EASTON, Pa. - Senior Tori Pantaleo's ninth-minute goal was all the Lehigh women's soccer team would need as the Mountain Hawks pitched their fourth shutout of the season in a 1-0 win at archrival Lafayette on Wednesday evening. With the win, the Mountain Hawks improve to 9-4-3 overall and 3-3-1 in Patriot League play, moving into sole possession of fourth place in the league standings with two regular season games remaining.
 
With the win, Lehigh Athletics improved to 6-0 this school year against Lafayette.
 
"There's a lot of pressure when all the other teams have beaten Lafayette, so there's a little bit of pressure to sustain that momentum," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "This game has a little bit of a double meaning. We had the rivalry, which means a lot to our alumni and the players who have played for Lehigh women's soccer, but it was also a big game in the Patriot League standings."

Pantaleo broke the ice at the 8:10 mark as freshman Annika Jansa passed ahead to Pantaleo in the box, who finished with a perfect shot into the top-left corner of the net for her team-high sixth goal of the season.
 
The Mountain Hawks took the momentum into several additional first-half opportunities as Lehigh posted an 11-3 edge in shots over the first 45 minutes. Late in the stanza, freshman Kayla Arestivo had a strong chance from in close, but Lafayette goalkeeper Danielle Sedillo made the save. Junior Lexi Chang's shot off the rebound was blocked away by the Leopards' defense, keeping Lehigh's lead at one heading into halftime.
 
Lafayette controlled play early in the second half, recording the first five shots, three of which were saved by freshman goalkeeper Sam Miller. Miller's fourth save of the half came in the 60th minute as she stopped Kaelin King's hard shot.
 
The Mountain Hawks began to create opportunities later in the half, looking for an insurance tally. In the 70th minute, freshman Sidonie Warnecker was stationed well outside the box and fired a shot towards goal, forcing new Lafayette goalkeeper Kelly O'Brien to punch the ball over the crossbar.
 
In the 78th minute, freshman Maggie Wadsowrth hit the crossbar, then less than a minute later, hit the post following a corner kick. From there, Lehigh's defense stood tall to preserve the victory as the Mountain Hawks didn't allow a shot for the game's final 15:51.
 
"We want to do what we do well, which is be a really good defensive team," said Lambinus. "Once we were able to get control of the ball and hold it for a couple passes, I thought we played a lot better. We can take a lot out of this game. We're happy we got the win."
 
Final shots were 20-11 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 4-1 edge in corner kicks. Miller finished with five saves for her 11th shutout of the season while a pair of Lafayette goalkeepers tallied seven.
 
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Saturday when they head to Bucknell to face the Bison. Opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
"We have a couple games left, and we want to see if we can continue to improve, continue to get better in certain areas and see how we do against Bucknell," said Lambinus.
 
Like Lehigh Women's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.

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