Saturday, September 16
West Point, N.Y.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
5-2-1, 1-0-0PL
2
at
0
Army West Point
2-6-1, 0-1-0PL
1
2
F
Lehigh
1
1
2
Army West Point
0
0
0
Lehigh continues road success with 2-0 win at Army in Patriot League opener
9/16/2017 9:52:00 PM | Women's Soccer
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Freshman Ally Friedman opened the scoring with just two seconds until halftime, then junior Sabrina Mertz added insurance in the second, as the Lehigh women's soccer team opened Patriot League play with a 2-0 win at Army West Point on Saturday evening. Lehigh did not allow a shot on goal for the game's final 86:54 in a strong all-around effort. With their third straight win overall, the Mountain Hawks (5-2-1) improve to 4-1 on the road this season and 3-0-1 over their last four league openers dating back to 2014.
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"It was a pretty solid performance," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "To go on the road against Army, we knew we would get their best shot. The goal right before half was huge. I thought we had some good chances in the first half; to not score would have been disappointing, but to get one with a couple seconds left was big."
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Army tallied the game's first shot, at the 3:04 mark, but the Mountain Hawks didn't allow a shot for the next 37:23. In the mean time, Lehigh got its offense going, recording five shots, including shots on goal from Friedman and senior Adrian Vitello in the 35th and 37th minutes.
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The Mountain Hawks had three more shots on goal before the half was over. Army goalkeeper Sydney Cassalia stopped the first two, but couldn't stop Friedman's chance near the top of the box following a corner kick. Friedman's first-career goal came at the 44:58 mark to give Lehigh a 1-0 halftime advantage.
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Lehigh continued to pressure early in the second, which led to an insurance goal. Mertz corralled a loose ball following a cross from junior Clare Severe and buried her first goal of the season into the left side of the net, making the score 2-0 at the 62:45 mark. The Mountain Hawks have now scored multiple goals in three of their five road games this season.
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"I think we have a better understanding of how we want to play and how we want to attack," said Lambinus. "We're becoming more instinctive and aggressive. We're getting it deeper. It's good to get two goals on the road, but I think we might have even left a couple on the table."
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After Mertz's goal, the Mountain Hawks held Army to just three shots the rest of the way, two of which were blocked in the 69th minute and a shot that sailed wide in the 79th minute. In the end, Lehigh recorded its fourth shutout of the season and 16th since the beginning of the 2016 campaign (in 26 games).
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"Our back line and Sam (Miller) played really well," said Lambinus. "They were really organized. We pride ourselves on being good 1v1 defenders. The way we play, we will be put on an island once in a while. Our backs were tremendous. The way everyone works together (defenders, midfielders and forwards), teams will have to beat us a few times to break through."
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Final shots were 14-5 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 2-1 edge in corner kicks. Sophomore Sam Miller made one save across Cassalia, who tallied seven.
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The Mountain Hawks return to action on Monday when they head to UMBC to face the Retrievers. Opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Lehigh will return home next Saturday (Sept. 23) to host Boston University at 4 p.m.
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Like Lehigh Women's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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"It was a pretty solid performance," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "To go on the road against Army, we knew we would get their best shot. The goal right before half was huge. I thought we had some good chances in the first half; to not score would have been disappointing, but to get one with a couple seconds left was big."
Â
Army tallied the game's first shot, at the 3:04 mark, but the Mountain Hawks didn't allow a shot for the next 37:23. In the mean time, Lehigh got its offense going, recording five shots, including shots on goal from Friedman and senior Adrian Vitello in the 35th and 37th minutes.
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The Mountain Hawks had three more shots on goal before the half was over. Army goalkeeper Sydney Cassalia stopped the first two, but couldn't stop Friedman's chance near the top of the box following a corner kick. Friedman's first-career goal came at the 44:58 mark to give Lehigh a 1-0 halftime advantage.
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Lehigh continued to pressure early in the second, which led to an insurance goal. Mertz corralled a loose ball following a cross from junior Clare Severe and buried her first goal of the season into the left side of the net, making the score 2-0 at the 62:45 mark. The Mountain Hawks have now scored multiple goals in three of their five road games this season.
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"I think we have a better understanding of how we want to play and how we want to attack," said Lambinus. "We're becoming more instinctive and aggressive. We're getting it deeper. It's good to get two goals on the road, but I think we might have even left a couple on the table."
Â
After Mertz's goal, the Mountain Hawks held Army to just three shots the rest of the way, two of which were blocked in the 69th minute and a shot that sailed wide in the 79th minute. In the end, Lehigh recorded its fourth shutout of the season and 16th since the beginning of the 2016 campaign (in 26 games).
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"Our back line and Sam (Miller) played really well," said Lambinus. "They were really organized. We pride ourselves on being good 1v1 defenders. The way we play, we will be put on an island once in a while. Our backs were tremendous. The way everyone works together (defenders, midfielders and forwards), teams will have to beat us a few times to break through."
Â
Final shots were 14-5 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 2-1 edge in corner kicks. Sophomore Sam Miller made one save across Cassalia, who tallied seven.
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The Mountain Hawks return to action on Monday when they head to UMBC to face the Retrievers. Opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Lehigh will return home next Saturday (Sept. 23) to host Boston University at 4 p.m.
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Like Lehigh Women's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
ARMY
Goals
2
0
Shots
14
5
Shots on Goal
9
1
Saves
1
7
Corners
2
1
Fouls
7
5
Scoring Plays
Friedman, Ally
bounces out to 5 off corner
44:58
Mertz, Sabrina
Assisted By: Severe, Clare
deflected pass from right, shot left sid
62:45
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
SOG
4
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Women's SoccerM
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's SoccerM/D
/ Women's Soccer
D/M
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