BETHLEHEM, Pa. - After three straight games away from home, the Lehigh women’s soccer team returns to the Ulrich Sports Complex on Friday when it welcomes Marist for a 7 p.m. showdown. The Mountain Hawks will then head to Stony Brook on Sunday for a 4:30 p.m. matchup with the Seawolves. Lehigh dropped a hard-fought 2-1 overtime final at Monmouth last Friday, picking up its first goal of the season, and some momentum heading into this weekend.

 

A live video of Friday night’s game will be available on Lehighsports.com.

 

This weekend’s opponents are both ranked in the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Women’s Northeast Poll, with Stony Brook ranked seventh and Marist eighth. They’ll mark Lehigh’s third and fourth regionally ranked opponents of the season already; Seton Hall and Providence are currently tied for 10th in the Northeast.

 

Junior Murphee Greeley’s goal early in the second half gave Lehigh a 1-0 lead over Monmouth last Friday, just 2:59 into the second half. Her initial shot was saved, but she put the rebound just inside the left post. That gave the Mountain Hawks a boost as they earned several strong scoring chances from that point forward. However, the home town tied the score less than 10 minutes later and won it in overtime to hand Lehigh a tough defeat.

Marist enters with a 5-2-0 record, defeating Wagner, NJIT, Fordham, Penn and Hofstra while falling to Colgate and UConn. Chelsea Botta leads the team with nine points (four goals, one assist) while Rycke Guiney has seven (three, one) and Samantha Panzer five (one, three). Jackie Frey has two goals, both game-winners. Meanwhile, a pair has seen action in goal, led by Andrea Wicks who’s started six games, posting a 1.50 GAA and .720 save percentage with a 4-2 record.

 

Lehigh is 9-1-1 all-time against Marist. The teams first met in 1995, a 2-1 Lehigh win. The Mountain Hawks didn’t drop a game in the all-time series until last season when the Red Foxes eeked out a 2-1 win.

 

Stony Brook, ranked a spot higher than Marist in the regional rankings, owns a 4-2-1 mark. After starting 0-1-1, the Seawolves won four in a row over Wagner, St. John’s, Army and Yale, before dropping a 2-0 final to #21 Rutgers last time out. The squad hosts Manhattan on Friday before welcoming Lehigh Sunday. Four players are tied for the team lead in points with four, led by two goals apiece from Raven Edwards, Sa’sha Kershaw and Priscilla Wiggins while Larissa Nysch has a goal and two assists. Ashley Castanio has played every minute in goal, owning a 1.10 GAA And .820 save percentage.

 

The Mountain Hawks are 3-9-0 all-time vs. Stony Brook, and haven’t met since 2006. The first matchup came in 1992, a 2-1 Lehigh win. The sides played every season through 1999, then again from 2003 through ’06. Lehigh has won two of the last three meetings against the Seawolves.

 

Following this weekend, Lehigh will return home for a pair against Atlantic 10 foes next Friday (Sept. 21) vs. Saint Joseph’s and Sunday against La Salle.

 

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