ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Despite continued stellar defense, the Lehigh women's soccer team dropped an evenly-played game at Navy Wednesday evening as a second-half goal broke the ice, proving to be the difference in a 1-0 defeat. Against a Navy team that entered with 17 goals over its previous five games, the Mountain Hawk defense held the Midshipmen in check, extending its shutout streak to nearly 300 minutes. Lehigh's best scoring chance came as regulation came to a close, but Navy goalie Dayton Wetherby made her best save of the game to preserve her team's victory.
 
"Defensively, we were once again very solid," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "We did exactly what we wanted to do defensively. It came down to a free kick that we didn't clear and they put the ball in the back of the net. Our backs were under pressure for a good amount of the game and they stood tall. We have to find a way to translate it to the offensive end. When we do get possession, we need to sustain it for longer and be more dangerous in the attacking third."
 
Both Lehigh and Navy entered with identical five-game unbeaten streaks as the Mountain Hawks fell for the first time since Sept. 3 at La Salle.
 
Navy earned the game's first corner kick four minutes in, but the Mountain Hawks responded with the game's first shot. Sophomore Adrian Vitello took the shot in the 11th minute, but Wetherby was there to make the save.
 
Navy's first shot came in the 13th minute, but Vitello answered with another shot on goal less than two minutes later. The Mountain Hawks continued to earn chances, including an opportunity in the 20th minute from sophomore Grace Correll. Her shot from the top of the box was easily handled by Wetherby.
 
The Midshipmen tallied the final three shots of the first half, but none were on target. As the first half came to a close, Navy had a rush towards goal, but couldn't get off a shot as the Lehigh defense denied the Midshipmen.
 
Just over two minutes into the second half, Lehigh senior goalkeeper Ani Nahapetian aggressively played a ball in the box. She couldn't fully corral the loose ball, allowing Navy's Lexi Ricketts to fire a shot from in tight, but it sailed high.
 
Nahapetian made her first save of the game in the 54th minute, easily corralling a Clare McAdam shot. She added her second save just under a minute later in a similar fashion.
 
Navy nearly took a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute as a shot from the corner of the box hit the crossbar. The Mids would eventually break the ice at the 66:19 mark as a free kick was played into the box. The Lehigh defense attempted to clear, but it came back to Meghan Hegarty, who fired a shot towards goal which redirected past Nahapetian to make it 1-0. The goal snapped the Mountain Hawks' shutout streak at 296:07.
 
Lehigh turned up the pressure over the final 10 minutes, beginning with a dangerous cross from Correll, which didn't connect. Freshman Sabrina Mertz had a nice run less than one minute later to force a corner kick. The pressure continued, culminating with Lehigh's best chance of the game in the final seconds. In a last-second, desperation shot towards goal, senior Paige Elliott unleashed a rocket which Wetherby stopped. She couldn't catch it cleanly and Correll was bearing in for a rebound, but a Navy defender cleared the ball out of harm's way as the buzzer sounded.
 
Nahapetian finished with six saves for the Mountain Hawks, all in the second half.
 
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Saturday when they travel to Army West Point to face the Black Knights. Opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
"We have to take the things we learned from today and take it to the game Saturday," said Lambinus. "We've seen some success there in the past. I think we match up well. We can't let a disappointing result like this affect us beyond tonight. We have to get over it and work on some things over the next couple days and be mentally prepared to play our best game against Army up there."

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