Strong defense leads Lehigh past Yale, 9-7

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh women's lacrosse team held Yale at bay, allowing just seven goals and holding the Bulldogs scoreless for long stretches as the Mountain Hawks earned their first win of the season, 9-7 on Sunday afternoon. Juniors Allison LaBeau and Lauren Beausoleil led the offense with four points apiece while freshman Courtney Henig scored a team-high three goals for her first-career hat trick.

"I was really happy with our defensive effort today," said Lehigh head coach Jill Redfern. "Our communication was good down there. They stuck to the game plan and we were able to limit some of their bigger threats."

Beausoleil finished with two goals, two assists, a career-high five groundballs and a draw control in a strong all-around effort. LaBeau tallied two goals and two assists while sophomore Julianne D'Orazio scored a goal and posted a career-high four caused turnovers, spearheading the defensive effort. Sophomore Kierstyn Voiro also had four groundballs and two caused turnovers.

The Mountain Hawks began the game on a 4-0 run as Beausoleil set the tone early with a free position goal just 29 seconds into the contest. LaBeau followed with the next two goals before Henig scored her first of the da with 21:06 left in the first half. At that point, Beausoleil already had three points (a goal and two assists).

In a game of runs, Yale responded with the next four goals to even the score late in the first half, but the Mountain Hawks had an answer. Lehigh scored the last three goals of the stanza to take a 7-4 advantage after 30 minutes of play. Sophomore Haley Wentzel rounded out the scoring with 1:05 on the clock.

The run reached 5-0 as D'Orazio scored her first goal of the season at 22:28 of the second half, then Henig recorded her third of the game with 14:53 on the clock. The Bulldogs had one last run in them, netting goals at 12:08, 3:38 and 2:56, but the Lehigh defense held on.

"The offense is coming along," said Redfern. "We had some really great finishes. With our end-of-game planning, we need to work on our confidence, going to goal and being able to extend our lead."

Final shots were even at 21 while the Mountain Hawks held a 21-13 edge in groundballs. Yale held a 13-5 advantage in draw controls while junior Taylor Tvedt made seven saves in goal.

"It's really hard to overcome going against a dominant draw-taker," said Redfern. "She (Yale's Nicole Daniggelis) has done a terrific job for them throughout her career, but we were able to get a couple caused turnovers and some saves to help counteract the draw. I'm happy to see that even though we lost that stat, we were able to win the game."

Lehigh will return to action next Saturday when the Mountain Hawks host Mount St. Mary's. The game will begin at 3 p.m. as part of a lacrosse doubleheader. The Lehigh men's team also hosts Holy Cross at 12 p.m.

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Team Stats

Courtney Henig

Lauren Beausoleil

Allison LaBeau

Haley Wentzel

Players Mentioned

Lauren Beausoleil

Julianne D'Orazio

Courtney Henig

Allison LaBeau

Taylor Tvedt

Kierstyn Voiro

Haley Wentzel

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