Box Score

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - The Lehigh women's soccer team scored first, but Central Connecticut State responded with the equalizer less than one minute later before putting in the go-ahead goal in the final minutes before halftime as the Mountain Hawks dropped a 2-1 final on Sunday. Freshman Grace Correll scored her second goal of the season as Lehigh held a 14-8 shot advantage on the afternoon.
 
"We're disappointed because in two moments we stress, we gave up goals. In the five minutes after goals and five minutes at the end of halves, we want to be at our best and we weren't today," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "Both of them were not good goals to give up. We're really disappointed in both of them. That's the difference between winning and losing."
 
Lehigh attacked early and often as senior Danielle Salans tallied a shot on goal just 22 seconds into the game while the Mountain Hawks created three corner kicks before the match was nine minutes old. The pressure paid off in the 20th minute as sophomore Laura Courtney made a pass from the defensive zone up to senior Darby Wiegand. Near the end line, Wiegand made a pass back to Correll in the corner of the box. The freshman fired a shot towards goal, which deflected off a CCSU defender and past goalie Nikki Turley to make it 1-0 at 19:10.
 
The Blue Devils quick answered. Less than a minute later, Kelly Halligan chipped a pass to Tori Sousa, who snuck behind the Lehigh defense. Lehigh senior goalie Ashley Blanks got a piece of the shot, but not enough as Sousa evened the score at 20:08. It marked Central Connecticut State's first shot of the game.
 
Over the ensuing 20+ minutes, there were only two shots between the teams. However, CCSU's third shot found the back of the net to make it 2-1 at 42:58. On a transition opportunity, Halligan fired a long-range shot from outside the box placed perfectly into the top-left corner of the net.
 
Lehigh pressured in the second half, firing 10 second-half shots and forcing Turley to make eight saves. Five of Turley's saves came in a span of 5:30 early in the second half, denying junior Madi Morgan, Wiegand and sophomore Brinn McClennan twice.
 
The Blue Devils answered with the next three shots, but none could beat Blanks. The Mountain Hawks wouldn't go quietly, firing four shots over the game's final 11:29. Off a corner kick, Wiegand found herself in good position, but couldn't get enough on the shot as Turley made the stop. Correll had some strong rushes in the closing minutes, including two shots on goal. She had one in the 86th minute and a header with just 31 seconds remaining, marking Lehigh's final chance of the afternoon.
 
Final shots were 14-8 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks generated eight corner kicks to CCSU's four. Blanks finished with three saves while Turley stopped nine.
 
"We absolutely played well enough to win," said Lambinus. "We felt like we gave up a win. Even with giving up the goals, we had enough chances to score five goals. We need to turn our shots into better chances, more clear-cut opportunities that we can put away. As a team, we need to be more decisive in those moments. They're half chances, but we're in positions where they should be full chances. We need to create better looks at the goal."
 
Next up, Lehigh begins Patriot League play by hosting American on Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
"It's a new season," said Lambinus. "We play all these nonleague games to prepare ourselves. We have a really good sense of where we are. We feel like we're a strong enough team to compete in our league, so it's important for us to get off to a strong start. Since I've been here, we haven't won our Patriot League opener. All our energy is going into Saturday."
 
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