BETHLEHEM, Pa. – As the Mountain Hawks extended their winning streak to nine games with Sunday’s 5-0 victory over Army, Lehigh added onto its growing list of awards and recognitions with two national rankings and three more Patriot League weekly awards, as it was announced on Monday and Tuesday. Additionally, the Mountain Hawks placed in all the NCAA team statistical standings while senior Jim Morahan continued with his individual rankings in the NCAA statistical standings, as announced on Tuesday. Lehigh earned a No. 27 ranking in the College Soccer News Top 30 National Poll on Monday and a No. 21 ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll on Tuesday. The Mountain Hawks also moved up two spots in the Mid-Atlantic Regional poll No. 2. Meanwhile, freshman Jesse Schram took the Patriot League’s Rookie of the Week honors while senior John O’Reilly and sophomore Jim Taranto earned honorable mentions, as it was announced on Monday.
The Mountain Hawks were one of five teams to break in to the NSCAA poll and were just one of four teams to enter into the CSN poll. This week’s polls mark the first time since last season that Lehigh has received national rankings. Last year, the Mountain Hawks reached as high as No. 28 in the CSN poll and No. 18 in the poll released by National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Schram may have received his second recognition from the Patriot League, but it was his first Rookie of the Week honor as well as the team’s second-straight week of claiming the award. Against Army, Schram recorded his third goal in the 53rd minute when he shot a loose ball from 15 yards out to give the Mountain Hawks a 4-0 lead. The Durham, N.H. native then assisted on Lehigh’s final goal when he fed the ball to junior Joe Clemente in the 70th minute. On September 11, the Patriot League honored Schram with an honorable mention recognition for his efforts in the Mountain Hawks’ games against Penn and Columbia.
This is the second time O’Reilly received one of the league’s weekly awards. He was named Defensive Player of the Week on September 18 as he recorded both goals in Lehigh’s 2-1 double overtime victory over Navy. In Sunday’s game, the Arlington, Mass. native gave the Mountain Hawks a 2-0 lead in the 31st minute when an Army foul from 35 yards out created a direct free kick opportunity for the Brown and White. Sophomore Adam Gazda took the kick and found O’Reilly, who was ten yards out and proceeded to head the ball into the net.
Taranto received his first recognition as a Mountain Hawk with his honorable mention. The transfer from the University of Virginia scored his fifth goal of the season on Sunday when junior Mike Hessemer sent a long ball from the Mountain Hawks’ defensive end to Taranto, which resulted in a breakaway for Taranto and a 3-0 lead for Lehigh. Taranto has scored at least once in the last three games for the Mountain Hawks.
Among the NCAA statistical standings, which only lists the top 30 teams, the Mountain Hawks placed in the top five in four of the categories and in the top 20 in the fifth category. Lehigh is tied for first with Patriot League foe Colgate for shutout percentage with a 0.73. Lehigh ranks third in team goals against average (0.35) and won-lost-tied-percentage (0.864) as well as fourth in save percentage (0.897). Rounding out the team categories is scoring offense, which Lehigh is No. 18 with 2.09 goals per game. Individually, Morahan remains one of the top goalkeepers in the nation. The Englewood, Colo. native is fourth with a 0.361 goals against average and sixth in save percentage with 0.889. Like the team standings, rankings are only given to the top 30 players.
No. 21/27 Lehigh will return to action on Wednesday afternoon when it travels to Adelphi for the Mountain Hawks final mid-afternoon game of the season. Game time is set for 4:00 pm.
