Elizabethtown Release
 
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh women's soccer assistant coach Amy Hough has been named head coach at Elizabethtown College, as announced on Tuesday. Hough departs Lehigh after five strong seasons as the Mountain Hawks' top assistant.
 
"I am delighted for Amy and believe it is a well-deserved opportunity for her," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "While we will definitely miss her daily impact here at Lehigh, it became very apparent this was the next step in her development as a coach and educator. Elizabethtown is very fortunate to get one of the most passionate, highly organized, team-first and self-motivated coaches I've had the pleasure to work with in my career. I know firsthand her level of commitment and I am confident she will do great things with the women's program at Elizabethtown."
 
"I'd like to sincerely thank Eric, (Dean of Athletics) Joe (Sterrett), and everyone at Lehigh for the opportunity to spend the past five years developing as a person and coach in a truly remarkable setting with outstanding people," said Hough. "It was a very tough decision to leave Lehigh, but it's because of my time here that I feel highly prepared to take this next step in my coaching career. Eric has been a tremendous mentor, and friend, as I have pursued my dream of being a head coach at the collegiate level. I have grown tremendously in the time we've spent together building a program, and I am excited for this next step."
 
Hough came to Lehigh in February of 2011 and made an immediate impact on the Mountain Hawks' program. She has assisted in all aspects of the program, working with the team's goalkeepers and serving as the program's recruiting coordinator.
 
In 2011, the Mountain Hawks tied eventual league champion Army while beating Patriot League finalist Navy. The following season, Lehigh clawed its way back from a tough start to win its final three league contests and advance to the 2012 Patriot League Tournament.
 
Other highlights from Hough's tenure at Lehigh included a school-record six-game unbeaten streak to begin Patriot League play in 2014. Under Hough's tutelage, goalkeeper Ani Nahapetian finished the year with a 0.69 GAA and .860 save percentage as the Lehigh defense registered six shutouts. This past season, the Mountain Hawks were 3-1 against Philadelphia area schools, beating Temple, Saint Joseph's and Penn while dropping a slim final to Hough's alma mater, La Salle. The Mountain Hawks also tied MAAC Regular Season Champion Monmouth, who finished the regular season with a 13-2-2 overall record, while earning Patriot League victories over Loyola and archrival Lafayette.
 
"As a friend and colleague, I am extremely proud of Amy and excited to follow her and the team's success in the years to come," said Lambinus.
 
"I feel incredibly blessed to have been part of the women's soccer program and to have learned from someone that has an excellent track record of developing young women as soccer players, students, and people who compete fiercely on the field and have a huge impact on the world around them after college," said Hough.  
 
A national search is underway for Hough's replacement.
 
"It's not easy to leave a program that I have invested so much of my heart in and has fully invested in my development, especially at a time when so many awesome things are happening," said Hough. "However, we always talk to our student-athletes about growing comfortable being uncomfortable and it is important to be a role model of that development process as well. Lehigh has given me a lot of experience and opportunities that I certainly will use as I go on to lead the future of the women's soccer team at Elizabethtown College. I cannot wait to watch the success of Lehigh and the women's soccer program in the years to come as a lifelong Mountain Hawks fan."

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