Lehigh University
Colgate
Mountain Hawks win wet league opener 2-1 in OT
9/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Mountain Hawks opened up their Patriot League slate on Saturday night against reigning two-time league champion Colgate and an own-goal lifted Lehigh to a 2-1 victory. Both teams had to battle steady rain all night in front of a packed crowd at the Ulrich Sports Complex. With the win Lehigh improves to 4-2-1 on the season and 1-0 in the Patriot League.
“The weather certainly had an effect on the game, but I was really impressed with the way our guys competed,” head coach Dean Koski said.
The Mountain Hawks were able to get on the board early as freshman Austin Decker netted his fourth goal of the season in the 14th minute. The forward took a pass from senior defender Adam Welch to net the goal and extend his team lead in goals.
Colgate answered right back scoring just over one minute later to even the score. Freshman Mike Reidy was setup by Shane Conlin and he buried his opportunity to give him his fourth on the season.
After a sloppy first half the Mountain Hawks came out strong in the second half out shooting the Raiders 10-3, but they couldn’t find the back of the net.
With the rain still coming down hard the game went to overtime and just over one minute in a Colgate defender headed it right over his keeper Max Krasilovsky-Reve’s reach to give the Mountain Hawks the victory.
“I feel bad for the defender and keeper because in normal weather that is an easy exchange,” Koski said. “It levels out though, there are times when it can happen for you and against you. A win is a win.”
Krsilovsky-Reve stopped six shots in the loss for Colgate. The Mountain Hawks junior keeper Jonathan Nydell made four saves in the game and his record now stands at 4-2-1.
Lehigh is now 3-0-1 in its last four matches and is in good shape heading into the heart of its season.
“This is a huge win for us,” Koski said. “They were preseason favorite to win the league and any time you can find a way to get points at home it is important. We have to make sure we keep improving and work on the small things that will make us better every match.”
The Mountain Hawks will return to action Tuesday night when they hit the road for a non-conference game with Fairleigh Dickinson at 7 p.m.
Lehigh - Colgate Post-Game Extra
