Lehigh University
Monmouth
Carlos leads Lehigh past Monmouth in overtime
9/20/2009 3:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer
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WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Senior Liz Carlos scored her second goal of the season just over a minute into the second overtime period to lead Lehigh to a 2-1 victory over Monmouth Sunday afternoon on the Great Lawn. The Mountain Hawks let an early 1-0 lead get away but Carlos was able to slide a pass from sophomore Ali MacLeod under Hawks goalkeeper Lia Fierro to give Lehigh its third straight road win and fourth win in its last five games. Lehigh improves to 5-2-1 on the season, while Monmouth falls to 4-3.
“It was a good way to end the weekend,” said Lehigh head coach Manny Oudin. “It was disappointing to lose the lead, but we showed some resiliency in the overtime to get a good result.”
Lehigh raced to an early lead when senior Natalie Hojnacki scored on a shot from 25 yards in the 21st minute. Junior Lena Cannon assisted on Hojnacki’s third goal of the season.
“In the first half we had good flow,” explained Oudin. “Over the course of the game we were able to limit them to a few good opportunities.”
The Mountain Hawks defense did well to limit Monmouth’s chances though the first 75-plus minutes, but the host Hawks capitalized on a long throw-in to tie the game in the 78th minute. Mary Wilks’ long throw found the foot of Kim Malecki who beat Lehigh junior Lauren Mains for her second goal of the season.
“We stayed organized defensively for most of the game,” said Oudin. “We knew they were dangerous on restarts. They scored on a long throw in and it really was the only legitimate opportunity we allowed.”
The contest remained 1-1 after 90 minutes, and the first overtime period saw Monmouth record the only shot. Early in the second overtime period MacLeod beat her defender on the flank and played the ball in to Carlos, who was open at the near post and slipped the ball under Fierro to give the Mountain Hawks the hard-earned road victory.
“It’s disappointing because we had a 1-0 lead and let it get away in the last 10-15 minutes,” said Oudin. “We struggled a little bit at the end of regulation, but we found some energy in the overtime and Liz was able to slip one under the keeper.”
Each team recorded nine shots on the afternoon, while Monmouth held a 6-0 edge in corner kicks. Mains made one save for Lehigh, while Fierro stopped three shots for Monmouth. Carlos led all players with five shots, while Courtney Snyder led the Hawks with four shots.
The Mountain Hawks will return to the pitch on Wednesday when they travel to Fairleigh Dickinson. Game time is set for 3 p.m. from Teaneck, N.J.
