BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's soccer team outshot Saint Joseph's 13-5 in the second half and 25-9 for the game, and a pair of Mountain Hawk freshmen scored their first-career goals in the span of 10:51 on the way to a 2-0 win on Sunday at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Ryelle Shuey began the scoring at the 60:07 mark while Chloe Sherman added an insurance tally at 70:58. On the other end of the field, Lehigh's defense pitched its fourth straight shutout, extending its shutout streak to exactly 400 minutes. The Mountain Hawks improve to 2-2-4 on the season, heading into the Patriot League opener vs. Loyola.
 
"We've played two good 90-minute games this weekend," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "We were relentless in our pressure defensively and I thought we were really good in the attacking third and midfield as well. We're really pleased with the effort they've been giving. Our fitness has really shown. I think everything we worked on in the offseason, all the games and all the overtimes is starting to pay off."
 
The Mountain Hawks controlled the early stages of the second half with three shots in the first 5:40. Not long after, Shuey was tripped in the box to create a penalty kick in the 52nd minute. Senior Annika Jansa took the ensuing kick, which was rocketed off the post and bouncing out of harm's way. But from there, the Mountain Hawks only continued to ramp up the pressure.
 
The pressure paid off in the 61st minute as junior Ally Friedman forced a turnover from just behind the midfield line and made a looping pass ahead to Shuey. Shuey beat her defender and made a quick, low shot past Saint Joseph's goalkeeper Emily Cuccio for a 1-0 advantage.
 
The Mountain Hawks doubled their lead in the 71st minute as junior Grace Forsyth took a hard shot that ricocheted off Cuccio and the cross bar, but Sherman was there to put home the rebound.
 
"In the second half, we wanted to be more direct, and we wanted to get the ball into good spaces and put them under pressure, so we really wanted to go after them," said Lambinus. "We put a pretty attacking lineup out there and it's exactly what happened. We were able to turn their backs around and we were able to get the ball into some spaces."
 
In the end, Lehigh fired 13 second-half shots, six of which were on goal. On the other end, the Hawks had five shots, three on goal which junior goalkeeper Miranda Royds stopped with relative ease.
 
Royds' biggest save came earlier in the 30th minute. Saint Joseph's played a ball into the box and Kasia Kwitnieski shot from in close, but Royds made the quick stop to keep the game scoreless.
 
Lehigh had some chances in the first half, including a pair of shots (one on goal) from senior Kayla Arestivo in the seventh minute, but Cuccio stood tall. Forsyth later had a chance that looked ticketed to go past the goal line, but Saint Joseph's defender Brittany Hartwell-Miller cleared the ball out of harm's way.
 
Final shots were 25-9 in favor of Lehigh while Saint Joseph's held an 8-6 edge in corner kicks. Royds and Cuccio each finished with six saves.
 
"One of the things we're even more proud of was getting a PK and not converting, which is fine, but then we actually picked up our energy and created some more chances," said Lambinus. "We didn't let not converting the penalty kick get us down where it might have done so earlier in the season."
 
The Mountain Hawks remain home on Saturday to host Loyola in the Patriot League opener. Opening kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
 
"We want to get one percent better every single day and I think we're starting to do that," said Lambinus.

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