STONY BROOK, N.Y. - The Lehigh women’s soccer team jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead just 2:25 into the game, but Stony Brook responded with the final three goals to down the Mountain Hawks, 3-1, on Sunday evening. Freshman Paige Elliot scored her first-career goal while freshman Ani Nahapetian finished with nine saves between the pipes. Lehigh will return home next weekend when it faces a pair of Atlantic 10 foes: Saint Joseph’s on Friday and La Salle on Sunday.

 

“We asked the team to win the first 10 minutes,” said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. “We executed well, but unfortunately, we didn’t do those things for the rest of the game.”

 

Barely two minutes into the contest, Lehigh converted a series of passes into a quick 1-0 advantage against the regionally-ranked Seawolves. Senior Isabelle Li made the final feed to Elliott, who unleashed a shot from the right wing inside the far post. That marked Lehigh’s fourth goal in the span of 50:42 dating back to Friday’s win over Marist.

Nahapetian was strong in making five first-half saves, but Stony Brook’s Larissa Nysch beat her in the 15th minute to knot the score at one. That stood as the score heading into the half.

 

However, Stony Brook came out of halftime with a vengeance, scoring two goals in the first 4:18 to take a 3-1 advantage. The first came just 52 seconds in, while the second was at 49:18.

 

Lehigh did have six second-half shots, but couldn’t pull any closer as Stony Brook prevailed, 3-1.

 

Lehigh’s efforts this weekend came against a pair of regionally ranked foes. Marist stands eighth in the Northeast region and Stony Brook seventh.

 

“If we play to our potential, we play focused and we get the entire team working together, we’ve shown we can be competitive with teams like these,” said Lambinus. “We did it on Friday, which resulted in a win, but didn’t do it today. We haven’t figured out as a coaching staff and team how to play at a high level for longer periods of time. There are too many periods when we let down.”

 

Final shots were 20-9 in favor of Stony Brook while corner kicks were 6-2 Seawolves. Nahapetian made nine saves, while there was a team save as well. Ashley Castanio made three stops for Stony Brook.

 

“Ani was solid in goal,” said Lambinus. “She made all the saves she was supposed to. Her hands were good and she didn’t give up any rebounds.”

 

Lehigh will return home for a pair against Atlantic 10 foes next Friday (Sept. 21) vs. Saint Joseph’s and Sunday against La Salle.

 

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