PRINCETON, N.J. - The Lehigh women's soccer team played neck-and-neck with a strong Princeton team, but couldn't get over the hump as the Tigers scored two second-half goals to down the Mountain Hawks 2-0 on Wednesday evening. After a scoreless first half, Princeton scored less than six minutes into the second half, on the way to victory. Senior goalkeeper Ani Nahapetian finished with seven saves for Lehigh, five coming in the second half.
 
"You have to give a lot of credit to Princeton," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "Their attack is very strong. It's one of the better attacks that we've seen all year and they're scoring a ton of goals. It doesn't surprise me that they put us under a lot of pressure. There were moments when I thought we played very well, but we still are having trouble putting together full 90 minutes, or even full 45-minute halves where we are consistently dangerous, consistently defending at a high level and putting in the work that we need to. It shows that we can be great and create some good chances, but there are too many lulls when we allow the other team to dictate the play."
 
The top-ranked team in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings, Princeton controlled play early in the first half, tallying the game's first shot in the second minute. The Mountain Hawks answered with the first shot on goal less than three minutes later as sophomore Adrian Vitello carried the ball through the midfield, connecting with freshman Sabrina Mertz who was charging towards goal. Mertz's low shot forced Tigers' goalkeeper Noelani Kong-Johnson to make the strong save to her right.
 
The Tigers had a good chance in the 15th minute when Beth Stella charged the net, but Nahapetian came out aggressively, forcing Stella's ensuing shot to go wide.
 
A few minutes later, Lehigh earned a quality opportunity as freshman Amanda Marques found Mertz on the right side, but her shot just missed sneaking inside the left post.
 
Princeton responded with several scoring chances, but the Mountain Hawks' defense stood tall. After hitting a crossbar in the 21st minute, Nahapetian made her second save of the first half in the 30th minute on a shot from distance.
 
There were no shots for either side over the first 8:47 of the first half as the game went into halftime scoreless.
 
The Tigers opened a 1-0 lead early in the second half as Natalie Larkin corralled a loose ball in the box and fired a shot just past a diving Nahapetian and inside the right post at the 51:03 mark.
 
Princeton continued to pressure, but couldn't extend its lead. Midway through the second half, the Mountain Hawks began to swing momentum in their direction. Lehigh had extended pressure, which included a long shot from freshman Clare Severe, which was stopped by Kong-Johnson.
 
The Tigers began to swing momentum back in their favor, forcing Nahapetian to make saves in the 78th and 79th minutes. Princeton was able to beat the senior keeper at the 85:08 mark as a succession of passes led to a shot which found the top left corner of the goal.
 
Final shots were 19-6 in favor of the Tigers while Princeton held a 5-2 edge in corner kicks. Nahapetian made seven saves while Kong-Johnson finished with three.
 
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Saturday when they travel to Boston University for a big Patriot League matchup against the Terriers. Opening kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
 
"The intensity of the game is the same way it will be Saturday," said Lambinus. "It's great to have this type of intensity midweek so we know that when what to expect against BU. We shouldn't be surprised. If we can play for longer periods of time the way we played at times tonight, I think we can compete. That's what we want to do."

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