Box Score

LEWSIBURG, Pa. - Sparked by a three-goal first half, the Lehigh women's soccer team beat Bucknell, 3-2 on Saturday evening, handing the Bison their first loss of the season. Bucknell had been 13-0-1 on the year until the Mountain Hawks stormed out to a 3-0 halftime lead, on their way to clinching a berth in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2012. Lehigh's goals were scored by senior Tori Pantaleo, sophomore Sabrina Mertz and freshman Sidonie Warnecker while freshman Sam Miller made five saves in goal.
 
With the win, Lehigh improves to 10-4-2, 5-3-1 in the Patriot League. The 10 wins are the Mountain Hawks' most since winning 11 during their Patriot League Championship season of 2010. Lehigh also handed Bucknell its first home loss since Nov. 1, 2014.
 
"Fighting for a postseason spot and finding a way to get three points on the road is huge," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "Bucknell has been unbelievable all year. They've gotten ahead of everybody so our goal in the first half was to keep them in front of us and get a counter. We didn't want to give up a goal in the first half, which is what we've done well. We had the wind to our backs, but we took advantage of it. They were three really good shots. I thought all three goals were well-deserved."
 
Like she did on Wednesday at Lafayette, Pantaleo scored in the ninth minute on Saturday, blasting a shot from well outside the box inside the left post to give the Mountain Hawks a 1-0 lead.
 
Miller's biggest save of the evening came in the 19th minute as a shot from Alexis Gannon looked ticketed for the top right corner of the goal, but Lehigh's netminder deflected the ball away to force a corner kick.
 
Lehigh doubled its advantage in the 22nd minute as Mertz took a feed from Pantaleo and from the top of the box, beat Bucknell goalkeeper Jessica Ratner inside the left post.
 
Warnecker gave the Mountain Hawks a 3-0 advantage at the 32:17 mark. Off a free kick taken by sophomore Ashley Maziarz, a Bucknell defender got a piece, but it fell to the foot of Warnecker, who found the top left corner of the net. Lehigh's three first-half goals came on five shots
 
The Bison came out of halftime with a vengeance as the nation's top offense looked to get back in the game. Bucknell pulled a little closer in the 50th minute as Maddie Mulford put home a rebound. The Bison pulled within 3-2 in the 84th minute, but the Lehigh defense allowed just one shot the rest of the way, which sailed wide, and the Mountain Hawks held on for the big victory.
 
"Give credit to Bucknell," said Lambinus. "You knew they were going to have a strong second half. Over the last five minutes, we composed ourselves and played very well. We were composed. A lot of what we did in the offseason to perform in those pressure moments paid off tonight."
 
Final shots were 23-9 in favor of Bucknell while the Bison held an 8-2 edge in corner kicks. Miller made five saves across Ratner, who made three.
 
"Qualifying for the Patriot League Tournament was definitely the first goal of the year," said Lambinus. "We may have an opportunity to host a quarterfinal game. We'll enjoy this win for a day, but we want to prepare ourselves for a big game against American."
 
Lehigh will close out its regular season on Friday when it hosts the Eagles at 7 p.m. It will be Senior Night as Laura Courtney, Pantaleo, Kalin Ojert and Madeline Walsh will be recognized prior to kickoff.

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