Box Score 

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - A late goal in the 109th minute of double overtime by Lafayette's Joanna Scotti lifted the Leopards to a 1-0 victory over the Lehigh women's soccer team in the quarterfinal round of Tuesday's Patriot League Tournament. With the loss, the Mountain Hawks conclude the season with an 11-5-2 record, their most wins since 2010. For the game, Lafayette outshot Lehigh 16-11 and held an 8-2 edge in shots on goal.
 
"I'd like to give credit to Lafayette. They came out with a lot of intensity and a lot of urgency in the first half," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "Our defense held them and did a really good job of clearing the ball. They put a lot of pressure on us. We changed some things up at the half. I thought it was an even game in the second half and overtime, but they found a way to get one."
 
Lafayette controlled much of the tempo in the first half, outshooting the Mountain Hawks 7-2 and holding a 3-1 edge in shots on goal, while collecting the only two corner kicks. The Leopards grabbed the biggest scoring chance of the first half. In the seventh minute, Kaelin King fired a shot, but freshman goalkeeper Sam Miller knocked it aside with a leaping save near the right post. King notched another chance in the 33rd minute with a blast from outside the top of the box, but was denied by a leaping Miller, who just tipped the bar up and off the crossbar to keep the match scoreless.
 
Sophomore Sabrina Mertz notched Lehigh's best scoring chance of the opening half just over two minutes later with a shot from the top left corner of the box that sailed just wide of the far post.
 
The Leopards came out fast once again to open the second half as in the 49th minute, King centered a ball into the box to Elizabeth Scoda, who got a sliding touch towards goal, but was stopped by a lunging Miller. The netminder was able to cover up the potential rebound and keep the game scoreless.
 
Freshman Sidonie Warnecker set up a great chance for the Mountain Hawks in the 54th minute by centering a ball from the sideline in close to junior Adrian Vitello, who one-timed it on goal right into the keeper's arms.
 
Lehigh notched another chance from Vitello in the 66th minute with a blistering shot outside the box that sailed just over the top of the net. Following a Lafayette foul, Mertz lined up a free kick at the 69-minute mark that went just outside the left post.
 
Freshman Maggie Wadsworth corralled a loose ball outside the box with just over a minute left in the first overtime, sending it just wide for one of Lehigh's two shots in the first overtime session. After a scoreless opening overtime, Lafayette broke through with 1:05 remaining off a corner kick. King sent the kick high into the middle of the box where it was headed by Scotti and bounced past Miller's left and into the goal to seal the Leopards' win.
 
Miller made seven saves for Lehigh to conclude her freshman campaign with a 0.64 goals against average, the second best mark in school history for a single season.
 
"Sam made a really great save early in the game and was really solid the rest of the way," said Lambinus. "I think our whole back line had a bunch of really good last-minute challenges and did a good job to hold it and not give up a goal until the end. I thought at any point we could score as well. We needed to do a better job of sustaining the ball a little bit more and creating some better chances."
 
The Mountain Hawks finish a memorable season with 11 wins, which included a school-record eight game unbeaten streak to begin the season when they didn't allow a goal. Lehigh's seven-game winning streak also tied a school mark. The Mountain Hawks were the last team in the nation to allow a goal this season. They also handed Bucknell its first loss of the season, a win that clinched Lehigh its first Patriot League Tournament berth since 2012.
 
"We have to thank our seniors, who did an unbelievable job this year," said Lambinus. "They were selfless, team-first and everything we asked of them. They set the lead on how to act off the field and how to play on the field. Those four should take a lot of credit for what we've done. We're proud of what we've accomplished, but we have another step to take as a program in order to win this game and take that next step to compete for a championship."
 
Like Lehigh Women's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.

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