WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Junior Kayla Arestivo scored in the 72nd minute to account for all the Lehigh women's soccer team would need as the Mountain Hawks picked up an impressive 1-0 win at Monmouth on Friday evening. The win came against the five-time defending MAAC Regular Season Champions, who posted a combined 73-19-8 record between 2013 and 2017. Sophomore Miranda Royds and junior Sam Miller combined for the eight-save shutout.
 
The win was Lehigh's first-ever regulation victory at Monmouth. The Mountain Hawks are now riding a four-game unbeaten streak vs. Monmouth (after tying each of the previous three years). Lehigh hasn't allowed a goal against Monmouth in 342:03, last allowing a goal to the Hawks in 2015.
 
"It's a good, solid win against a team who traditionally wins its league and plays in the NCAA Tournament," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "We schedule these games knowing they're difficult. Our expectation is we come out with a few of them. It's good to get this one."
 
The first 20 minutes saw each side post two shots on goal, with Royds making both stops for the Mountain Hawks. Sophomore Ally Friedman and Lisa Kestelboym tallied the shots for Lehigh, but Monmouth goalkeeper Amanda Knaub made the stops.
 
Lehigh allowed just one Monmouth shot over the final 20:50 of the first half while firing three shots of its own, but the teams headed into halftime scoreless.
 
Miller was stellar in the second half, making five saves, including three within the first 10 minutes of the stanza. Junior Erin Racano had a shot in the 68th minute, which was stopped by Knaub, but the Monmouth keeper couldn't stop Arestivo's chance less than four minutes later. Beginning on the Mountain Hawks' side of midfield, Arestivo carried all the way forward, with teammates making runs alongside her, eventually finishing herself to give Lehigh a 1-0 lead at 71:22. It marked the first goal between Lehigh and Monmouth in 323:25 dating back to 2015.
 
Miller added her fourth and fifth saves of the half down the stretch, including a spectacular stop in the 89th minute when she somehow got a piece to force a corner kick, helping preserve the 1-0 victory.
 
"It was good to get a good bounce back performance after a not-so-great second half against Villanova," said Lambinus. "We changed some things up, which I think made a big difference. They had some great attacking players and put us under pressure. Kayla scored a great goal, a great individual effort, which we needed. We gave up a couple too many corners late, but we defended well and I'm proud of a great 90-minute effort against a tremendous team."
 
Final shots were 14-9 in favor of Monmouth while Monmouth held a 10-2 edge in corner kicks. Royds tallied three saves in the first 27:29 before Miller posted five over the final 62:31.
 
"Defensively, we worked really well together," said Lambinus. "Our shape defensively was a little more solid. Our midfield was very good at defending and I thought one of our better defenders the entire game was Kayla, who turned around to score the goal. She was tracking back, won a bunch of balls for us, and had the energy to go forward and score the goal."
 
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Sunday when they host Fordham at 1 p.m. on the Patriot League Network. Postgame will feature an autograph session with the team.
 
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