VILLANOVA, Pa. - Villanova jumped out to an early lead before holding off the surging Mountain Hawks attempting to pull even, but it wasn't enough as Lehigh dropped a 2-0 final on Sunday afternoon. The Wildcats held a commanding shot advantage in the first half, but the Mountain Hawks responded in the second with four shots on goal, which were all denied by Villanova goalkeeper Jami Kranich.
 
"It was a little bit of a slow start," said Lehigh head Eric Lambinus. "Our second half was better than the first We competed more and did a better job of keeping them in front of us and being dangerous."
 
Katie Martin got the scoring started with her third goal of the young season in the 19th minute as she converted a rebound following a free kick.
 
Junior Jordan Goodwin tallied Lehigh's first shot on goal less than five minutes into the second half. The Mountain Hawks would continue the pressure as senior Murphee Greeley had a pair of chances which were stopped by Kranich, in the 66th and 69th minutes.
 
After the Mountain Hawks hit a post, Villanova added an insurance tally in the 76th minute off a header. Lehigh wouldn't go quietly as junior Darby Wiegand had an opportunity in the final seconds, but it was too little, too late.
 
The Wildcats held a 20-7 edge in shots and 7-5 in corner kicks. Sophomore goalkeeper Ani Nahapetian made two saves in the first half while junior Ashley Blanks made three stops in the second. Kranich finished with four for the Wildcats.
 
"These are the games we want to play," said Lambinus. "On paper, Villanova (a Big East team) is better than us. We need to raise our level of play to compete with them. In general, this game made us better, but we're not satisfied with just competing. We want to beat these teams. I think we're close. We had the momentum, but didn't put it away. Especially against teams of this quality, if you don't do the little things, they'll make you pay. Hopefully we can learn from these games for Patriot League play."
 
The Mountain Hawks will return to action next Sunday when they host Central Connecticut State at 3 p.m.
 
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