PHILADELPHIA - Sophomore Lexi Chang scored in the 26th minute to give the Lehigh women's soccer team a lead, which was enough for senior goalkeeper Ani Nahapetian and the Mountain Hawk defense as Lehigh downed Penn 1-0 on Monday evening. The win marked Lehigh's first over the Quakers since 1992 and first-ever win at Penn. The Mountain Hawks also handed the Quakers just their third loss of the season, one of the others being a 2-1 defeat to Clemson (currently ranked seventh in the nation).
 
"It was a great win," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "Coming off a tough week, I'm really proud of the team, how they came out with energy and played good soccer. They worked together and did a lot of the things we worked on. After two tough games, I'm proud of the bounce back to come down here and get the victory."
 
Nahapetian finished the evening with 11 saves, her second double-figure save effort of the season and within one of tying her career high. Lehigh finished a solid season against Philadelphia area schools with a 2-1-1 record. The Mountain Hawks defeated Temple and Penn while falling to La Salle and tying Saint Joseph's.
 
The Quakers tested Nahapetian early with a shot in the sixth minute, but the senior goalkeeper made the save. The Mountain Hawks tallied their first shot on goal in the 11th minute when senior Katie Centeno fired a shot from near the top of the box, but Penn goalie Carrie Crook easily made the stop.
 
After a Nahapetian save at the 11:14 mark, neither team had a shot on goal until the 25:27 mark, which ended up in the back of the net. The play began with freshman Sabrina Mertz carrying the ball upfield on the counterattack and playing a perfect through ball to Chang on the left side. Chang followed with a left-footed strike inside the right post to give the Mountain Hawks a 1-0 lead and end her team's scoring drought, dating back to a 3-2 win over Saint Joseph's on Sept. 13.
 
"Getting that goal was huge, especially the way we did it," said Lambinus. "We were able to keep the ball in the middle of the field, break them down a little bit and give it to Sabrina on the attack. Lexi made a great run. It's something we've been working on. It's great to get a goal in that way; hopefully it gives us confidence going into Loyola."
 
The rest of the first half saw just two shots between the two teams, both by Penn, and both saved by Nahapetian.
 
Lehigh's senior keeper was tested in the second half and she was up to the task, as seven of Nahapetian's eleven saves came in the final 45 minutes. For the game, the Mountain Hawks allowed 16 shots, but most were from the outside.
 
"We were really happy with the defense," said Lambinus. "Our defenders kept them in front of us. They were shooting the ball quite a bit. Ani did well handling the balls she did. I would've liked to see us possess the ball more in the second half. Tactically, they pressed us more. I think we have to handle that a little bit better, but it was big for us to get the shutout."
 
Penn pressured over the final minutes, but couldn't net the equalized as Lehigh wrapped up its third shutout in its last five games and fifth this season.
 
Final shots were 16-5 in favor of the Quakers while Penn held a 5-2 edge in corner kicks. Nahapetian's 11 saves came across Crook, who made two.
 
After its three-game road trip, Lehigh returns home on Saturday for a big Patriot League matchup against Loyola at 7 p.m.

Like Lehigh Women's Soccer on Facebook and follow on Twitter for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.

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