BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Junior Darby Dustman scored Lehigh's first goal of the season and the defense pitched a shutout as the Mountain Hawks downed Central Connecticut State 1-0 on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the Ulrich Sports Complex.  
 
"I thought we fought hard the entire game," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "It was important to get a goal. It wasn't the prettiest game by any means on our part, but we fought hard and worked our tail off. We made it tough for them to score. It's really good to get a win at home."
 
Central Connecticut State pressured early on, but the Mountain Hawks fended off the attack. The Blue Devils had one flurry in the 13th minute that included a pair of strong saves from junior Ashley Blanks and another blocked shot to keep the game scoreless.
 
A few minutes later, senior defender Katie Gavalchin made a team save on the goal line, clearing a Kerriann Walsh shot out of harm's way.
 
Lehigh turned that momentum into its first goal of the season at 19:04. Sophomore Katie Centeno made a cross to the left post, which Dustman headed into the corner of the goal for the 1-0 advantage.
 
CCSU pressured, but most shots came from the outside as it held an 11-2 shots advantage at the half.
 
The second half featured much of the same as the Blue Devils had a 13-4 shot edge, with most coming from the outside. Lehigh had a golden opportunity for insurance in the 75th minute as freshman Leah Holmes' shot hit the crossbar and junior Danielle Salans' rebound opportunity was saved by CCSU defender Rachel Cerrone.
 
Lehigh held tough from there for its first win of the season leading into the program's first-ever trip to California next weekend.
 
Final shots were 24-6 in favor of Central Connecticut State while the Blue Devils held a 6-2 edge in corner kicks. Blanks finished with four saves in the first half while sophomore Ani Nahapetian stopped all three sent her way in the second.
 
The Mountain Hawks now head to the Saint Mary's Tournament to face Pacific on Friday and host Gaels on Sunday.
 
"It'll be a good first time to head out west and play two really good teams," said Lambinus. "We'll need a couple good days of training, solidify some things and maybe get some players back. It'll be a whole different environment. I'm excited to take our team to the west coast and see some different people."
 
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