Lehigh University
Lafayette
Lehigh outlasted by Leopards
10/31/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Easton, PA – In a game it needed to win to help secure a spot in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament, Lehigh lost a heartbreaker to archrival Lafayette, by a score of 1-0 on Friday night. The game was scoreless the entire way, until junior Nathan Jolly found the back of the net at the 6:39 mark of the second overtime off of a ball played into the box from senior Andrew Cottrell to give Lafayette the win, and send the Mountain Hawks to their second consecutive loss. With the latest setback, Lehigh falls to 7-3-7 on the season, 1-1-4 in the Patriot League, while the Leopards improve their record to 8-5-3 on the year, 3-1-2 in league action.
Playing without injured senior defensive back Doug Cusick, the Mountain Hawk defense did not miss a beat without one of its captains, as the defense was as solid as it has been all season long, keeping the Leopards out of the goal for over 100 minutes of action. But Jolly was eventually able to find a seam and snuck in the game-winner, breaking the hearts of Lehigh, and putting a damper on its post season hopes. The Mountain Hawks were unfortunate in the sense that they were unable to muster up anything on the offensive end, and it cost them in the end. For the game, Lehigh got off five shots, compared to the Leopards seven.
Junior goalkeeper Sam Bishop picked up two saves on the evening for the Brown and White, as he again did his best to give Lehigh a chance. Lafayette’s goalie, Jay Freedman, registered three saves of his own on the evening, as he picked up the victory and the shutout.
Lehigh will return to action on November 8, when Navy comes to the Ulrich Sports Complex, in what becomes a must win game for the Mountain Hawks if they have any hopes of making it to the postseason league tournament. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 and can be heard live on the Lehigh website.
