BETHLEHEM, Pa. - With high hopes entering the 2017 season, the Lehigh women’s soccer team began practice on Monday as it prepares for its season opener next Friday (Aug. 18) vs. Monmouth. The Mountain Hawks are focused on daily improvement as they enter their nonleague schedule in less than two weeks, ahead of their Patriot League opener on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Army West Point. Lehigh looks to continue the momentum from last season which saw it finish third place, its highest finish since 2010.

 

“This group came in pretty ready to go,” said senior defender Alyssa Riporti, a first team All-Patriot League honoree last season. “It says a lot that every returning field player passed the 300s. The beginning of preseason comes with anxiety just like gameday, so I think a big part of our first day was coming out here and getting those anxieties out so we can work on our formation and play, which we got to do on the first day.”

 

The Mountain Hawks are focused on the process of improving and if they do that, the results will take care of themselves. That mindset begins with the upperclassmen.

 

“It’s really important for our upperclassmen to lead in the way we go about doing things on a daily basis,” said Eric Lambinus, who’s entering his eighth season as Mountain Hawks’ head coach. “The most important thing is every single day to try and improve. We have to take steps daily and not worry about the first game, the last game, the Patriot League or anything like that. We have to concentrate on getting better every day.”

 

“We are focused on becoming the toughest, hardest-working, most cohesive group in the Patriot League, which comes with the mindset of learning from each day and using it to get better,” said Riporti.

 

Lehigh began last season 7-0-1, not allowing a goal in that span. The Mountain Hawks were the last team in Division I to allow a goal, first allowing a score at Colgate on Sept. 24 which snapped a shutout streak of more than 830 hours (832:31) dating back to the previous season. In the end, Lehigh finished 11-5-2 overall, 5-3-1 in the Patriot League. Late in the season, the Mountain Hawks handed Bucknell its first loss of the season (and only regular season defeat of the Year), beating the Bison 3-2 on the road.

 

Lehigh returns three of its four All-League honorees from last season - Riporti, senior midfielder Adrian Vitello and sophomore goalkeeper Sam Miller - while losing Tori Pantaleo to graduation. The Mountain Hawks feature a strong core of returnees who have developed a strong culture, and will look to bring the freshmen along.

 

“We always try to get the freshmen bought into everything we’re doing before they’re here so right off the bat, we can get into soccer,” said Riporti. “We had some people write them letters introducing themselves, then we had a team weekend over the summer when the freshmen stayed at the upperclassmen’s houses, we played a little and just got to know each other better. It’s definitely helped us get right into things.”

 

So far, so good, but it’s early and the season is a process. That Mountain Hawks are extremely focused on the next opportunity to improve, whether it’s a meeting, practice or game.

 

“Our upperclassmen are the ones who have set the culture of our team, but they have to feel it out as well,” said Lambinus. “We have to see where this takes us.”

 

Lehigh opens its season on Friday, Aug. 18 when it hosts Monmouth at 6 p.m.

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