Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh braces for clash with Penn State
9/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Bethlehem, PA – Lehigh travels to State College on Wednesday to battle the Nittany Lions of Penn State University in a non-league showdown. Lehigh enters the contest ranked 18th nationally, and winners of its last seven matches. Penn State is number 23 in the nation, and the Lions are a perfect 6-0 at home.
The Mountain Hawks stand at 11-2 on the season, and have already clinched a spot in the Patriot League postseason tournament. Lehigh is led offensively by junior Evan Bruno and sophomore Doug Cusick. Bruno and Cusick are among the leaders in the Patriot League in both goals scored and points. Bruno leads in both categories, with nine goals and 23 points, while Cusick is third with 6 goals and 14 points. The Mountain Hawks have out-scored their opponents by a 27-10 margin on the season.
Defensively, Lehigh has played extremely well. The Mountain Hawks have surrendered only one goal (while scoring 13) during the current winning streak. Freshman Elliot Leonard recently earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors for his strong defensive play, and junior goalkeeper Ryan Grzeszczak garnered league Defensive Player of the Week accolades. Grzeszczak has recorded eight shutouts this year, and has a goals against average of 0.75.
Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions enter Wednesday’s match with a 10-3-1 record of their own. Sophomore Eric Earnhardt and junior Ryan Sickman have split time almost equally in the net, and both have put up extremely solid numbers. Sickman has a GAA of 0.62, while Earnhardt’s is 0.66. Offensively, Penn State is led by senior midfielder Ricardo Villar, who sat out most of last season with an injury. The Brazilian native leads this year’s squad in goals (6), assists (11), and points scored (23). The Nittany Lions are unbeaten in their last four matches.
Lehigh will be looking for its first-ever win against Penn State; the Lions lead the all-time series 8-0-3. Kick off is set for 7pm EST, and the match will be broadcast live on the Lehigh web site at www.lehigh.edu.
For more information, contact Jeff Tourial, Lehigh Sports Media Relations.
