Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh hosts Penn in non-league matchup
10/10/2011 9:25:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Coming off a disappointing 1-0 loss at Lafayette on Saturday night, the Lehigh men's soccer team (4-2-4, 1-1-1 PL) will look to rebound when it returns home to host Ivy League opponent Penn (6-4-1, 1-1-0 Ivy) Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the Ulrich Sports Complex. It will be the 57th meeting between the two schools, the first coming in 1915. The Quakers hold the all-time edge 34-18-4 while the Mountain Hawks will be looking to avenge a 2-0 loss at Penn in 2009.
Lehigh was unbeaten in its previous seven matches before falling to Lafayette over the weekend. The Mountain Hawks dominated the game in their attacking third, out-shooting the Leopards 19-4 including 14-2 in shots on goal. Lehigh also had 11 corner kicks to Lafayette's three, but couldn't take advantage of its scoring opportunities. After the Mountain Hawks had two great chances in the game's first few minutes, Lafayette scored the game-winner in the 10th minute off a header from a corner kick.
The goal was only the third allowed all season in a little over 1,000 minutes of action by the Lehigh defense that is led by its strong back four of Jordie Ciuffetelli, Cameron Omsberg, Kevin Strunk and Ali Famili while keeper Ciaran Nugent has a .930 save percentage. The defense is ranked first in the Patriot League in goals allowed (0.30), goals against average (0.27) and shutout percentage (0.70).
While the defense has done a stellar job in shutting down opponents, Lehigh will look to its offense Tuesday night to find the back of the net, something it has struggled with thus far this season. The Mountain Hawks have only scored six goals in 10 games this season despite averaging about 14 shots per game.
James Meyerkord leads the team with 27 shots while Joe Puleo had 24 shots and Stunk has 20. Puleo is the team's points leader with five points (two goals, one assist) while Meyerkord and Strunk both have a goal and an assist each for three points.
Lehigh will take on a Penn team that has had no problem generating offense as it ranks first in the Ivy League in shots (17.45 per game), goals (1.82 per game) and is second in points (5.09 per game). The Quakers are coming off a 3-2 victory at Columbia in which it erased an early two-goal disadvantage and scored the game-winner with 44 seconds left in the match.
Penn is led by Duke Lacroix (five goals, two assists), Christian Barreiro (four goals, four assists) and Stephen Baker (four goals, two assists). The trio has combined for 34 of the team's 56 points as Lacroix and Barreiro lead the way with 12 points apiece and Baker has 10. Three of Baker's four goals have been game-winners and Baker leads the Ivy League in shots (4.45 per game) while Barreiro is third (3.55 per game). The Quakers currently sit in a tie for third place in the Ivy standings.
Along with LIVE stats, there will be LIVE streaming video of Tuesday's match.
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