The American University women's soccer team picked up its first Patriot League win of the season on Friday afternoon, registering a 1-0 victory over Lehigh at Reeves Field.

"This wasn't our best performance of the year but give credit to Lehigh for a great effort," said Head Coach Dave Bucciero. "We had a hard time possessing the ball today and getting into any kind of rhythm, but we found a way to win, which is most important this time of year. I'm happy for Shaena [Alfonsi] who has scored two very important goals for us this year, and her goal today was huge."

American (3-8-2, 1-1-0) had an early opportunity a minute into the match off a corner kick. Nicole Paviglionite sent the ball into the box where Jasmine Mohandesi and Michaela Cowgill registered point-blank shots, but the Lehigh defenders were able to knock the attempts aside. Mohandesi had another attempt in the 13th minute, with Ali Griffin coming up with the save.

American continued to pressure the Mountain Hawk defense to close out the first half. Carleigh Morba's header went wide in the 32nd minute after receiving the ball from Cowgill on a corner kick.

Lehigh (2-9-0, 0-2-0) opened the second half with an early chance, but Charlene Belanger came up with the save for the Eagles.

American broke the scoreless draw in the 50th minute when Mohandesi sent the ball into the center field. Shaena Alfonsi was there for the finish to give the Eagles a 1-0 advantage.

Lehigh attempted to respond with the equalizer, but Dustman's shot off the corner was blocked. The Mountain Hawks had another opportunity at the end of the match, but Darby Wiegand and Paige Dyrek's attempts were off-target.

The two teams each registered 12 shots in the match while Lehigh held a 4-3 edge in shots on goal. Belanger notched four saves in her first shutout of the season.

The Eagles are back at Reeves Field on Sunday, October 7 at 1 p.m. when they host Lafayette. The match will be broadcast live on Eagles Vision TV.