Riporti and Vitello named All-Region

November 29, 2016

Complete NSCAA Release
 
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Following tremendous seasons, Lehigh women's soccer juniors Alyssa Riporti and Adrian Vitello have been named NSCAA third team All-Region honorees, as announced on Tuesday. Both were first team All-Patriot League honorees after helping the Mountain Hawks to an 11-5-2 season and the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament.
 
Riporti and Vitello become Lehigh's first All-Region honoree since Genna Pepe earned second team laurels in 2011. They're two of seven honorees from the Patriot League as the Mountain Hawks featured the second-most honorees in the league, only behind Bucknell's three.
 
Riporti served as a center back on a Lehigh defense which began the season with eight straight shutouts and posted a shutout streak of 832:31 dating back to 2015. The Mountain Hawks were the last team in the nation to allow a goal this season, and they ended the year with 12 shutouts, allowing just 12 goals in 18 games (Patriot League best 0.67 per game). Lehigh finished seventh nationally in shutout percentage and 16th in goals against average. Riporti played every minute for the Mountain Hawks in 2016. She also contributed to the offense, owning a goal and assist. She scored a goal at Colgate while assisting on the game's only goal in a 1-0 win over Army West Point.
 
Vitello has been a mainstay in the Mountain Hawks' midfield, contributing on both ends of the field. She finished the season tied for fifth on the team with five points behind two goals and one assist. Vitello had a goal and assist against Marist, which helped her earn Patriot League Midfielder of the Week honors for a second straight week. She also scored the game's first goal in a 2-0 win at Big East foe Villanova. Vitello's impact went far beyond statistics as she helped lead Lehigh's defensive efforts as well. She was on the field nearly the entire game, averaging nearly 80 minutes per contest.
 
The Mountain Hawks finished a memorable season with 11 wins, which included a school-record eight game unbeaten streak to begin the season. Lehigh's seven-game winning streak also tied a school mark. The Mountain Hawks handed eventual league champion Bucknell its first loss of the season, a win that clinched Lehigh its first Patriot League Tournament berth since 2012. The team earned the No. 3 seed in the league tournament, its highest seeding since 2010.
 
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