Lehigh and Colgate finish in a 1-1 tie
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Sophomore Kayla Arestivo scored just 1:12 into the game, but Colgate responded at the 13:26 mark as Lehigh and Colgate played to a 1-1 tie on Wednesday evening. With the draw, the Mountain Hawks (5-2-4, 1-0-2 Patriot League) extend their unbeaten streak to six games. It also marks Lehigh's third straight tie, all coming in the last 10 days. In the process, the Mountain Hawks ended Colgate's four-game winning streak as well.
Lehigh controlled play for much of the game, holding a 16-7 edge in shots after halftime (and 23-14 advantage for the game), but Colgate goalkeeper Kelly Chiavaro finished with nine saves.
"We played really well. We're happy with everything except the result," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "We're happy with the way we played and we're happy with the way we dictated. I thought we put on a good performance. We held the ball, we created good chances, we got 11 shots on frame and a bunch of corner kicks. I thought we did well, but we are disappointed wiith the result."
It took Lehigh just 1:12 to get on the board as freshman Lisa Kestelboym made a steal near the end line and centered to Arestivo, who beat Chiavaro with a high shot to give Lehigh an early 1-0 advantage.
Over the ensuing minutes, the Mountain Hawks followed with two more shots, and a corner kick, but Ellis Miller scored on Colgate's second shot of the game, placing a free kick from distance perfectly under the cross bar to even the score in the 14th minute. In doing so, Lehigh sophomore goalkeeper Sam Miller's personal shutout streak ended at exactly 341 minutes.
Lehigh had a sparkling opportunity in the 33rd minute to retake a lead as sophomore Maggie Wadsworth's shot looked ticketed for the back of the net, but Colgate defender Syd Maxson was there to make the team save and prevent the goal.
The Mountain Hawks opened the second half with three shots and a corner kick in the first 2:34. In the 48th minute, junior Clare Severe fired a hard shot on goal from the left side, then junior Sabrina Mertz corralled the rebound near the top of the box, but her ensuing shot sailed just high.
Miller's best save of the night came in the 80th minute, stopping Colgate's Miller from tallying her second goal as Sam quickly slid to her side to make the save. Lehigh responded with one more glittering opportunity in the 88th minute, but senior Adrian Vitello hit the crossbar on a header off a corner kick.
Lehigh held a 5-2 edge in shots over the two overtime periods, but it wasn't enough. Six of the Mountain Hawks' first 11 games this season have now gone to overtime; Lehigh is 1-1-4 in those contests.
Along with a 23-14 edge in shots, Lehigh held a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks. Miller finished with three saves for the Mountain Hawks.
"The key is to take confidence out of the performance, not the result," said Lambinus. "We're disappointed, but we have to take confidence out of the performance and out of the way we played. This is the way we want to play. We've talked about being a tough team, a hard-working team and a purposeful team. We're just not putting the ball in the back of the net. It's not even like we're not creating good chances. We have to take the confidence with the performance, continue to work and know that it will come."
Lehigh wraps up a challenging week when it heads to Navy to face the Midshipmen. Opening kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
"It's a tough week, Navy is a good team, but I have full confidence that we're heading in a good direction and we'll put forth a good performance on Saturday," said Lambinus.
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