Lehigh blanks Holy Cross in league opener

September 17, 2016

Box Score 

WORCESTER, Mass. - Freshman Sidonie Warnecker's goal in the 55th minute broke a scoreless tie, proving to be the difference as the Lehigh women's soccer team opened Patriot League play with a 1-0 win at Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Mountain Hawks improve to 6-0-1 on the season. In the process, they extend their school-record shutout streak to seven games and remain the only team in nation to not allow a goal this season.
 
"It's great to go on the road and get three points in the Patriot League," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "The defense didn't give up too many good looks at goal and Sam was strong back there. I thought Holy Cross played really well. They played hard and made the game tough for us. I was happy that after a defensive battle in the first half, we opened it up a little bit in the second half, created some good chances and scored a good goal."
 
The Mountain Hawks extended their shutout streak to 723.57 dating back to the end of last season. They have now outscored their opponents 15-0 on the season.
 
A defensive first half saw just three total shots between the teams, none on goal. Things opened up a bit in the second half as junior Grace Correll fired a shot less than three minutes into the frame while sophomore Sabrina Mertz recorded the game's first shot on goal less than three minutes later.
 
The Mountain Hawks continued to generate chances, leading to the game's first and only goal. The ball was played into the box, eventually finding the foot of Warnecker who buried the opportunity to give Lehigh a 1-0 lead at the 55:16 mark.
 
The Lehigh defense continued to impress, allowing just two shots the rest of the way, and just one on goal. Freshman Sam Miller made the save in the 58th minute to keep Lehigh on top as the Mountain Hawks went onto the 1-0 win.
 
Final shots were 9-4 in favor of Lehigh while Holy Cross held a 5-4 edge in corner kicks. Miller finished the game with one save while the Crusaders' Brooke Holle posted two.
 
Lehigh now returns home on Tuesday to host Temple in a nonleague matchup. Opening kickoff is set for 5 p.m. as the front end of a Lehigh soccer doubleheader. The men's team follows by hosting Penn at 8 p.m.
 
"We're happy with the win, but we know we'll have to play a little bit better moving forward. We'll need to look to generate more chances off our transitions and be a little bit higher up the field. It's a good win with a good game against Temple coming up leading into Colgate next weekend."
 
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