WORCESTER, Mass. - The Lehigh women's soccer team held a dominant 19-7 edge in shots including an 11-5 advantage in shots in goal, but Holy Cross took advantage of a counterattack to net the game's only goal as the Crusaders handed the Mountain Hawks a 1-0 defeat on Saturday to end their season. Lehigh pressured early and often, but couldn't beat Holy Cross goalie Carly McCabe. With Loyola's scoreless tie at Lafayette Saturday night, the Greyhounds overtook the Mountain Hawks for the sixth and final Patriot League Tournament berth.
 
"This game was very indicative of our entire season," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "Our effort and desire was there. Everything was there, in the midfield and into the final third. We just couldn't score. I do think not being able to score has gotten into our minds and we didn't execute as well in certain moments."
 
Lehigh came out of the locker room with several strong chances. The Mountain Hawks generated three quality opportunities in the first 15 minutes, including a shot in the eighth minute from junior Emily Korber that hit the crossbar. McCabe was tested for the first time in the 20th minute, stopping a chance from senior Darby Wiegand. McCabe made her second save on Wiegand just over one minute later. McCabe made another save late in the first half to keep the game scoreless after 45 minutes of play.
 
In the second half, Lehigh peppered the Holy Cross keeper to the tune of eight shots on goal as the Mountain Hawks were playing for their playoff lives. The first shot came just 2:52 into the half as freshman Grace Correll's chance was denied. Lehigh senior goalie Ashley Blanks made her first save of the game less than a minute later on an Annie Galvin opportunity.
 
Just over a minute later, McCabe made two saves in the span of 33 seconds, on junior Paige Elliott and Korber. The Mountain Hawks continued to control possession and fire shots. Meanwhile, the Crusaders began creating some chances of their own as in the 73rd minute, Blanks came out strong, but a Holy Cross player beat her to the ball and fired towards goal. However, a Lehigh defender was there to clear the ball away. Just over two minutes later, Blanks made one of her five second-half saves.
 
Blanks couldn't make a stop on a Holy Cross counterattack in the 82nd minute as the senior keeper deflected a shot from Kara Shaw, but Courtney Cohen was there to find the open goal to make it 1-0.
 
Juniors Madi Morgan and Korber had shots on goal in the final minutes, but it wasn't enough as the Crusaders walked away with the 1-0 victory.
 
"We knew we had to win to get in, so we pushed forward. I think not finishing early in the game played in our heads a little bit," said Lambinus. "We had the ball in great spots, but we didn't create those chances. In the second half, we created a lot of half chances. In order to win, we had to turn them into full chances."
 
Final shots were 19-7 in favor of the Mountain Hawks while Lehigh held a 6-0 edge in corner kicks. Blanks made five saves while McCabe finished with 11.
 
With the loss and Loyola's tie, the Greyhounds earn the final Patriot League Tournament berth. Lehigh ends 2014 4-7-5 and 2-3-4 in the league. The Mountain Hawks made history this season, posting their longest unbeaten streak to begin league play (six). They tied defending Patriot League champion Boston University and finished the season with six shutouts.
 
"The result of the game doesn't change how I feel about this team," said Lambinus. "I'm still so proud of the team. Every day, they came out and busted their butts. I couldn't be prouder."
 
Like Lehigh Women's Soccer on Facebook and follow on Twitter for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks in their quest for the postseason.

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