The Brown & White

After a 9-8 loss to American University, the women's lacrosse team heads to Connecticut to face Fairfield University.

The Hawks are 5-3 on the season and have defeated Fairfield in every contest in the last three seasons.

Head Coach Liz Ota said Fairfield has always had a competitive program.

"The past two years had a one goal difference game," Ota said. "It will be a very tough game."

Senior co-captain and defender Seana Smith said Fairfield and Lehigh are closely matched.

"It's a really competitive game every year," Smith said. "Their old coach used to go to Lehigh."

Smith said the Hawks realize Fairfield might be a slightly different team than the one they have played in the past.

"It should be a really competitive game," Smith said. "They have gotten a lot better. They should be really competitive and a hard team."

A key player this season for the Hawks is freshman attacker Lauren Dykstra, who was named the Patriot League rookie of the week for three consecutive weeks.

Dykstra leads the team in goals scored with 30 as of March 16.

Ota said Dykstra has earned her slot as a starting player for every game this season.

"[Dykstra] has been amazing this year," Ota said.

The Hawks will also look to sophomore attacker Inneke Carmola and junior attacker Sara MacIntyre for offensive power, senior captain and midfielder Christy Smith said.

Carmola has 18 goals and 10 assists on the season. MacIntyre has 19 goals and one assist.

"We're lucky to have those three girls," Christy Smith said. "They have offensive strength."

Other players that have contributed a substantial number of goals are junior attacker Meagan Tenety and freshman attacker Allison Thomas.

Tenety has racked up 12 goals and 14 assists so far this season. Thomas has 10 goals and two assists.

Christy Smith said even though Fairfield is not a Patriot League opponent for Lehigh, the team still gets excited to play them.

"We get most excited for our league games," she said. "But we do get excited for almost every game we play."

She said Lehigh will not be intimidated by any opposing team.

"Fairfield is a great program and we beat them last year," she said. "We like to show that we are a competitive program every time we play a game."

Ota said the team will use their game against American University on March 16 as training for the Fairfield game.

The Hawks lost to American 9-8.

She said the team will look at film from the game against American and go over problems that occurred in that game to help them raise their level of play.

Christy Smith said the team is optimistic about Wednesday's game.

"We're off to a really good start and everyone is very optimistic about the game," she said.

She said the team understands the level of effort the game will demand, and this motivates the players to work hard in practice.

Ota said the team's style of play is a reflection of what they have focused on in practice.

"In a practice prior to a game we focus on other team's strengths and weaknesses," Ota said.

Ota said Lehigh's defensive players were all on the team last season and play as a unified defensive force.

Ota said the Hawks have the potential to achieve their goals.

"We have the ingredients to be successful, we've just got to make it happen," Ota said.

Ota said the team is feeling good as they go into the second half of their season.

"No coach has a crystal ball," Ota said. "I can only ask for my team to play at their highest level."

Dykstra and MacIntyre lead the squad in goals scored with 49 between the two of them. MacIntyre scored her 100th career goal against Lafayette College on March 9. The Hawks bested the Leopards 22-10.

Fairfield's team is led by freshman midfielder Kristin Coleman and sophomore attacker Erin Rigby in goals netted.

Coleman has 16 goals and four assists so far this season. Rigby has 10 goals 6 assists.

The Hawks travel to Fairfield Wednesday to face the Stags. The game will take place at Lessing Field at 4 p.m.