BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's soccer team dropped a tough 1-0 battle to La Salle Monday night at Ulrich Sports Complex. Mountain Hawk goalkeeper Ashley Blanks recorded six saves while the Lehigh defense was able to keep the game close.
 
"I give a lot of credit to La Salle but I think we had a lot of opportunities to tie up the game," said head coach Eric Lambinus. "I was disappointed in the goal we gave up because other than that I thought we defended really well. The girls have to believe that they can score and that they can play with these teams."   
 
Both defenses held strong for the majority of the first half as a barrage of shots from each squad were fired off. La Salle presented many good scoring opportunities off crossed balls but the Mountain Hawk defenders were continuously able to clear the balls out of harm's way. The Lehigh offense had a few good chances of its own but Explorers goalkeeper Katie Getzinger and the La Salle defense stood strong. In the 43rd minute, the Explorers capitalized on a corner kick when Kelsey Celline struck the ball into the lower right corner of the net to take a 1-0 advantage.
 
La Salle carried the momentum into the second half as they were able to fire off eight shots in the first ten minutes, many of which soared wide thanks to the Mountain Hawk pressure. Lehigh began to pick up pace in the final ten minutes of the game with three good scoring opportunities. Freshman Tori Pantaleo provided the best opportunity in the 82nd minute but Getzinger made a diving save to her left to preserve her shutout.
 
Lehigh tallied five shots on goal while La Salle notched seven. The Explorers held a 6-1 corner kick advantage and a 30-11 shot advantage.
 
The Mountain Hawks remain home to host league foe Bucknell on Friday at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m. with live video on the Patriot League Network.
 
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