BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A 2-1 win over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks has the Explorers sitting at 5-0 to begin the 2024 season. This record marks the best start ever for an La Salle field hockey program.
 
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HOW IT HAPPENED:

•  Coming out of the gate the Mountain Hawks provided consistent offensive pressure on the La Salle Defense, getting off two shots in the first two minutes.
• Abby Boggs, making her fifth start this season in net, faced these shots and came out of them with two saves to keep the game scoreless.
• La Salle settled in, and then began to fire back. The second half of the quarter was dictated by the Explorer offense as they totaled five shots.
• With the clock expiring, Gabrielle LaCroix was able to break the scoreless tie on a play in the inner circle. The Lehigh goalie over-committed to LaCroix's possession, who then put the ball passed her and into the cage.
• To begin the second frame, La Salle had a third attempt at a penalty corner. The corner resulted in a shot by Matilda Diedrichsen, that flew wide of the cage.
• The majority of the quarter was played in the middle portion of the field, as neither team was able to get off a shot beyond the early one by La Salle.
• Both teams went back and forth on offense in the beginning stages of the third, but La Salle's Rumbi Zimuto was able to double the Explorers' lead.
• The freshman, assisted by Malena Balduzzi, found the back of the cage from the top of the half circle for her first collegiate goal to give La Salle a 2-0 lead.
• La Salle had continued pressure in the remainder of the third, but had no goals to show for it, as the defense held Lehigh scoreless through three.
• Within the first two minutes of the final frame, La Salle was tested. Lehigh presented four penalty corner attempts to the Explorer defense and Boggs. Through the four corners and three shots, the Mountain Hawks still did not find the back of the cage.
• Lehigh, however, would not go away. With just over seven minutes remaining in regulation they connected to cut the lead in half. Julia Gatelein got the ball passed Boggs for their first goal of the contest.
• From that point, the urgency from the Lehigh offense was apparent. They fired five more shots and three more penalty corners at La Salle, but they held strong to secure the win.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The Explorers sit at 5-0 in 2024, the best start to a season in program history.
• Gabrielle LaCroix scored her second goal of the season today, her second goal of her collegiate career. LaCroix now sits tied with three others atop the leaderboard in goals for La Salle.
• Rumbi Zimuto added her first goal of her collegiate career, ultimately being the difference in the content.
• La Salle tallied six corner attempts, opposite the Lehigh nine.
• Abby Boggs had a career game against Lehigh today. The sophomore recorded eight saves and faced 17 shots, both career-highs.
• Seven of the 13 shots by La Salle were on goal.
• The Michael Warari era at La Salle has yet to see a loss as the first-year head coach goes into the contest against Villanova undefeated.