BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh and Monmouth combined for 50 shots including 23 shots on goal, but when all was said and done, the teams finished in a 2-2 deadlock. The Mountain Hawks took a 1-0 lead into the 73rd minute before Monmouth responded with two goals in a 5:34 span. However, Lehigh junior Laura Courtney converted an impressive goal off a free kick in the 82nd minute to force overtime. Senior goalie Ani Nahapetian finished with a career-high 12 saves, including eight after halftime.
 
"I thought we had a really good first half where we knocked the ball around and played pretty well defensively," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "We were really solid; a lot of things that we did were strong. We carried it over a little bit in the second half, but I wasn't really pleased with the overall play in the second half. It wasn't the effort, the energy or the desire. I just think the play wasn't as good as we would have liked. Honestly, as a coaching staff, we have to do a little bit better preparing them at halftime to be ready for some of the adjustments that they make."

Monmouth fired the game's first shot in the seventh minute, but Lehigh responded with the next two shots, including the first shot on goal from sophomore Amanda Stratton in the tenth minute.
 
Lehigh had a flurry of quality opportunities in the 15th minute, beginning when freshman Clare Severe fired a shot from the left corner of the box, but Monmouth goalie Sydney Lavan was able to get a piece. Less than 20 seconds later, Severe had another good chance, which was stopped. The flurry continued just 36 seconds later when Mertz fired a shot which Lavan got a piece of to force a corner kick.
 
Following a back-and-forth middle stage of the first half, Mertz converted the game's first goal in the 34th minute. After corralling a loose ball near the end line, she fired a tough-angle shot which somehow found its way into the top left corner of the goal, making it 1-0 at 33:57.
 
Lehigh took a 1-0 lead into halftime, but Monmouth responded in the second, finishing the half with 14 shots to the Mountain Hawks' nine. Monmouth scored its first goal at 77:57 when Erica Murphy corralled a pass in the box, turned and fired a low shot just inside the right post to make it 1-1.
 
Just over five minutes later, Alexis McTamney took a throw-in, made a few dribbles and unleashed a high shot into the top left corner of the goal to make it 2-1 Monmouth at 77:57
 
Monmouth didn't lead for long as the Mountain Hawks answered just 3:54 later. Off a free kick from just outside the box, Courtney unleashed a perfectly-placed shot which caught the inside of the right post and went in to make it 2-2.
 
With just under three minutes remaining in regulation, Severe took a feed from Mertz and got off a shot, but it sailed wide. Monmouth had an opportunity as regulation came to a close, but the Mountain Hawks' defense came up with a blocked shot to force overtime.
 
The extra session featured opportunities for both sides. Just over two minutes into the extra session, Monmouth took a free kick from just outside the box, but Nahapetian moved to her right to make the chest-high save. In the 95th minute, senior Paige Elliott fired a shot from distance, forcing Lavan to make a strong save. Lehigh controlled possession for the beginning stages of the second overtime, but Monmouth responded towards the final minutes. In the 109th minute, a flurry forced a pair of saves, one team save (by Stratton, who cleared a ball which got behind Nahapetian). Nahapetian made her 12th stop of the evening on the rebound.
 
Final shots were 31-19 in favor of Monmouth while Monmouth held an 11-3 edge in corner kicks. Nahapetian's 12 saves came across Lavan, who finished with six. Nahapetian's save total is the most by a Lehigh goalkeeper since Ashley Blanks made 13 against Seton Hall to start the 2012 season.
 
Lehigh will return to action at home in less than 48 hours when the Mountain Hawks welcome Saint Joseph's at 1 p.m.
 
Like Lehigh Women's Soccer on Facebook and follow on Twitter for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Men's NCAA Tournament First Round Recap

Men's NCAA Tournament Round Two Preview

TeamRank Presented By TeamSnap - Boys