saturday to host Bucknell. Gametime is 12 pm on ESPN+.
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