Women’s Soccer Earns Shutout Win at Lehigh, 1-0

Bethlehem, Pa. – (September 2, 2018) – It was a complete 90-minute effort for the Fordham women's soccer team on Sunday with solid defensive work throughout and a moment of brilliance from sophomore Maura Holst in the first half, giving the Rams a 1-0 road win at Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
 
Fordham (1-4) got an early scoring chance in the 12^th minute, as Margaret Roughley had the ball near the endline, getting a cross past the Lehigh defender.  Morgan Busacca got a head on the cross, but glanced wide of the goal.
 
At the other end, Lehigh (2-3) put together a number of passes in the box in the 26^th minute with the last being a hard cross in front of the Fordham net, but Fordham keeper Kelly LaMorte quickly snatched the ball out of the air and out of danger.
 
The scoreless game was then broken in the 43^rd minute on a brilliant shot by Fordham's Maura Holst.  Emma Johnson took control of the ball, and lofted a pass over a Lehigh player to Holst.  After gaining control, Holst ripped a two-step shot into the top left corner of the goal from 25 yards out for her first career goal and a 1-0 lead.

 
The Rams were almost able to make it a 2-0 game heading into halftime, when Marissa Stanco had a shot to the right post with just a few seconds left but was handled by the Lehigh netminder.
 
After a LaMorte save to start the second half off a Lehigh corner, the Rams again had an opportunity to make it a two-goal game, as Amanda Miller ran on to a lead pass for a shot that Lehigh backup goalkeeper Sam Miller just got a fingertip on for a save pushing the ball to the left where the rebound was cleared.
 
Lehigh had one final major push to tie the game on a long free kick into the box that slipped by LaMorte.  However, Brooklyn Gonzalez was right there to knock the ball off the goal line in the 70^th minute.  The rebound shot was then blocked away for a Lehigh corner, where the ensuing shot was stopped by LaMorte for her fourth and final save of the game.
 
Following this win, the Rams now begin a five-game homestand which begins on Thursday, September 6^th against Yale, beginning at 7:00 PM on Jack Coffey Field.