Lehigh University
UMBC
Lehigh shuts down UMBC 3-0
9/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
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“Getting three goals in the first half is always a good thing,” said head coach Dean Koski. “What I liked the most out of our guys was the way they managed the three goal lead, which can be difficult to do. Sometimes players relax and allow the other team to slip back into the game. Our guys did a great job of staying on top of UMBC, who really brought it in the second half.”
Lehigh wasted no time getting on the board in the first half, as Jim Taranto found Evans for a goal in the 13th minute. Just 12 minutes later, the duo hooked up again for Evans’ second goal of the game. This time
“You can’t leave him alone because he is going to burn you every time,” said Koski of Evans. “He does a great job of finishing plays and getting into spots where he can finish them.”
UMBC had a great scoring chance in the 32nd minute when Retrievers midfielder Dan Bulls had a free kick at the top of the penalty box. The ball went just over the hand of Lehigh goalkeeper Brian Lee, however, it hit the crossbar and bounced out of play as Lehigh held onto its 2-0 lead.
The Brown and White added its third goal of the game in the 42nd minute as Joe Clemente found a streaking Patrick Cucci for his first goal of the season. The Cucci goal was also assisted by Aaron Gildner, who picked up his first point of the year.
In the second half, Lehigh let the defense take over; however, the Mountain Hawks did not go without their scoring opportunities. Evans had a chance to get a hat trick in 68th minute, when he broke free from his defender and
Brian Lee made two great saves in the second half to help secure his third shut out of the season. It was Lee’s second straight shut out, and Koski has nothing but praise for the junior transfer, who is playing in his first season with Lehigh.
“He is adapting well to the new team, new school and new environment,” said Koski. “I also have to give credit to the guys playing in front of him, who have made this transition easy on him. They are really limiting the amount of key saves he needs to make, and doing a great job of keeping the ball out of our end of the field.”
Lehigh returns to action of Saturday, when they travel to Penn to take on the Quakers. The game is scheduled to start at 7:30 pm.
