Lehigh University
Cornell
Lehigh rolls past Cornell 4-1 in home opener
9/11/2009 8:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh opened its home schedule with its biggest offensive output in six years, as the Mountain Hawks downed Cornell 4-1 on a wet, windy Friday at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Junior Glynn Fitzer broke a 1-1 tie with a goal in the 39th minute and Lehigh added two more scores to cap its second straight victory. Lehigh moves to 3-1-1 with the win while Cornell falls to 0-2-1.
“This was a great way to open up our home schedule,” said Lehigh head coach Manny Oudin. “One of the things we talked about was making sure we play well at home and tonight we certainly got off to the right start.”
The Mountain Hawks controlled the flow of play for most of the night, out-shooting the Big Red 17-8 and holding a 19-8 edge in corner kicks.
The host Mountain Hawks raced in front in the 19th minute following a series of three consecutive corners. Senior Liz Carlos played the ball in short to sophomore Leah Kulp, who fired a long shot from outside the box that beat Kelly Murphy. The goal was the first of the season for Kulp, who came up from her right back position to score.
Cornell pulled even 13 minutes later capitalizing on a corner of its own. Sidra Bonner headed home Xandra Hompe’s corner kick for her second goal of the season.
Lehigh pulled back ahead in the 39th minute on a perfect through ball from Carlos to Fitzer, who then dribbled around Murphy and calmly slid the ball home for her second goal of the season to give the Mountain Hawks a 2-1 lead at the break. Carlos picked up her second assist of the night and team-leading third of the season.
“Liz did a nice job finding gaps in the defense, finding some seams,” explained Oudin. “I told her we’d also like to see her continue to be more aggressive out there, and to try to create more shots for herself.
Oudin continued, “Overall we had good flow out there. We were able to create a lot of opportunities. It was nice to get that second goal right before halftime to put us in front.”
Nine minutes into the second half the Mountain Hawks added to their lead when junior Lena Cannon fired a shot from the top of the box that rolled past the outstretched arms of Murphy for her first goal of the season.
Freshman Izzy Li capped the scoring in the 78th minute with her first career tally, as she banged home a rebound after Fitzer’s shot was initially stopped.
Fitzer led all players with seven shots including three on goal. Junior Lauren Mains made four saves in goal for Lehigh, while Murphy stopped six shots for the Big Red.
The Mountain Hawks will be back in action on Sunday when they return to the road to face Quinnipiac. Gametime is set for 2 p.m. from Hamden, Conn.
Lehigh - Cornell Post-Game Extra
