The Brown & White

Freshman attacker Lauren Dykstra set the record for most goals scored by a freshman when the women's lacrosse team defeated Marist College 17-7 on Tuesday at the Ulrich Sports Complex.

Dykstra and junior attacker Sara MacIntyre led the Hawks with four goals each for the win.

When Dykstra scored her first goal, she moved past MacIntyre's record of 47 goals as a freshman. She now has 51 goals on the season.

Another big contributor to the Hawks' offense was freshman attacker Allison Thomas, who scored three goals in the victory. Anchoring the defense for the squad was sophomore goalie Kelsy Ferris, who made 10 saves for Lehigh.

The Hawks constantly attacked the net, attempting 23 shots in the first half and 11 in the second half.

Marist took only 22 shots in the game as Lehigh also prevailed defensively.

MacIntyre and junior midfielder Sarah Fudin each had five ground balls. Dykstra and senior midfielder Christy Smith each had three draw controls for the Hawks.

With their third straight win, the Hawks improved to 8-5 on the season, 3-1 in Patriot League play. Marist dropped to 5-6 on the season.

The Hawks started off strong, scoring 12 goals to the Red Foxes' three in the first half before coasting to the 17-7 win.

Dykstra scored one goal at the 1:19 mark, then quickly followed it up with another goal 11 seconds later.

Junior attacker Meagan Tenety said the upperclassmen know the younger players are talented, and it is their job to make sure the relatively new players feel like they belong on the field.

"I feel that we are trying not to coach them," Tenety said. "The girls get nervous and feel pressure, but they all have talent, and it's our job to make them comfortable. I pass it to them knowing that they can catch and score. They sometimes feel that they aren't allowed to make mistakes, but we have faith in them."

Tenety also said the team is starting to elevate its game as the regular season comes to a close.

"On the whole the season is going really well, we were doing strong in the beginning and slumped but we have really picked our game up," Tenety said. "We are going to continue to roll with the momentum [generated] from our last few games."

Smith said she really wants the team to achieve all it is capable of since this is her last year as a Hawk.

"Our goals are really high, we came in ranked second and we have the potential to take first in the league," she said. "But I'm trying to play to the best of my ability since sadly it is my last year."

Smith said the game against Marist was a good preparation for the Hawks' next opponent, Colgate University.

Colgate is currently 6-7 on the season, but 4-0 and in first place in the league. Lehigh is tied for second place in the league with American University.

The game is set to begin at noon in Hamilton, N.Y on Saturday.