BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Long Island University field hockey team defeated Lehigh University, 2-1 on Sunday afternoon for its second straight win. Freshman midfielder Alexis Ruiz scored her first career goal, and junior forward Sammy Bell scored the go-ahead goal early in the fourth quarter.
 
Offensively, the Sharks outshot the Mountain Hawks 14-12, with 10 shots on target. Bell lead the way with seven shots, five of them on goal. Sophomore forward Emma Braeckmans had three shots, freshman forward Felicia King finished with two shots while freshman Kaitlyn Olton and Ruiz each had a shot in the game. Freshman defender Jonna Klein-Holte finished with an assist.
 
In goal, Rachel Vellis earned her second win in as many games, and third of the season. The junior made five saves, while only allowing one goal. The defense successfully killed off all four penalty corners Lehigh had in the game.   
 
The Sharks started out strong taking two shots on goal, both of which were saved by the Mountain Hawks goalkeeper. The Lehigh offense challenged Vellis early with back-to-back shots, that were both saved, followed by two corners where the first shot was blocked and the second shot was saved. Bell took a shot that was saved by the goalkeeper, but Ruiz was able to tap the ball into the back of the net to get the Sharks on the board.
 
King had two shots in the second quarter, the first one was blocked and the second was saved. The Mountain Hawks took two shots throughout the second, but both missed wide, keeping the Sharks' lead at 1-0 going into halftime.
 
In the third quarter, Lehigh had one shot that missed wide. Bell had two back-to-back shots, one that was saved by the goalkeeper and one that was defensively saved by Sophia Hartman.
 
The Mountain Hawks had two offensive penalty corners to open the fourth period, but Vellis stood tall in goal, making saves on both shots Lehigh took. Braeckmans and Olton each had a shot, both of which were saved by the goalkeeper. The Sharks' only offensive penalty corner came in the 49^th minute where Bell was able to find the back of the net off the pass from Klein-Holte and extend the lead to 2-0. The Lehigh offense scored in the 58^th minute, but time would expire a minute later, sealing the Sharks' second win in a row.  
 
LIU will kick off Northeast Conference play on Friday, October 11 when the Sharks host Wagner College at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium. Prior to the 3:00 p.m. start, the Sharks will honor their three seniors as part of senior day.