Lehigh women’s soccer lost a tight 1-0 battle at home to Princeton University on Tuesday night, falling victim to a late second half goal.
Lehigh (8-3-1, 2-2 Patriot) has struggled in its previous meetings with Princeton, failing to defeat the Tigers since they began playing annually back in 2006. However, the Hawks may be a different team from the previous Lehigh women’s soccer teams as they have their first real shot for a Patriot League in several years.
“The work rate in practice has really stood out this year, we come out everyday looking to work,” senior Alyssa Riporti said. “And another significant change this year is the chemistry from the top down, from seniors to freshman we all really know each other so we can adapt and play to each other strengths.”
This has been evident in the women’s play as the team has outscored its opponents 19-7 thus far in the 2016 season. Although it entered the Princeton matchup as major underdogs, as Princeton entered the matchup at No. 28 in the country, while the Mountain Hawks were ranked at No. 180 in the country.
In the first half, the Mountain Hawks were out-shot eight to three and played primarily on their own side of the field for a good majority of the half. In the second half the Mountain Hawks were far more aggressive offensively, evening the shot total to 5-4, but a second half goal was too much to overcome and the Mountain Hawks were unable to respond.
“I think we need to continue being as good defensively as we are and make it difficult on them,” coach Eric Lambinus said. “And one thing we need to work on is to just be better once we have it. When we get the ball, we need to use the transition to counter on them.”
Riporti backed her coach’s statement, saying defense will continue to be the team’s focus.
“We will focus on keeping our shape defensively as that is definitely our strength as a team,” Riporti said. “We can improve on looking to piece the ball together at time and using the speed we have to get behind defenses.”
The Hawks will now prepare to square off against Patriot League rival Loyola this Saturday at 7 p.m at Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore.
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