After heartbreak lingered in players’ minds throughout the offseason, the Lehigh women’s soccer team will have another chance at a title when the Mountain Hawks travel to Colgate University for the Patriot League quarterfinals on Tuesday.
The No. 6 seed, rival Lafayette College, upset Lehigh 1-0 in double overtime during last year’s quarterfinal game at home. Despite the initial devastation, coach Eric Lambinus and his squad are ready to make another run in this year’s tournament.
“We’ve learned from it,” Lambinus said. “I think we’re better prepared for the different level that a playoff game becomes. The key is to understand that the game is going to be at a different level of intensity. There’s going to be a different level of physicality and speed to it, but the team that can execute the best is going to be the team that wins.”
Junior midfielder Sabrina Mertz, who leads the league in shots on goal with 47, is also optimistic about building on the team’s prior loss in the quarterfinals.
“Last year, it was the first time for any of us playing in a playoff atmosphere, so this year it’s awesome because we already have that under our belt,” Mertz said. “That experience factor helps us worry less about the atmosphere, so now we can really focus on the game itself.”
The Mountain Hawks’ offense is anchored by sophomore midfielders Annika Jansa with 12 points so far this season, Maggie Wadsworth with 11 and Kayla Arestivo with six. The trio brings a cohesive dynamic to the field, which drives the scoring.
“The thing that’s unique about our class is that we all have different styles of play,” Wadsworth said. “It helps to unify us. We play off of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We balance each other really well.”
The class of sophomores lost Sidonie Warnecker to an ACL injury. Warnecker finished last year’s season as the second leading scorer on the team with five points — four goals and one assist.
Mertz said the offense’s unpredictability and abundance of scoring options has been a key to its attack this season.
“Our team prides ourselves on the fact that anyone can score,” Mertz said. “This makes us a dangerous team because our goals are scattered all around on the board. It’s hard to defend.”
Mertz said the team gets a better handle on matches during the second half, which is why the Mountain Hawks are able to score more as games continue. She added that the team is a solid defensive team and doesn’t make many mistakes.
The diversity and depth of the team brings a useful element that the Mountain Hawks will need to take advantage of during the tournament.
“I think we have a good mix in all of our classes,” Lambinus said. “Each one brings a unique perspective, and when we’re able to mesh them all together, we’re at our best.”
Lehigh sits at an overall record of 9-4-4 with a conference record of 5-2-2.
Lambinus credits the team’s out-of-league schedule as a source of preparation going into the playoffs. The Mountain Hawks posted wins against the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Villanova University and St. John’s University throughout the start of the season. All out-of-league games were played consecutively and concluded before Patriot League play began.
“I think (the team’s schedule) built our fitness, grit and toughness,” Lambinus said. “Those competitive games showed us how to win some games and how to learn from the tough losses. The timing of the schedule helped us more than anything.”
As the team grew throughout the season, Wadsworth and Mertz became more confident in their team’s play going into the tournament.
Wadsworth said the team started playing with more chemistry and confidence toward the end of the season, giving the Mountain Hawks more momentum going into the tournament.
“Having the opportunity to get back to the Patriot League Tournament is awesome, but obviously you look forward to the last (championship) game, and that’s where you want to be,” Mertz said. “It’s important to take one game at a time now because you can’t look too far ahead. We have to play in the moment.”
Mertz said a tournament game on the road will present a challenge to the team, but the Mountain Hawks are up for the task.
Comment policy
Comments posted to The Brown and White website are reviewed by a moderator before being approved. Incendiary speech or harassing language, including comments targeted at individuals, may be deemed unacceptable and not published. Spam and other soliciting will also be declined.
The Brown and White also reserves the right to not publish entirely anonymous comments.