BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's soccer team played a complete game, outshooting Temple 16-4 in the first half while allowing just two shots on goal for the game as the Mountain Hawks beat the Owls for the fourth time in as many years, 2-0 on Friday. Freshmen Rebecca Van Siclen and Courtney Supp both scored their first-career goals, both coming in the span of 2:52 early in the second half, to account for all the scoring Lehigh would need.
 
"Our players really worked well together," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "They were connected and working off each other. Our forwards and midfield did a really good job. I thought Kayla (Arestivo) and Sabrina (Mertz) in the attacking end of it were really strong bringing the ball out of the midfield. We were more connected as a group and we were more intentional in the way we attacked. We didn't just hit hopeful balls or settle for shots from distance. We were trying to break them down and when we got the opportunities, we hit the ball well."
 
Temple fired the game's first shot, but the Mountain Hawks responded with the next seven shots and 10 of the next 11 as Lehigh had 10 shots before the game was 20 minutes old. Van Siclen fired two quality chances in the first half, first in the ninth minute when she collected a pass near the left side of the box with a clear lane at the goal. Her subseqeuent hard shot was saved by Temple goalkeeper Morgan Basileo.
 
In the end, Lehigh tallied 16 first-half shots, seven on goal, but Basileo stood tall.
 
The Mountain Hawks continued the pressure early in the second half, and it paid off with a goal on their first shot of the stanza. In the 53rd minute, junior Kayla Arestivo corralled a loose ball in the offensive end and led Van Siclen towards goal. The freshman finished with a hard shot inside the right post to give Lehigh a 1-0 lead.
 
Less than three minutes later, Van Siclen's classmate finished with a nearly identical goal. This time, junior Maggie Wadsworth fed Supp, Basileo got a piece of the shot, but it trickled into the goal to give Lehigh a 2-0 lead at the 55:35 mark.
 
From there, Lehigh's defense continued to impress, allowing just two second-half shots, both on goal and both from distance. Sophomore Miranda Roydseasily made both saves to wrap up her first-career shutout.
 
Final shots were 20-6 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 6-5 edge in corner kicks.
 
The Mountain Hawks will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Towson to face the Tigers in their final tune-up before Patriot League play. Opening kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
 
"This win only means something if we build on it," said Lambinus. "We showed we can create good chances, we showed we can score goals when we hit the ball well and we have that good intention. We have a big one down at Towson and then we start the Patriot League. We want to continue getting better. I believe that each game we've played this year, we've gotten better. I don't know if results have always shown it, but this was a quality win."
 
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