They were knocking on the door all game long.

But it wasn’t until Gabby Brown took a pass from Madison Becksted at 7:56 of the fourth period and fired it past the goalkeeper that Lehighton’s field hockey team achieve a 1-0 win over Muhlenberg Thursday.

Field position and the number of rushes at the Mules’ net had not ended with a score until Brown’s game winner - the freshman’s third goal in five games.

“I took a pass from the side,” said Brown, “and I just drove for the net and shot it into the right corner.”

In the first period, Lehighton (3-2) took immediate field advantage and forced the attack. Muhlenberg goalkeeper Sarah Althouse came out from her crease to stop several close chances and her kick save at 10:15 of the period kept the game scoreless.

The Mules (0-2) managed to cross midfield only twice in the first 11 minutes of the game. Two corners on circle penalties gave the Tribe even more chances, but they failed to finish the plays.

Muhlenberg got its attack going at the start of the second period with two rushes, one that nearly resulted in a shot on goal.

At the six-minute mark, Brown and Becksted teamed to get the ball in front of the goal, but it was sticked aside, leaving a scoreless tie at the break.

“We had a lot of scoring opportunities with our forwards, but we just couldn’t capitalize,” said Lehighton coach Vanessa Rimbey.

Althouse stopped all four shots for the Mules while her team managed just one shot on Indian goalkeeper Shelby Heater.

The third period saw a back-and-forth midfield battle for possession. With three minutes gone by, Tribe sophomore Mallory Buzydlowski nearly lit the scoreboard for the home team off a rush down the left side, but once again the ball was deflected off to the side.

Lehighton kept up the attack, directed by the accurate passing of Adriana Hinkle, who put the ball right on the sticks of her teammates with passes along the ground and from the air.

“Adriana is our center playmaker,” said Rimbey. “She forces the defense to go wide, which then opens up the passing lanes.”

With five to go in the period, the Mules had their best chance when Erin Smith passed the ball onto the stick of Abigail Langlois, who was ahead of the rush, but possession was lost before a shot could be taken.

In the fourth, a trip gave the Tribe another corner, but Alyssa Zehner’s shot was kicked away by Althouse.

The final 10 minutes were dominated by Lehighton. After the Brown goal, the Tribe forced three more circle penalties, but couldn’t get the insurance goal.

Heater faced only two Muhlenberg shots in the game in registering the shutout, while Lehighton peppered the Mule’s net a dozen times. A decided edge went to the Tribe on corners by a count of 10 to one.

Rimbey saw room for improvement in her team’s victory.

“We need to focus better on communication and supporting each other off the ball,” she said.

UP NEXT

... The Indians will get the chance to heed their coach’s advice when they visit Bloomsburg at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

TIME CHANGE

... The PIAA rules committee changed the game clock to four 15-minute periods from two 30-minute halves this season. The committee believes this will allow teams to maximize their play for the entire match, and the four periods now aligns with the college game clock.

SEEING IS BELIEVING

.. The national rules committee has lifted the requirement for goggles to be worn by all players due to a lobby of coaches who say that the eye protection greatly reduces peripheral vision and actually can become a cause for injury. Wearing goggles is now optional.