Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh's defense being very stingy
9/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Bethlehem, PA – The Lehigh men’s soccer team is off to an impressive 3-1-1 start this season, in large part thanks to an extra stingy defense. The Mountain Hawks tied a school record with four consecutive shutouts in their first four games, including a dramatic 1-0 win over No. 25 Penn on a shot from 50 yards out by sophomore Adam Williamson with ten seconds remaining in the second overtime. But that goal would not have been possible if not for the Lehigh defense. The Mountain Hawks have out-shot their opponents by a staggering 64-24 mark, and have double the amount of shots on goal as its opponents (18-9).
Lehigh is fifth in the nation with a goals against average of a miniscule .18 and is tied for sixth with a shutout average of 80 percent. Junior goalie Sam Bishop has only allowed one goal in 490:00 minutes of action this season, good for fourth in the NCAA, and could challenge the Lehigh all-time goals against average that was set just last year by Ryan Grzeszczak at .75 GAA.
Lehigh has made a habit out of playing stellar defense, which assures the Mountain Hawks of being in every contest. Coach Dean Koski and his staff pride themselves on conjuring up defensive schemes to shut down opponents and limit their scoring opportunities. During his time at Lehigh, Koski’s teams have shut out their opponents nine times in a season in three different years, and are well on their way to duplicating that feat this season.
Koski says that the team’s success all starts with the defense, with everyone contributing in some way. "Our whole system is based upon how well we defend. I would say that up to this point, we have probably met our goals for the first quarter of the season. It has been a complete team effort and we’ll need contributions from everyone the rest of the way." Koski adds, "We have done a nice job in limiting our opponents shots against us and also their shots on goal. Obviously we still have to improve, mainly individually, and continue to grow as we move closer to our goals as a team."
This year’s team is led by senior backs Doug Cusick and Wes Roach, who have started 115 games between them in their career and in that time, have mastered the Lehigh defensive system. Roach is pleased with his and the team’s play thus far, but knows there is room for improvement. "Everybody is expected to know our defensive system, which in our program, comes first. Through this philosophy of play our defense actually jumpstarts our offense and gives us many of the scoring opportunities and goals we have already gotten this season and will continue to get." Roach continues, "I think our three backs (Doug Cusick, Jose Larin and Adam Williamson), and myself have defended well collectively and individually, but as we all know there is always room for improvement. I feel like the team and I have played pretty consistent so far and we can only hope to improve each and every game." Roach adds "We have such a young, talent rich team that one would be naive to not consider us or give us a chance in winning the Patriot League Championship and advancing in the NCAA Tournament."
Lehigh, which is ranked fifth in the Middle Atlantic Region, returns to action with a pair of matches this week, first on Wednesday night, when the Mountain Hawks travel to Delaware to take on the Blue Hens at 7:00 and then on Sunday afternoon down in Harrisonburg, VA against James Madison at 2:00. The game against Delaware will be broadcast live on Lehigh’s website.
