Posted: 11/04/2011 | Last updated: December 13, 2011 at 09:30 AM
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Lehigh field hockey team saw its season come to an end on Friday, dropping an 8-0 final to Lafayette in the Patriot League Semifinals. The Mountain Hawks fell victim to a pair of scoring outbursts as the Leopards scored seven of their eight goals in two separate spans of 10:38 (in the first half) and 2:41 (in the second).
“We didn’t possess the ball and Lafayette definitely took advantage,” said Lehigh head coach Stacey Blue. “Sierra was solid in goal, making a respectable 18 saves to give us a chance.”
Lafayette made it 1-0 at 10:32 when Aimee Smith beat Segear far post. A flick shot from Haley Keenan made it 2-0 just 2:13 later, while a deflection got past Segear at the 17:06 mark for a three-goal margin.
The Leopards tacked on another before halftime for the 4-0 margin. Lehigh generated three-first half penalty corners and three shots, but were unable to find the back of the cage.
The teams played through a scoreless first 10 minutes of the second before Lafayette again used a scoring outburst to distance itself. This time, the Leopards scored three times in a 2:41 to end any hopes of a Mountain Hawk comeback.
Junior Kim Eng and freshman Steph Fratoni led the way with a pair of shots apiece while senior Abby Tilton, junior Brittany Johnson and freshman Natalie Tacka posted shots as well.
Lafayette led the final shot count, 39-7, and had the edge in penalty corners, 13-5. Segear finished with 18 saves, her 12th double-digit save performance of the season while Jessica Deutsch made four in 61:45 before Mara Kish didn’t make any in 8:15.
The Mountain Hawks finish the season with a 6-13 record, 3-2 in the league for the first time since 2007. That includes a win over Patriot League finalist Bucknell, who upset top-seeded American earlier Friday. Lehigh also won two major Patriot League Awards as Segear garnered Goalkeeper of the Year and Tilton earned Scholar-Athlete of the Year. After a tough start, the Mountain Hawks finished the season by winning four of their last seven games and five of their last 10 to gain momentum heading into the 2012 campaign.