BALTIMORE – The Lehigh women's soccer team scored two consecutive goals in the span of 12:19 in the first half to take a 2-1 lead, but Loyola pulled even late in the first and went ahead early in the second, on its way to downing the Mountain Hawks 4-3 on Saturday evening. The Greyhounds later extended their lead to 4-2, but freshman Rebecca Van Siclen pulled Lehigh within one in the 77th minute, which was as close as Lehigh would get. With the loss, the Mountain Hawks fall to 2-6-0 in Patriot League play, but remain alive for a league tournament berth. Lehigh will need to win at Holy Cross on Friday and get help in out-of-town games to qualifying for its third straight Patriot League Tournament.
 
"It was a more open game than we've had," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "We wanted to attack a little bit more, so it might have left us more vulnerable. I thought Loyola played really well. They had a lot of energy. We struggled early in the game. It was great to match their goal and go up 2-1, but giving up a late goal in the first half and early goal in the second half, we have to be better than that. We haven't been able to win enough of those key moments this year and tonight was another example."
 
Loyola opened the scoring in the ninth minute, but Lehigh would respond. In the 28th minute, senior Sabrina Mertz took a feed from junior Maggie Wadsworthin the box and blasted a shot past Greyhounds' goalkeeper Sumer Rahe to even the score at one.
 
"Sabrina left everything she had on the field throughout the entire game, and it's something all of our players can look up to," said Lambinus. "The effort she gave the entire game was unreal, running up and down the field, causing havoc and creating opportunities."
 
Just over 12 minutes after Mertz's goal, junior Annika Jansa's shot was saved by a defender, but deflected right to junior Kayla Arestivo who wouldn't be denied as she gave Lehigh a 2-1 lead at 39:32.
 
The Greyhounds responded with a big goal at the 43:25 mark on a free kick, then another just 2:14 into the second half to give Loyola a 3-2 advantage. The lead swelled to 4-2 following a goal off a corner kick at 72:49, but Van Siclen answered with her second goal of the season just 4:07 later. However, Lehigh couldn't get any closer.
 
Final shots were 15-9 in favor of Loyola while the Greyhounds held a 5-2 edge in corner kicks. Junior Sam Miller made two saves for Lehigh while Rahe had a stop for Loyola. There were three team saves in the game, one for the Mountain Hawks and two for the Greyhounds.
 
"It's what I've been saying all year… I'm proud of our fight," said Lambinus. "We've dealt with a lot of adversity, not just in results, and the group has continued to work and do all the things that we've asked. Tonight is another example, coming to a place where we hadn't scored (since Loyola joined the Patriot League) until tonight and putting three goals on the board."
 
Lehigh will travel to Holy Cross next Friday (Oct. 26) to face the Crusaders in the regular season finale. Opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
"I know we'll have a good week of training and go up to Holy Cross and have a good game," said Lambinus. "I'm proud of that. It's why we play college sports and why I love Lehigh. We can train the right way and give the right effort, but nothing is guaranteed. The players will learn from this. It's tough, but they're all going to be better people because they're going through stuff like this."
 
Like Lehigh Women's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.

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