WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The Lehigh women’s soccer team scored its first goal of the year, but Monmouth responded with the equalizer and the game-winner in overtime, to give the Hawks a 2-1 win on Friday evening. Junior Murphee Greeley scored less than three minutes into the second half while sophomore goalie Ashley Blanks made three saves in the defeat. The Mountain Hawks will look to bounce back next Friday when they host Marist at 7 p.m.

 

“We did a lot of the things that we worked on in training,” said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. “We were very positive with our touches and defended a lot better. But honestly, we’re still really disappointed with the result. It’s hard to put that type of effort in and not get the result, but we didn’t quite deserve it so we have to get better.”

Both sides had its chances in the first half, with Monmouth holding a slim advantage. The Hawks had eight first-half shots, forcing sophomore goalie Blanks to make three big saves to keep the game scoreless at the half.

 

Just 1:19 into the game, Monmouth’s Kristen Brett found herself sprung in all alone, but her shot went high. The Mountain Hawks began to gain momentum from there, earning a glittering chance in the 18th minute when freshman Emily Korber unleashed a shot off a free kick which hit the crossbar.

 

Monmouth responded, but Lehigh’s defense stood tall, withstanding four Hawks’ shots on goal in an 8:40 span. Blanks made all three of her first-half stops while junior Heather Camperson made a big defensive save off an Alexandra Baca shot in the 29th minute. Baca’s shot appeared to be ticketed for the right corner, but Camperson headed it out of harm’s way.

 

Lehigh scored its first goal of the season just 2:59 into the second half as the Mountain Hawks used sustained pressure to find the back of the net. Greeley unleashed a hard shot which was saved by Hawks’ goalie Jocelyn McCoy, but she corralled rebound and found the left side of the net off the rebound to make it 1-0 in the 48th minute.

Blanks continued her strong play, making a big save off a corner kick about a minute later to keep momentum in Lehigh’s favor. However, Monmouth’s Kim Clemmer fired a shot from approximately 40 yards which snuck below the crossbar to tie the score at one in the 54th minute.

 

Both sides continued to pressure the defense, but couldn’t score the go-ahead goal. At the end of regulation, Monmouth held a 14-5 edge in shots and 5-3 in corner kicks, but the Mountain Hawks put on some of their best offensive pressure of the season over the second 45 minutes.

 

Less than a minute into overtime, Greeley took a shot from just outside of the box, but McCoy dove to her right to make the stop.

 

Monmouth’s Dana Costello ended the game in heartbreaking fashion for Lehigh, scoring at the 92:53 mark as the shot snuck under the crossbar.

 

Final shots were 15-7 in favor of Monmouth while the Hawks also held a 6-3 edge in corner kicks. Both goalkeepers finished with three saves.

 

Lehigh will return home next Friday (Sept. 14) when it hosts Marist at 7 p.m.

 

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