BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Despite struggling through the first eight games of Patriot League play, the Lehigh women's soccer team's goals are still very much achievable heading into the regular season finale at Holy Cross Friday evening. Opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m. With a win on Friday, Lehigh would keep itself alive for a Patriot League Tournament berth heading into Saturday's out-of-town games.
 
There are two ways the Mountain Hawks could qualify for the Patriot League Tournament. They need to win at Holy Cross and have Loyola lose or tie at Lafayette OR American tie at Army. If Lehigh wins and either one of those things happen, the Mountain Hawks would reach their third straight postseason. If both happen, Lehigh could still finish as high as the No. 5 seed. The top six teams advance to the Patriot League Tournament.
 
The Mountain Hawks are coming off a back-and-forth shootout at Loyola Saturday night, eventually falling 4-3. Loyola scored first, but Lehigh answered with two straight, from senior Sabrina Mertz and junior Kayla Arestivo. American responded with three in a row, but freshman Rebecca Van Siclen pulled the Mountain Hawks within 4-3, which proved to be the final. It marked Lehigh's second straight Saturday that its offense break out. The previous Saturday, Lehigh beat Lafayette 4-1 for its most goals ever scored against the Leopards in program history.
 
Holy Cross stands 5-11 on the season, 3-5 in league play. Most recently, the Crusaders snapped a three-game losing streak with a 1-0 double overtime victory at Army West Point. The Crusaders' other league wins came against Loyola (1-0) and at Lafayette (2-0). Ang Seslija, who scored the double-overtime game-winner against the Black Knights, leads the team in points with nine (two goals, team-leading five assists). Carly Flahive owns eight points via a team-leading four goals while two others have four points apiece. Sophia Lettieri has played every minute in goal, tallying a 1.47 goals against average and 0.769 save percentage.
 
The Mountain Hawks have won two straight against Holy Cross and are 5-1-1 over the last seven meetings to pull within 13-11-2 in the all-time series. Last season, Lehigh earned a 3-0 victory while two years ago, the Mountain Hawks picked up a 1-0 win behind Sidonie Warnecker goal.
 
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