BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's soccer team scored in the 16th and 82nd minutes, which was all the Mountain Hawks would need in a 2-0 win over visiting UMBC Friday evening at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Senior Kayla Arestivo finished a nifty sequence of passes early, while sophomore Abby Furtmann put home a free kick for her first-career goal late, as the Mountain Hawks scored multiple goals in a game for the first time this season. On the other end, Lehigh's defense pitched its third consecutive shutout and fourth of the year to help it improve to 1-2-4 on the season.
 
"It was great to get that first goal," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "It was the first time we'd been winning all year, so it was good to get that first one and get a little bit of momentum. I thought we played awesome in the first half. In the second half, they pressed us a little bit and they actually changed the way they were going at us. They put us under a lot more pressure, we struggled to adjust to it and we changed our shape a little bit, but then I thought we started to take over a little bit later."
 
Each side fired an early shot before the third shot of the game (second for Lehigh) found the back of the net. Freshman Julianna Bonner gained possession near midfield, passed to her left to sophomore Courtney Supp, who served the ball into the box to senior Mary Casey. Casey made a quick touch to Arestivo, who beat UMBC goalkeeper Jade Wilkins low for her second goal of the season.
 
Lehigh had a string of six straight shots from the 25th to 45th minutes, no chance better than senior Maggie Wadsworth, who was sprung in towards goal. However, Wilkins came out strong to cut down the angle, getting a piece of Wadsworth's shot and helping it sail just wide of the far post.
 
The Retrievers began the second half with five straight shots, two of which were saved by junior goalkeeper Miranda Royds, to keep the Mountain Hawks in front.
 
Lehigh responded with five straight of its own, which included Furtmann's first-career goal at the 81:04 mark. With junior Ally Friedman taking the free kick, Furtmann made a redirection in the air into the back of the net, all but sealing the victory.
 
"We got two goals and we got a couple corner kicks that were dangerous. We got the ball a little bit deeper and we got some better chances," said Lambinus. "We saw a lot of really good things and I think there's a lot more to come."
 
Final shots were 13-10 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 4-1 edge in corner kicks. Royds finished with three saves across Wilkins, who made six.
 
"Our defense is really solid and they're working hard; they're doing exactly what we want," said Lambinus. "We have a bunch of different people doing it. I again thought today wasn't just the back line. Our midfield pressured the ball and our forwards did a really good job. I thought all 11 of our players really did a good job pressuring the ball all over the field, so I was proud of that. That's the way we defend."
 
The Mountain Hawks return home in less than 48 hours to host Saint Joseph's Sunday at 3 p.m. in the final nonleague tune-up before Patriot League play. Sunday's game can be seen on the Patriot League Network.
 
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