Lehigh University Athletics
Mountain Hawks prep for season finale at Colgate
11/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
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“We obviously didn’t put ourselves in position to put it in our own hands,” Lehigh head coach Dean Koski said. “I think the players are frustrated, but young players are resilient. They’re probably even more resilient than coaches.”
Not only do the Mountain Hawks need to take care of business against the Raiders on Saturday, they will also need some help if they plan on making a return trip to the postseason this year. The only way into the tournament for the Brown and White is if
The game between Lehigh and Colgate at 7 p.m. Saturday will be the final regular season Patriot League game this year, so the Mountain Hawks will know if they have a chance to make the playoffs before kickoff.
“Knowing beforehand is both a good and a bad thing,” Koski said. “If Lafayette or Bucknell loses it can change our mentality, and if they win it can change our mentality. But what we want to do, either way, is finish the year on a strong note.”
The one thing the Mountain Hawks know this week is that all of the tiebreaking scenarios mean nothing if they can’t register three points against the Raiders, who currently sit in a tie for the top spot in the Patriot League and will be playing for home-field advantage in the tournament.
“We think Colgate is a very good team,” Koski said. “We also feel like we match up well against them. We have to defend real well because we can’t get into a shootout with them.”
The Mountain Hawks got into a shootout in their last game against Bucknell, a 3-2 defeat at the Ulrich Sports Complex on Nov. 1. Koski said if his squad is too concerned with scoring goals, and not focused enough on playing defense, the Colgate game could be reminiscent of the Bucknell loss.
The Raiders currently lead the Patriot League in goals against, putting up a 0.73 goals against average so far in 2008. Colgate has allowed just 13 goals all season, so the Mountain Hawks will have to work extremely hard to steal a win on the road.
The other factor Lehigh may have to worry about is the weather in
“I don’t think we want to worry too much about (scoring),” Koski said. “I think we have to be patient, and we have to adapt to the conditions. Most importantly, we need to be able to keep the game close.”
Live video coverage of the match can be found here on Lehighsports.com thanks to an agreement with Colgate Athletics. Yahoo subscribers can log in the same way they would normally for a home Lehigh broadcast to watch the Colgate broadcast beginning at 7 p.m.
