Box Score 

HAMILTON, N.Y. - Colgate opened the scoring, the Lehigh women's soccer team scored the next two goals, but the Raiders used a late rally to earn a 3-2 overtime win on Saturday evening. The Mountain Hawks took a 2-1 lead with less than five minutes remaining, but Colgate pulled even just 37 seconds later then scored the game-winner just 1:43 into overtime to hand the Mountain Hawks their first loss of the season.
 
"I was proud of the way we responded after giving up the goal in the first half," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "It shows our character and our ability to compete, but it's completely unacceptable to score a goal with less than five minutes left to take a lead then give it right back up. We didn't respond well; we celebrated like we won the game, but the game wasn't over yet."
 
The loss snaps Lehigh's school-record eight-game unbeaten streak and its seven-game winning streak, which tied a school mark. The Mountain Hawks allowed a goal for the first time in 832:31, a streak which dated back to last season.
 
Colgate got off to a fast start, firing a shot on goal just 2:29 into the game, but freshman goalkeeper Sam Miller was there to make the save. In the 11th minute, the Raiders got on the board first, cracking Lehigh's defense for the first time this season. After the ball was played into the box, Colgate's Abby Sotomayor found the top right corner of the net to give her squad a 1-0 advantage.
 
It didn't take long for the Mountain Hawks to answer as in the 24th minute, junior Lexi Chang had a glittering chance in front, but Colgate goalkeeper Kelly Chiavaro made a tremendous save to force a corner kick. Lehigh capitalized on the ensuing corner as junior Alyssa Riporti fired a low shot from just inside the top of the box that found its way through several players and past Chiavaro.
 
The Mountain Hawks began to gain momentum as the first half progressed, firing the only shot on goal the remainder of the half, but Chiavaro made the stop.
 
Lehigh had a golden opportunity to take a lead just over five minutes into the second half, but a shot from sophomore Sabrina Mertz hit the crossbar and rolled out of harm's way. Both teams had chances in the second half, but Miller made three saves between the 55th and 78th minutes as the score remained tied.
 
The Mountain Hawks broke the tie late when senior Tori Pantaleo set up Sidonie Warnecker in front of the goalkeeper and the freshman buried her third goal of the season to give Lehigh a 2-1 advantage at the 85:32 mark.
 
Less than one minute later, Colgate answered off a corner kick to pull even, then just 1:43 into the extra session, Sotomayor netted her second goal of the game, scoring into the lower-left corner of the goal to give the Raiders a 3-2 victory.
 
Final shots were 20-8 in favor of Colgate while the Raiders held a 5-3 edge in corner kicks. Miller finished with six saves across Chiavaro, who made two.
 
"This will test our chemistry and our desire," said Lambinus. "It's our first defeat of the year and it's a tough defeat, so we're going to see what we're made of moving forward. I don't think we defended well today. We allowed them to play the ball too much. We need to get back to the way we want to defend around the field."
 
The Mountain Hawks now return home for three straight games, beginning on Wednesday vs. Navy. Opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
"We have a big game against Navy in four days. We need to recover, have good training sessions, prepare for them and see if we can respond the way this team can," said Lambinus. "I think we have a good team, I think we play well and have potential to do good things, but this will be our first test to see how we respond."

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