The Bison women’s lacrosse team lost over the weekend on March 27 against the Mountain Hawks on Lehigh’s home turf in Bethlehem, Pa. with a final score of 20-7. Saturday’s defeat dropped the Bison’s overall record to 1-3 with an inner conference record of 1-2. This extends Lehigh’s win streak over the Bison women, as the Mountain Hawks haven’t lost to the opposing Bison in over a decade.

Lehigh seemed to be in control on both the offensive and defensive sides in both halves, outperforming the Bison in total shots, caused turnovers and ground balls. Mountain Hawk Senior Cecilly Redfern had a deep impact en route to Lehigh’s victory, totaling a hat trick coupled with two assists to her teammates. 

While the Bison trailed behind in most statistical categories, they outnumbered Lehigh in draw controls with a total of 16-13. Defender Ella Payer ’23 contributed to the fight with five draw controls which helped the Bison generate an offensive flow. Senior midfielders Mason Rode and Kali Peeples both put up eye raising state lines as well, as Rode recorded her first ever career hat trick while Peeples scored two goals in an attempt to revive the morale of the fighting Bison.

Additionally, freshman attacker Taylor Kopan added her first goal during the match for the Orange and Blue, a trend that she and her teammates look to continue this season and in years to come. “A huge highlight for the team this weekend was seeing Taylor Kopan score her first career goal! It sparked a ton of energy on the field and brought the team together to keep fighting as a unit. The Patriot League has been very up in the air this year which has created some exciting match-ups. We learned a lot this past weekend and I think the team is excited to get back to work and move forward,” Rode said.

This weekend, American University travels to Lewisburg to face the Blue and Orange.  “Being flexible on attack and cohesive on defense will be key for a win against American at home this next weekend,” Payer said. This will be one of the five Patriot League matches remaining in the regular season for the Bison.  “