Lehigh University Athletics
Mountain Hawks look to continue momentum at Yale on Wednesday
10/26/2010 7:18:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men's soccer team looks to ride the momentum of three straight wins into a Wednesday evening showdown at Yale. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The Mountain Hawks (7-5-2, 3-1-1 PL), who are coming off a thrilling 2-1 victory over American on Saturday, now stand only three points out of first place in the Patriot League.
The win was significant as it marked American's first league defeat of the season. After falling behind only 58 seconds into the game, the Mountain Hawks responded with two second-half goals for the win. Senior James Graf capped it off with the go-ahead score in the 75th minute, this in his first game in two weeks. American and Lehigh are currently tied in the league standings, but if the season ended today, the Mountain Hawks would be the No. 2 seed due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Lehigh still has a chance to capture first place and host the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2006. Should the Mountain Hawks win both of their last two league games and Colgate garner no more than two points, they would overtake the Raiders for first place and the right to host the league tournament.
The team's hot streak has garnered both regional and national attention. Lehigh jumped all the way to No. 4 in the most recent NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Rankings released on Tuesday, its highest ranking all season. The Mountain Hawks also garnered a Patriot League weekly honor on Monday for the fourth consecutive week when sophomore Cameron Omsberg was named Defensive Player of the Week. A week ago, junior Neal Melchionni earned offensive laurels while also cracking the College Soccer News National Team of the Week.
Three other Mountain Hawks have been honored this season, including Graf and junior Kevin Strunk who both earned Defensive Player of the Week, and senior Jonathan Nydell who garnered Goalkeeper of the Week.
Yale is 2-10-1 overall, but has hung tough against some top teams. Of its 10 losses, six have been by a single goal while three have been by two goals. The Bulldogs have faced some of the top teams in the NSCAA Northeast Regional Rankings, including: No. 1 Connecticut (L, 3-1), No. 3 Penn (L, 2-0) and No. 8 St. John's (OT L, 2-1). Their wins have come against Sacred Heart and Cornell, while they most recently dropped a tight 2-0 final to No. 15 nationally ranked Penn on Saturday.
Wednesday marks only the third all-time meeting in school history. Yale won both previous matchups, in 1995 (2-1) and '96 (5-1).
Fans can follow Wednesday's action via live stats.
The Mountain Hawks wrap up the regular season with a pair of games, at Army on Oct. 31 and home vs. Bucknell on Nov. 6. One win would clinch a Patriot League Tournament berth with the tournament slated to begin the weekend of Nov. 12-14.
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