Lehigh University Athletics
American blanks depleted Lehigh squad
9/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Playing without three of its starters, #18 Lehigh dropped its second straight road contest, falling to American University by a 3-0 count on Saturday afternoon at Reeves Field in Washington, D.C. The loss drops Lehigh to 11-4 overall and 4-2 in Patriot League play, while the Eagles improve to 8-7-1 on the season, and 5-1 in league contests.
The Mountain Hawks were forced to compete without their two biggest scoring threats in forwards Evan Bruno and Doug Cusick. Bruno, the league’s leading scorer, sat out for the first time this season, while Cusick, third in the league in goals scored, missed his second straight contest because of injury. Meanwhile, head coach Dean Koski decided to rest goalkeeper Ryan Grzeszczak, who is tied for the Patriot League lead with eight shutouts on the season. Freshman Sam Bishop played in net for Lehigh, making his first start of the season.
The Eagles got on the board at 4:32, when Andrew Herman fed Jonathon Colton who beat Bishop to give AU a one-nothing lead. The Eagles grabbed a 2-0 first half cushion when Colton found John Fico, who found the back right corner of the net for the score. AU secured the victory when Adam Rosen scored in the 75th minute to give American a 3-0 lead, and eventually, a 3-0 win. By failing to score, Lehigh was shutout for the second consecutive time, after scoring at least one goal in its first 13 contests.
"We let in an early bad goal, and our defense struggled," said Lehigh coach Dean Koski following the defeat. "Playing without Ryan, Evan, and Doug certainly hurt, but we didn’t play with any character. I was disappointed in our showing."
Lehigh will have another crack at American on Friday, November 16, when the two teams square off in the first round of the Patriot League tournament, which will take place in Worcester, MA on the Holy Cross campus.
In the short term, Lehigh looks to get back on the right track when it hosts Princeton on Tuesday night at the Ulrich Sports Complex in a make-up game. The contest was originally scheduled to be played on September 16, but was postponed. Tuesday’s match will kick off at 7p.m. EST, and will be broadcast live on the Lehigh web site at www.lehigh.edu.
Scoring
Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
Lehigh | 0 | 0 | 0 |
American | 2 | 0 | 3 |
Scoring Summary
Team | Goal | Assists | Time |
American | Jonathon Colton | Andrew Herman/Kris Bertsch | 4:32 |
American | John Fico | Jonathon Colton | 35:19 |
American | Adam Rosen | Shawn Kuykendall | 74:46 |
Shots on Goal
Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
Lehigh | 3 | 3 | 6 |
American | 6 | 3 | 9 |
Goalkeepers
Team | Goalkeeper | Minutes | Saves | Goals Allowed |
Lehigh | 90:00 | 3 | 3 | |
American | Michael Behonick | 90:00 | 3 | 0 |
Corner Kicks
Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
Lehigh | 2 | 0 | 2 |
American | 0 | 2 | 2 |
For more information, contact Jeff Tourial, Lehigh Sports Media Relations.
