BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Army West Point scored the game's only goal in the 16th minute and the Lehigh women's soccer team had a number of chances, but couldn't put one home as the Black Knights picked up a 1-0 win on Saturday evening. One of the Mountain Hawks' best chances came just moments before Army's goal, as senior Maggie Wadsworth fired a laser towards the net, but Army goalkeeper Sydney Cassalia made a stellar stop.
 
"The game was probably played more in Army's favor, a little more direct and a little bit more physical than we would have liked, but we matched up with it pretty well. We were able to play through it and create some chances," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "The difference in the game was one moment. It was a pretty even game, but it was one moment where somewhat of a mistake, hesitation, allowed them to get in and they put it away. We also didn't take advantage of the opportunities we had on the offensive end."
 
The game's first shot on target came from Wadsworth in the 15th minute as she did a good job getting herself free for a shot, but Cassalia got a piece to create a corner kick.
 
"Their goalie made a great save," said Lambinus. "Their goalie is All League, All-Region for a reason. She controlled the area and did well. It was a good chance. We had a bunch of good chances and opportunities, even late, but we didn't have the execution to challenge her enough."
 
On the other end of the field, junior goalkeeper Miranda Royds came out aggressively on a play into the box. The ball ricocheted off a defender to the side, where Army's Izzy Fontana found the back of the net at the 15:52 mark.
 
From there, Lehigh responded with two additional shots on goal in the half, from freshman Julianna Bonner in the 26th minute and senior Kayla Arestivo in the 43rd minute, but the game went to halftime with Army in front, 1-0. First-half shots were even at six, but Lehigh held a 3-1 edge in shots on goal.
 
The second half saw just seven combined shots, four from the Mountain Hawks. In the 54th minute, Royds made a save to keep her side within one. Lehigh went on to fire two shots on goal in the game's final 10 minutes – in the 82nd and 90th minutes, respectively, but the chances from sophomore Courtney Supp and senior Sidonie Warnecker were denied by Cassalia.
 
Final shots were 10-9 in favor of Lehigh while the Black Knights held an 8-3 edge in corner kicks.
 
The Mountain Hawks wrap up the regular season next Friday when they host American at 6 p.m. At the end of Saturday, Lehigh was in the top six (and a Patriot League Tournament spot), but could still finish anywhere between third and eighth place.
 
"We've been here in years past, so we know the mindset going in," said Lambinus. "We wish we would've gotten more points this week, but we did what we did this week, we learn from it and try to get a little bit better. Get one or two percent better to give ourselves an opportunity to win on Friday.
 
"We've been good at home recently. Our game is all we can control. That's all we're worried about."

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