Lehigh University
College of Charleston
Lehigh blanked by College of Charleston
9/19/2010 10:16:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men's soccer team finished the weekend with a 1-1 record at the College of Charleston Tournament after falling to the hosts on Sunday by a score of 3-0. Senior keeper Jonathan Nydell stopped seven shots for the Brown and White as the team fell to 3-3-1 with the defeat.
Sean De Silva netted two goals for the Cougars, scoring his first just before the stroke of halftime and his second only seven minutes into the second frame. Jake Helmig added a third with a header off a corner kick in the 69th minute to round out the scoring.
"I thought for the better part of first half, we followed our game plan pretty well," Lehigh head coach Dean Koski said. "Giving up that goal late in first half was tough, we started chasing the game. Then when we went down by two, we stopped bringing it and we can't have that."
The College of Charleston held a 19-9 advantage in shots attempted and a 9-4 edge in corner kicks. Lehigh put two shots on target courtesy of freshman James Meyerkord and junior Joe Puleo.
"Charleston was very good," Koski admitted. "Even on our best day, we would have our hands full with them. That having been said, I didn't think we had our best day today, we made it easier on them."
The Cougars finished the tournament with a 2-0 record after defeating fellow Patriot League opponent Bucknell on Friday. Furman completed the weekend at 1-1, while Bucknell dropped both contests in Charleston.
Three Mountain Hawks were named to the All-Tournament team on Sunday, including freshman Austin Decker, who netted the game-winner on Friday against Furman. Meyerkord and senior James Graf were also named to the team.
"I think this tournament showed us that we aren't ready for the Patriot League tournament," Koski said. "The good news is that we don't have to be ready for that just yet."
The three-goal defeat was Lehigh's first since its last trip to South Carolina in September 2008, when the Mountain Hawks fell to South Carolina, 3-0.
Lehigh will open conference play in Hamilton, N.Y. on Friday against Colgate. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
