Sept. 19, 2005

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Following a week in which she recorded 32 saves in three games, including a career-high of 18 on Sunday at Brown, senior tri-captain Meghan Gove has been named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week as announced by the league on Monday. Gove helped the Mountain Hawks to two victories last week, and posted double digit saves in two of the three contests along the way. For the season Gove has totaled 81 saves with a 2.56 goals against average and a shut out in the game versus Brown.

Gove has been the Mountain Hawks goal keeper for every single second of the season this year, and has established career highs in saves on two occasions, including 15 versus Cornell on September 2 and again at Brown with those 18. Head coach Julie Mazer expressed her thoughts on the award. "I am very pleased with Meghan receiving this honor. Along with the entire defensive unit, she was outstanding in our game at Brown, and has really kept us in every single game this season." Mazer continues, "She gives us a chance to win each time we step out there, and is well deserving of this award."

Gove and the Mountain Hawks have won three of their past four games, and will return to action on Wednesday evening, when they welcome Villanova to the Ulrich Sports Complex. The game will be the first at home for Lehigh since September 2 versus Cornell. The Wildcats are fresh off of a 4-3 upset of No. 11 Connecticut on Saturday afternoon in Storrs, Conn. and are currently 6-1 on the season. They figure to be ranked in the STX/NFHCA National Poll when it is released on Tuesday, after this most recent victory. Mazer views Wednesday's matchup as a tremendous opportunity. "We don't have anything to lose in playing Villanova. They have begun the season very strong and present one of the toughest challenges we'll see this season."

Mazer continues, "We just have to continue improving, working on the little things, the fundamentals, and focus on playing together. It will be nice to be at home again and we're going to have to be focused for the entire 70 minutes."

Wednesday's game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 from the Ulrich Sports Complex. The game will be broadcast live on lehighsports.com with streaming video and audio provided by Yahoo! Sports. The contest will be replayed locally on Service Electric 2 Sports later that evening at 10:00 and again on Fox College Sports (FCS) on September 24 beginning at 7:00.