Lehigh set for big matchup at Colgate

October 22, 2019

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After jumping four positions in the Patriot League standings following Saturday's 1-0 win over Holy Cross, the Lehigh women's soccer team looks to continue its postseason push on Wednesday when it travels to Colgate for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Raiders. Fans can watch live on the Patriot League Network. Wednesday will mark a rematch of last season's Patriot League Semifinal, which saw the Mountain Hawks pick up a thrilling 2-1 victory behind a Sabrina Mertz goal in the final minute of regulation.
 
Lehigh is coming off its third straight home victory, topping the previously undefeated (in league play) Crusaders and snapping Holy Cross' 10-game overall unbeaten streak. Before Saturday, the Crusaders hadn't lost since late August. Senior Maggie Wadsworth scored the game's only goal in the sixth minute, which went on to be named the No. 3 Play of the Week by the Patriot League across all sports.
 
Junior Miranda Royds made five saves for her seventh shutout of the season, none bigger than an 86th minute stop, punching the ball off the crossbar to keep the Mountain Hawks in front. Lehigh entered Saturday in eighth place in the standings, but at the end of the day, the team jumped to a tie with Bucknell for fourth (and would own the tiebreaker due to the head-to-head victory). The Mountain Hawks are only two points behind Loyola and Army West Point in second and four behind Navy in first, but also just two points ahead of Holy Cross and Boston University in seventh (which would be out of the Patriot League Tournament).
 
Predicted No. 2 in the preseason poll, Colgate has struggled so far this season, owning a 3-8-3 record and 1-3-2 Patriot League mark. Despite struggles, the Raiders are just three points behind the sixth seed (and a Patriot League Tournament spot) with three games remaining. Colgate is coming off a big 1-0 win at Boston University Saturday as Leah Lewis scored the game's only goal in the 63rd minute. The Raiders also beat Cornell by the same 1-0 final four days prior. Colgate's ties in the league came at American (2-2) and Holy Cross (0-0). The Raiders are actually 3-3-2 on the road this season and 0-3-1 at home. On the flip side, the Mountain Hawks haven't won away from home this season (but do have three ties).
 
Five players have four or five points to lead the Colgate offense, led by Ruby Diodati (one goal, three assists) and Lewis (two goals, one assist) with five points apiece. Kelly Chiavaro has started 12-of-14 games in goal, tallying a 1.48 goals against average and 73.4 save percentage.
 
Colgate leads the all-time series with Lehigh, 20-8-3. Last season's Patriot League Semifinal victory marked the Mountain Hawks' first win vs. the Raiders since 2012. Lehigh did have two ties between those victories. The Mountain Hawks played a close contest in the regular season at Colgate last season, falling 1-0 behind an 83rd minute goal.
 
Following Wednesday's game, the Mountain Hawks travel to Army on Saturday to face the Black Knights, a team that's currently tied for second in the standings just two points ahead of Lehigh. Opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
Like Lehigh Women's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.

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