The Lehigh women's soccer team has shown an ability to play with, and beat, the best. For the first time in school history, the Mountain Hawks stood undefeated after six Patriot League games last season. Included was a hard-fought 1-1 tie against eventual league champion Boston University.
 
After an impressive spring which featured the implementation of a program vision, the Mountain Hawks are anxious to take the next step in 2015 and vault back into championship contention.
 
Lehigh sixth-year head coach Eric Lambinus is most impressed with the team's work ethic so far this preseason.
 
"The team is willing to work," he said. "They have great energy and are willing to do what's necessary to be successful. They have that desire. You can see it in the games; they battled for the entirety of our scrimmages. They're not going to quit; they're going to battle and work hard. As coaches, we just need to steer them in the right direction."
 
The team's strength last season was its defense, pitching six shutouts and allowing just 16 goals in 16 games. Despite struggling to score at times, the offensive potential is evident, led by sophomore and leading returning scorer Grace Correll.
 
Let's take a look at the roster, position by position.
 
Goalkeepers
Senior Ani Nahapetian returns as the go-to goalkeeper after splitting time with Ashley Blanks a season ago. In eight games as a junior (all starts), Nahapetian tallied a 0.69 goals against average and .860 save percentage with four shutouts. She is ready to take the lead as the team's starting goalkeeper.
 
"It's great to have Ani back as a senior. She's played for three years and is ready to take over that starting position," said Lambinus. "She's worked her butt off and is one of our top leaders. Technically, she's very sound. She's exactly what we ask in a keeper. She's going to make all the saves she is supposed to make and even a few she's not. She's great with her feet and she has the ability to extend and make a couple special saves for us, too. She's everything we want in a goalie."
 
The Mountain Hawks feature some depth behind Nahapetian in freshmen Lidia Breen and Kylie Ginsberg, who are getting their feet wet this preseason.
 
"Both Lydia and Kylie are doing well," said Lambinus. "They're learning. College soccer is a little bit of a change of pace for them, but they're both fitting in very well. I expect them to give us good depth at that position. Maybe even push Ani a little bit as they feel more comfortable."
 
Defenders
Another position that's rock solid for the Mountain Hawks is defense, led by senior Paige Elliott. A first team All-Patriot League honoree as a freshman, Elliott has been a mainstay in Lehigh's lineup. Last season, she started all 15 games she played, dished two assists and helped spearhead the Mountain Hawks' defense.
 
"Our back line is very good and we return a lot of players with experience," said Lambinus. "We have physicality, technical ability on the ball, good depth and play very aggressively. We like everything about our back line. It starts with Paige, who's been a three-year starter back there. She came back very fit and ready to lead our backline."
 
Currently at center back for Lehigh is junior Laura Courtney and sophomore Alyssa Riporti.
 
"Laura and Alyssa are both prototypical center backs who are strong, win tackles, and have a presence on the field" said Lambinus. "(Sophomore) Amanda Stratton can play on the outside or the inside and give us everything that we want in a defender. She's technically sound, she has great size, strikes the ball well and is physical."
 
Stratton impressed as a freshman last season, playing in 15 games with 13 starts and dishing an assist. Courtney is very experienced, playing in 30 games (27 starts) over her first two seasons.
 
Several other players are in the mix and look to see action on defense, including juniors Kalin Ojert and Madeline Walsh, and senior Steph Klaubert. Freshman Ashley Maziarz has impressed as well and hopes to see playing time.
 
"They are competing like bitter rivals against our forwards and making each other better," said Lambinus. "That gives us a good, quality eight players back there."
 
Midfielders
The theme in the midfield is options and flexibility. The Mountain Hawks have a lot of options with different people they could play and combinations they could try. Three seniors, who have seen significant time at midfield, look to lead the group.
 
"Madi (Morgan), Emily (Korber) and Katie (Centeno) have all played in there and are really strong players who can give us a lot of minutes. We expect them to be strong contributors," said Lambinus.
 
Senior transfer Alex Sangiuliano is an aggressive style of player who plays in the midfield.
 
"Alex fights and battles and lifts our level of training," said Lambinus. "We have a lot of younger players as well. Adrian Vitello is a sophomore who played a lot of minutes, played great in the spring and is going to take on a little bit of a different role for us. She has a great engine and could have a big impact on our attack this year."
 
Vitello had a smooth transition to college soccer last season, playing in 15 games (13 starts), scoring a goal vs. Princeton and firing 23 shots (11 shots on goal). Sophomore Kendal Jacobus and freshmen Clare Severe, Amanda Marques, Sabrina Mertz, and Jessica Sacco all look to be in the mix at midfield as well.
 
"They have done well, starting to adapt to the speed of play and can impact us," said Lambinus. "They are all going to get some time in those positions.
 
"Our midfield is probably the most important of the entire group because we have so many players who can play," Lambinus continued. "It's about finding the right combination of players and even different combinations. How do we get that rotation together so we can have a good, solid midfield that's giving us good energy the entire time?"
 
Forwards
Correll leads a forward group that's full of potential, but looks to turn that potential into more consistent goals. Correll's freshman season was highlighted by a two-goal effort at archrival Lafayette, but she showed an ability to create opportunities throughout her rookie campaign.
 
"We have good players, but we need to get more goals from the forward positions," said Lambinus. "Grace is a ball of energy, which is great. She's getting to be such a good player soccer-wise; she's getting smarter and smarter. We also have a couple other upperclassmen who I think will do well in junior Tori Pantaleo and sophomores Lexi Chang and Becca Sherry. All have done well and will continue to get some opportunities in there."
 
Ava Roth, a freshman, will also be in the mix at forward. A local product, Mertz is a freshman who can play midfield and forward.
 
"I think Sabrina has the ability to score big goals," said Lambinus. "We expect a lot of good things out of her."
 
Lambinus is looking for competition amongst the forwards. With a fast pace of soccer, having depth at the position isn't a bad thing.
 
"All of them are going to be fighting; it will be a good rotation," said Lambinus. "We're going to expect them to run a lot, so maybe it is a rotation of four to five players in there. We're looking for a couple to separate themselves, but we're also looking for them to each bring their own strengths to the equation."
 
Outlook
With a strong work ethic as the team's foundation, the Mountain Hawks are working every day to build on their strengths and improve on their weaknesses.
 
"I think all of our players have a commitment to defending relentlessly all over the field, which is a strength," said Lambinus. "We're going to make it difficult for opponents to score goals and even keep possession of the ball. So that's great. I think teams are going to have a lot of trouble breaking us down."
 
Lambinus identified a clear area of improvement.
 
"How do we turn that defensive intensity into offense?" he asked. "Can we win the ball and attack quickly? Can we be patient, can we be creative enough and have that same aggressiveness in the offensive third of the field? That's what we have to work on this year."
 
The team's biggest strength is defense, but Lambinus is looking for his team to become well-rounded. He is not looking to be a defensive team that occasionally scores a goal. With their strong defense already in place coupled with great offensive potential, the Mountain Hawks have the pieces to become a dangerous team.
 
The end goal is a championship, but that's a result of the process. The Mountain Hawks enhanced the process with the vision they created last spring. So far, the vision is giving the student-athletes and coaches a sense of direction. Everyone has bought in.
 
"We've been more successful implementing things on a daily basis, like competing and even playing good soccer," said Lambinus. "Our self and team accountability have been good, but we need to continue to develop great soccer habits. The focus is team culture and being able to do everything on a daily basis. We've been able to isolate a couple areas and be great at those things, but we want to be better in all areas each day. We need to play with great belief in our ability and a fierce need to win."