Dykstra Leads Lehigh Over Marist
from press release
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Lehigh
women’s lacrosse team opened the 2011 season in style on
Saturday, topping defending MAAC Champion and NCAA Tournament
qualifier Marist, 13-8, on Saturday afternoon. A total team effort
was led by senior Lauren Dykstra, who netted five goals, three
coming in the second half to help the Mountain Hawks gain
separation.
Saturday marked Dykstra’s 15th career game with five or more
goals. She was strong on both ends of the field, also posting four
caused turnovers and scooping a ground ball. She finished a perfect
3-for-3 on free position opportunities.
“I thought for a first game, our first time out there, we
played extremely well,” said head coach Jill Redfern.
“We fought hard. All in all, we’re very happy with our
effort.”
Lehigh jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead before Marist responded with
four of the final six goals of the first half to cut the lead to
7-5 after 30 minutes. But the Mountain Hawks bounced back with four
of the first five goals in the second to erase any doubt.
Sophomore Megan Kelly impressed with her fourth-career hat trick,
this coming on only four shots. Junior Kelly Draper was stellar
with four points via two goals and two assists. Draper and senior
Allison Thomas tied for the game-high with four ground balls apiece
while freshmen Taylor Cummins and Gwen Gummersall and sophomore
Julie McBrien finished with three. Junior Lauren Murray was a force
on draw controls, recording four on the afternoon to tie a career
high.
Freshman goalie Alexandra Fitzpatrick made five saves in her
collegiate debut. In front of her was junior Anna Pierce, who was
stellar on close defense. She shut down reigning MAAC Offensive
Player of the Year Kelly Condon, holding her to only a single
assist. McBrien shut down one of Marist’s top attackers in
the second half, holding Ariel Kramer scoreless after she netted
three in the first stanza.
“Getting the first win is huge,” said Redfern.
“Balanced scoring and contributions from all over the field
was something we were looking for today.”
Lehigh got off to the fast start when Dykstra converted her first
free position shot of the afternoon at 25:16. McBrien made it 2-0
just over five minutes later. Then, after a Marist goal, Dykstra
recorded her second to give the Mountain Hawks a 3-1 advantage at
18:01.
The run continued as Thomas and Kelly each found the back of the
cage to make it 5-1 at 12:57, but Marist responded with two
straight and four of the last six in the first half (all in a span
of 6:34), to pull within 7-5 at the break.
Any doubt was erased in the second when the Mountain Hawks came
right back with two straight of their own. After more than eight
minutes without a score, freshman Chelsea Retaleato recorded her
first-career goal at 21:41 off an assist from Draper. Dykstra added
her hat trick goal only 1:32 later to make it 9-5 Lehigh.
The Red Foxes made it 9-6 following a Jamie Romano goal, but that
was the closest they would come. The teams went back and forth from
that point forward with the Mountain Hawks opening a five-goal
cushion before Marist pulled within four on three occasions.
Dykstra capped off the victory with her fifth goal, an unassisted
tally, good for the 13-8 final.
Lehigh held the final shot edge, 29-21, while leading in ground
balls as well, 25-11. The Mountain Hawks were an impressive
11-of-13 on clear attempts while turning the ball over only 11
times. Marist held a slight 13-10 edge in draw controls.
The Mountain Hawks return home for their first home game of the
season, against Delaware on Feb. 26. Gametime is set for 1 p.m. at
the Ulrich Sports Complex.
