Monmouth's 81st Minute Goal Downs Mountain Hawks in Season Opener

Friday, August 20

West Long Branch, N.J.

7 p.m.

Lehigh University

0-1-0, 0-0-0

Monmouth

1-0-0, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Lehigh	0	0	0
Monmouth	0	1	1

Photo by: Monmouth Athletics

Monmouth's 81st Minute Goal Downs Mountain Hawks in Season Opener

8/20/2021 10:04:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – In a back-and-forth match, Monmouth scored the game's only goal in the 81st minute to defeat the Lehigh women's soccer team, 1-0 on Friday evening. The goal was the first for Monmouth against the Mountain Hawks since 2015 (spanning 530:35 of game action in the all-time series). Lehigh nearly pulled even, posting three shots and two corner kicks in the final 1:24, but Monmouth's defense held strong.

"You could tell it was a first game for both teams," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "It was sporadic. It was a game with spurts. Monmouth had spurts where they were really dangerous and we had a lot of spurts, and there wasn't a whole lot of consistency to either team, but definitely with us. We had some really good moments, but couldn't sustain the quality we needed to pull out a win.

"We went down a goal, had a lull, but responded with a spurt at the very end to give ourselves a chance. Their goalie came up big."

Monmouth tallied the game's first five shots, including one on goal in the 11th minute, which freshman Abby Trainor stopped for her first-career save.

Abby Trainor with her first-career save! Mountain Hawks and Monmouth are scoreless early on.

Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/mB1tkdd3Qx pic.twitter.com/tkUbdVTag2
— Lehigh W. Soccer (@LehighWSoccer) August 20, 2021

Starting in the 30th minute, the Mountain Hawks fired three shots (all on goal) in the span of 2:12. Two were off the foot of sophomore Ava Schaller and one off the foot of Wendie Fisher, all coming from dangerous locations in the box.

"One thing I really liked is when we made substitutions, they came in and really changed the momentum of the game," said Lambinus. "We got a couple chances right when they stepped on the field, and they did the same thing in the second half. We had a couple sparks, which is something we can utilize. I do think right now we're pretty deep. We like our game changers off the bench."

In the 43rd minute, Monmouth hit the far post, then Lehigh answered with a chance of its own. A crisp sequence of passes ended with a Corinne Lyght shot on goal that was saved by Monmouth goalkeeper Rebecca Winslow. Monmouth held an 8-4 edge in first-half shots, but Lehigh had a 4-1 advantage in shots on goal.

What a great chance in the final minute of the first half off the foot of Corinne Lyght, but the Monmouth keeper makes the stop. Lehigh was outshot 8-4 in the first half, but held a 4-1 edge in shots on goal.

Watch the second half on ESPN+ https://t.co/mB1tkdd3Qx pic.twitter.com/yu0x8x5vfg
— Lehigh W. Soccer (@LehighWSoccer) August 20, 2021

Like it did in the first half, Monmouth began the second half with the first four shots and six of the first seven. That stretch featured sophomore Violette Bonvalett's first two career saves as she, like Trainor, was also making her collegiate debut.

Lehigh responded with four straight shots, but none were on goal. Then Monmouth's first shot in 13:02 found the back of the net, as Lauren Karabin struck a perfectly-placed shot off a free kick to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

Monmouth controlled the ensuing minutes, which included Bonvallet's second highlight-reel save of the game to keep the margin at one. The Mountain Hawks almost capitalized, as they had a late flurry that fell just short.

Mountain Hawks SO close to tying this one up in the final minute.

Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/mB1tkdd3Qx pic.twitter.com/USYamFVYNi
— Lehigh W. Soccer (@LehighWSoccer) August 21, 2021

Monmouth finished with a 17-12 edge in shots and 5-2 advantage in corner kicks. Final shots on goal were even at five. Trainor made one save in the first half before Bonvallet tallied three in the second. Lehigh's loss to Monmouth was its first since 2013, as the Mountain Hawks were 1-0-4 over the previous five meetings.

"We were happy with the goalkeeping," said Lambinus. "Both players were solid and did some really good things. They're both playing pretty well, so that's why we played them both and got a chance to see what we have with both of them. We're confident both can be successful with our team. We're happy, especially with it being a new position to fill (following the graduation of Miranda Royds)."

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The Mountain Hawks return to action next Thursday when they travel to Drexel to face the Dragons. Opening kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

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