Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh hosts Colgate Saturday in PL clash
9/29/2011 9:42:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men's soccer team will look to ride momentum from its victory in its Patriot League opener as the Mountain Hawks host Colgate on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Lehigh (4-1-3, 1-0-0 PL) is coming off an exciting 1-0 double-overtime win against defending league champion Bucknell. It was the Mountain Hawks' fourth straight shutout and sixth consecutive match without a loss as they will look to keep both streaks going Saturday.
“I think it's helpful when you can build momentum going into such an important game for us as it also provides the players with some confidence,” said head coach Dean Koski. “Every game is a new game, though. We aren't looking behind, we're just focusing on the match ahead and it's a very important one for us.”
Senior Kevin Strunk found the back of the net with a header in the 106th minute for his first goal of the season on a pass from senior Jordie Ciuffetelli. For his efforts, Ciuffetelli was named to the College Soccer News and Soccer America Teams of the Week as well as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week. The Unionville, Pa. native not only had the assist on the game-winner but had two defensive saves when he cleared the ball off the goal line, one in the first half and the second in double overtime.
Lehigh's defense has been the early story of the 2011 season as the Mountain Hawks rank No. 2 in the nation in goals against average (0.22 GAA). Lehigh has given up just two goals in 806 minutes of action which included a pair of shutouts in 216 minutes last week as both matches went into double overtime. The Mountain Hawks now have six shutouts in eight games this season. In the net, sophomore Ciaran Nugent ranks No. 2 in the nation with a 0.947 saves percentage.
Offensively, Lehigh is led by senior Joe Puleo who has five points with two goals and one assist while sophomore James Meyerkord and Strunk both have three points with a goal and an assist each. The Mountain Hawks are ranked fourth in the league in shots, averaging 14.25 per game but are tied for last in goals with 0.75 per game. While it's clear Lehigh is creating plenty of chances, now it's just about converting them.
“We have to finish our chances,” said Koski. “We continue to spend time with our attacking players to help them gain confidence but they are knocking on the door and I think it's only a matter of time before they break through.”
The Mountain Hawks will face a Colgate team that is coming off a loss in its league-opener to American 3-0. Colgate (5-2-1, 0-1-1 PL) is led by senior co-captains Steven Miller and Mike Reese. Miller is second in the league in points per game (1.0) and second in goals per game (0.50) as he has tallied four goals in eight games while both of Reese's goal this season have been game-winners.
This will be the 26th meeting between the two teams, with Lehigh trailing the all-time series 9-12-4 since the school's first met in 1989. Lehigh holds a 5-3-3 edge at home in the series. The most recent meeting between the two teams came last season when Lehigh fell 1-0 at Colgate.
Colgate was picked to finish on top of the league in the 2011 Patriot League Preseason Poll voted by head coaches and sports information directors in the league.
“Colgate has always presented itself as one of the toughest teams in the league,” said Koski. “We have great respect for how they show up to compete. They are very good team and that has some very good players and we think they will be a real challenge for us this weekend.”
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