The American University women's soccer team (2-8-3) won their matchup against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (2-7-3) on Oct. 4 by a score of 3-1.
American got off to a fast start — in the third minute, a cross by senior midfielder Avery Klingensmith found a wide-open Jennifer McGuire on the right side that gave her a chance to score. McGuire quickly did so with her left foot, sending the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.
The Eagles didn’t concede after scoring this goal, however. They continued attacking up the field and forced the Mountain Hawks into making quick decisions. In just the first five minutes, the pressure by American almost forced Lehigh junior goalie R'Reeyah Mabry-Francis to make a mistake three separate times.
“We high press a lot,” graduate forward McGuire said, who forced a lot of errors out of Lehigh with her pressure. “Our mindset is the higher up the field we can win it, the better chance we have to score the goal.”
Lehigh got more shots as the half went along. A 19th-minute shot by junior forward Cyndea Labissiere was easily deflected by an American defender, allowing sophomore goalie Addison Roemer to make an easy save. While each team’s chances were about equal in the first half, the quality of the shots taken by the Eagles was much higher.
With 10 minutes remaining in the half, Lafayette fouled freshman forward Jenna Etienne-Valtrin in the right side of the penalty box, giving American a penalty kick. Klingensmith, who came into this game tied for the team lead in goals, sank the right-footed kick into the left side of the net, giving the Eagles a commanding 2-0 lead going into halftime.
Lehigh came out of the half fast, with an early chance to score a goal. Lehigh sophomore midfielder Taylor Latini’s quick shot forced Roemer to make a diving save and give the Hawks a corner. The corner was quickly headed out by American.
The Eagles went on the counterattack, with freshman defender Jayden Fisher taking a shot from the right side. Mabry-Francis deflected the ball, trying to make a jumping save, but the shot was too powerful and the Eagles scored.
“A lot of the goals…came in different ways,” head coach Marsha Harper said about the diversity in the American attack. “When you play a team that can score in different fashions, that’s what you hope for as a coach.”
Despite being down 3-0, Lehigh kept the attack going. Just five minutes later, an errant tackle by freshman defender Mary DelVecchio in the penalty box gave the Hawks a chance at a penalty kick. Lehigh graduate student forward Faith Dobosiewicz scored her third goal of the year, ruining the chance for a shutout and making the game 3-1.
For the next 15 minutes, most of the game was played in American’s defending half as Lehigh continued their attack. In the 66th minute, a Lehigh long ball to junior forward Aminah Baruwa gave the Mountain Hawks a chance to make it a one-goal lead, but the good run by Baruwa wasn't enough to score.
After weathering good attempts by Lehigh, American was able to hold on and earn their second Patriot League win.
The Eagles return home to Reeves Field to play the Navy Midshipmen on Oct. 15.
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Penelope Jennings and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Sabine Kanter-Huchting, Ryan Sieve, Audrey Smith andAva Stuzin.
