After scoring 12 goals in its opening three games last season, it was hard to envision a scenario in which the Lehigh women’s soccer team could have a better start to its season.
But with zero goals allowed through their first four games, this year’s Mountain Hawks have done exactly that.
The team began its season with a 0-0 draw against Monmouth University, and in every game since then has scored at least three goals while blanking its opponents. Junior captain and defender Alyssa Riporti is not surprised by the early success of the team.
“The expectation was to do this well,” Riporti said. “Our team really prides itself on defense.”
Based on statistics, the players have every reason to be proud. Every Patriot League team has played at least four games this season, and Lehigh is the only one yet to concede a goal.
Coach Eric Lambinus said defense naturally became a focus for the team because of its quality on that side of the field. Freshman goalie Sam Miller echoed the statement, commending the work of each her teammates through the first four games.
“Our philosophy is that all the best teams are great defensive teams,” Miller wrote in an email. “All 11 players on the field are expected to commit to defending, no matter their position, and I think a lot of credit is due to our attacking players for buying into that concept.”
While the rest of the team deserves a great deal of credit, Miller herself has been outstanding in goal and has contributed significantly to the team’s shutout streak. Just four games into her college career, Miller has already won Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors twice while averaging 4.25 saves per game, ranking fifth in the Patriot League.
“(Miller) kind of epitomizes what we want in our keeper,” Lambinus said. “She’s very solid, she’s calm, she’s very composed. She doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, even in training. And that’s what we want our goalies to be.”
Miller, however, insisted that most of the credit was due to the defense in front of her. She noted the calming presence of sophomore Clare Severe, the composed buildup play of sophomore Ashley Maziarz and the one-on-one defending skills of freshman Annika Jansa, but she saved her most lavish praise for Riporti, calling her “the heart and emotional leader of our team.”
Last year, the Mountain Hawks struggled on the other side of the ball, scoring just three goals against Patriot League competition. The team has addressed this, Riporti said, with the primary focus now on keeping possession while moving up the field whenever possible.
Lambinus also acknowledged the struggle the team had with putting the ball in the net last year but said the team had tried to put more emphasis on the offense. That resulted in a downturn in the team’s defensive quality and its eventual ninth-place finish in the Patriot League.
With their success looms the possibility of a repeat of last season. After winning four of their first seven games, the 2015 Mountain Hawks only won twice in nine games once Patriot League play began.
To prevent that from happening again, Lambinus said he plans on spreading out minutes more in order to avoid fatigue later in the year. The team is also tracking sleeping habits, readiness and training loads to further ensure the team remains in top form when the end of the season rolls around.
One other method that seems to be benefiting the team is the players’ new approach of treating every game like it’s the last one.
“What we’re working on right now is thinking of every game as the Patriot League Championship,” Riporti said. “We’ve been practicing a lot of mindfulness, so before each game focusing like ‘This is how you would play in a Patriot League Championship.’”
Lambinus mentioned that employing this mindset has helped the team familiarize itself with playing under that kind of pressure, so when the team does reach that final game, it will be ready for it.
The team will go for its fifth straight shutout Friday against Binghamton University at home.
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