MORAGA, Calif. - Following a long day of travel on Thursday, the Lehigh women's soccer team played a hard-fought game with Pacific on Friday which ended in a 1-1 stalemate. Junior Danielle Salans scored early in the first half, the Tigers answered just over 10 minutes later, but neither team could score from there. It marked Lehigh's first-ever game in California.
 
"It was good to get a result considering we got into our hotel 11 hours before the game because of travel issues with all the storms," said Lehigh head coach Eric Lambinus. "We had pretty good energy and fitness. Many players contributed for us. We played a lot more than we typically do.
 
"We had chances, especially towards the end of the game, so we're disappointed we didn't get a win," Lambinus continued. "The opportunities were there. It would have been a great win, but it didn't happen."
 
Salans gave Lehigh a 1-0 lead on the Mountain Hawks' first shot of the game. She took a feed from senior Heather Camperson and fired a strike into the upper-left corner of the net at the 5:45 mark.
 
The Tigers evened the score in the 17th minute as Maricela Padilla finished a point-blank cross from Brittni Beeman to make it 1-1.
 
In the first half, Pacific held an 11-4 edge in shots and 7-4 in the second, but the Mountain Hawks had quality opportunities. Senior Murphee Greeley, junior Darby Dustman and freshman Tori Pantaleo fired shots on goal, but were unable to beat Pacific goalie Tashia Long for a second time.
 
A very physical game saw 38 combined fouls (22 for Pacific and 16 for Lehigh) along with three yellow cars and a red card, assessed to the Tigers midway through the second half.
 
"It was definitely a physical game, especially in the second half," said Lambinus. "I thought our team handled the physical play well. We played well. We kept possession of the ball and had some good passes."
 
Final shots were 22-11 in favor of Pacific while the Tigers had a 4-2 edge in corner kicks. Lehigh junior goalie Ashley Blanks was strong, making eight saves across Long who made three.
 
The Mountain Hawks round out their California swing on Sunday when they face the host Saint Mary's Gaels at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. local).
 
"We're excited to play on Sunday and get acclimated to the area," said Lambinus. "We're going to spend some time with friends and family who've come out. We had a huge Lehigh contingent here today. We probably had close to 60-75 fans. We're excited to play in front of a different group of individuals on Sunday.
 
"We are excited to play Saint Mary's. It's another chance to play a team we don't typically play and on their home field."
 
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