Friday, November 13
Hamilton, N.Y.
4 p.m.
Lehigh University
12-5-3
2
at
0
No. 1 Colgate
10-7-2
1
2
F
Lehigh
2
0
2
Colgate
0
0
0
Mountain Hawks punch ticket to championship game with 2-0 semifinal victory at No. 1 Colgate
11/13/2015 6:10:00 PM | Men's Soccer
HAMILTON, N.Y. – The fourth-seeded Lehigh men's soccer team used a pair of first-half goals from freshman Mark Forrest and senior Jamie Luchini and a strong defensive effort to take down top-seeded and regular-season champion Colgate 2-0 in the Patriot League semifinals Friday evening at Colgate's Beyer-Small '76 Field. The Mountain Hawks advance to Sunday's 1 p.m. Patriot League Championship game and will face the winner of No. 2 Boston University vs. No. 3 American.
"The team came out with the right mentality and commitment to find two goals early in the first half," said head coach Dean Koski. "I would've liked to find a third goal, but the defense held strong against a very good Colgate team. Our results through the postseason really show the level of energy and commitment the team has."
The winner of Sunday's championship game will earn the Patriot League crown and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Lehigh will be making its first championship game appearance since 2004. The Mountain Hawks improve to 12-5-3 with the semifinal victory and end Colgate's season at 10-7-2. The shutout marked Lehigh's tenth clean sheet of the season.
"We need to focus on rest, recovery, nutrition and hydration heading into Sunday," said Koski. "It's always tough to play Friday and Sunday, so we'll focus on recovering and being ready to play Sunday. At this point, it's about the boys being ready to go out and give it their all Sunday."
The teams traded a shot apiece in the opening minutes, before a Colgate foul set up a Luchini free kick a few yards outside the box in the 14th minute. Senior Ben Davis flicked Luchini's low cross to Forrest who fired it home to notch his tenth goal of the season and give the Mountain Hawks a 1-0 lead. The goal snapped Colgate's 230-plus minute shutout streak as the Raiders hadn't surrendered a goal since Oct. 28.
Lehigh continued to pressure the Raiders and were able to add an insurance goal just 11 minutes later when sophomore Doyle Tuvesson sent a pristine cross that Luchini was able to head into the back of the net to put the Mountain Hawks ahead 2-0 in the 25th minute.
Lehigh sophomore keeper Joe Bogan was forced to make his first save of the game in the 28th minute on an attempt from Colgate's Troy Moo Penn. Bogan and Raiders keeper Ricky Brown each made one more save in the opening term before Lehigh carried its 2-0 lead into halftime.
The Mountain Hawks fired the first four attempts of the second half, while not allowing Colgate to get off a shot until the 70th minute with Zach Tamer headed a ball that was stopped by Bogan. The Mountain Hawks defense withstood a late Colgate surge in the final 15 minutes as the Raiders sent in five shots before Lehigh was able to regain possession and hold onto the ball until time expired to capture the 2-0 semifinal victory.
Bogan finished the game with four saves and notched the ninth clean sheet of his sophomore campaign, while Brown made three stops in goal for Colgate. Final shots stood 11-10 in favor of Colgate, while the Raiders held a slim 4-3 corner kick edge.
Lehigh will take on the winner of Boston University/American (to be played at 7 p.m. Friday) at 1 p.m. Sunday in the Patriot League Championship game at Colgate's Beyer-Small '76 Field. Free video of the championship game will be available on the Patriot League Network.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
COLGATE
Goals
2
0
Shots
10
11
Shots on Goal
5
4
Saves
4
3
Corners
3
4
Fouls
11
13
Scoring Plays
Forrest, Mark (10)
Assisted By: Davis, Ben , Luchini, Jamie
19 sent low cross into the box, 17 flick
13:20
Luchini, Jamie (8)
Assisted By: Tuvesson, Doyle
cross from 6 on the right wing headed in
24:40
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
1
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
F/M
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