Lehigh University
Holy Cross
Mountain Hawks battle to 0-0 draw with Holy Cross
10/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
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Kyle Miller had the best chance of the night in the 110th minute when he broke free inside the 18-foot box. Miller had an open look at the goal with time running out, but his shot sailed high.
“I think they were a good team,” Lehigh head coach Dean Koski said. “It’s probably a better result for Holy Cross getting a point on the road. But we got one point out of it, and that’s important.”
Both Lehigh keeper Jonathan Nydell and Holy Cross keeper Thomas Booth registered two saves and recorded clean sheets in the tie.
Nydell was a rock for the Mountain Hawks in goal. Though the stat sheet will only show two saves, Nydell made several nice plays punching away crosses and snuffing out opportunities by the Crusaders.
“Jonathan Nydell did a good job of managing the box,” Koski said. “He made good decisions and he was in the right place a lot.”
Miller led all players with four shots, though none of them made it on goal. Kyle Evans’ three shots led all Lehigh players, but he was also unable to put one on net.
Holy Cross had two golden opportunities in the second half but the Crusaders could not convert. In the 65th minute, Matt Beckley broke free on the left side and fired a cross past the diving Nydell. But Dan Odenwelder was waiting on the goal line and blasted the ball away before Holy Cross could drive it home.
The second ripe opportunity for Holy Cross came in the 81st minute, when Miller broke free once again with just Nydell to beat. From inside 18 yards, Miller ripped a shot past the diving Nydell, but it bounced off the post and would not go in.
For the second time in three games, Nydell and the defense held an opponent scoreless throughout the game, which always makes the defensive-minded Koski pleased.
“I think that we were patient defensively,” Koski said. “We did a good job of containing them, and they did a good job of containing us.”
Lehigh returns to action on Tuesday, when the Mountain Hawks hit the road for a matchup with No. 10 Maryland in
