Lehigh University Athletics
Season Preview: Lehigh aims for continued success in 2015
8/24/2015 1:49:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Looking to build upon the momentum of a ten-win 2014 season, the Lehigh men's soccer team will return a committed group of upperclassmen and welcome a promising bunch of newcomers in hopes of making a run at a Patriot League Championship in 2015. The Mountain Hawks begin the 2015 campaign against Fairleigh Dickinson at the Ulrich Sports Complex on Friday, August 28.
Head Coach Dean Koski plans to mix experienced leaders with versatile underclassmen this season as he enters his 24th year at the helm with his sights set on a second-straight Patriot League Tournament berth.
"It's all about the team-first mentality," said Koski. "If we can put the team first it will go a long ways. If we can stay at the level of committed and compelled week in and week out then we can have a successful season."
The Mountain Hawks face the challenge of replacing two-time All-League goalkeeper Ciaran Nugent, but Koski is pleased with the prospects he has in goal. Junior Jacob Gottwald and sophomore Joe Bogan are competing for the starting job in net, while senior Everett McCord is also competing for minutes. Gottwald saw a majority of the action during the 2013 campaign as a freshman, starting in 11 games and making 46 saves. Bogan got the start in two games a season ago, compiling a 2-0 record with five saves and a 0.50 goals against average.
"We have a great competition brewing with our keepers right now," said Koski. "We're happy with all three keepers, but we will need more from them in the coming weeks. We like the competition so we could potentially see a rotation of keepers from game to game."
The back line will be anchored centrally by preseason All-League and 2014 second team All-League pick junior Justin Worley and 2014 third team All-League selection senior Brian Vail. The two experienced players will be complimented by senior Ben Davis as someone who could be a starter as well.
"Right now, we see Ben Davis as a very important backup in that role because we don't really have depth in the center back position," said Koski. "Ben can step in at any given moment so we really like our core of three experienced players there."
The outside back positions have seen significant competition with senior Kyle Chin and freshman Matt Morana competing at left back and freshmen Oscar Greene and Calum Bishop vying for right back.
"The defensive competition has been a good environment for us," said Koski. "Each position will obviously see one starter, but that could change throughout the season and I think the players will complement each other well."
Sophomores David Zipkin and John Marc Charpentier will be competing for the holding midfield position after both putting together strong preseasons. Junior Danny Gonzalez and sophomore Jack Miskel will begin the season as the starting attacking midfielders, with senior Ryan Bertrando and freshman Alex Greene also seeing significant minutes in the attacking mid role.
"Having depth in our midfield is very important to us," said Koski. "All of those guys have had great preseasons and we feel good about the skills and depth each of them will provide."
The front line is where Koski feels the team displays its deepest talent pool, with three players fighting for time in each of the three forward positions. Senior Jamie Luchini, junior Gianfranco Giammatteo and sophomore Doyle Tuvesson are projected to get the starting jobs up top for the beginning of the season. Luchini, a preseason All-League selection and 2014 second team All-League member, has been Lehigh's leading goal scorer for each of the last two seasons. Tuvesson put together a standout rookie campaign and was named to the NSCAA All-Northeast Region third team after finishing as Lehigh's second leading scorer with five goals and four assists. Luchini, Tuvesson and Giammatteo combined to score 58 percent of Lehigh's goals a season ago.
Koski expects senior Austin Decker, sophomore Nick Jewell and freshmen Ben Bates, Mark Forrest and Donovan Perayeff to all compete for minutes on the deep front line.
"We probably have more depth right now on our attacking half than our defensive half," said Koski. "We needed the competition in the team and having the ability to mix it up day in and day out if it keeps players sharp, rested and hungry."
Koski feels good about where the team is as preseason winds down and the team gets ready to take on its first opponent.
"Right now our camaraderie is equally as important as how they're playing," explained Koski. "It's still early and we're still working on developing a sense of how we'll interpret our attacking and defensive systems, but they've responded to the systems positively. They've worked hard for each other and came in prepared as a group fitness wise."
With seven seniors, six juniors, eight sophomores and seven freshmen, the balanced Mountain Hawk squad will rely on the leadership of the upperclassmen to set the tone for the season.
"I think the most important piece to this year is how well the seniors continue to do in leading this group and setting an example for what the expectations and standards are," said Koski. "Both the seniors and upperclassmen have done a really good job of embracing the freshmen and giving them opportunities to acclimate to the team. We could have two freshmen, maybe even three at times, start for us throughout the year so that's a credit to the program and to the seniors. As long as we stay true to the notion of team before self, we will be able to achieve our team goals."
The 2014 season was a strong turnaround season for the Mountain Hawks as Lehigh captured its first ten-win season since 2006. The Mountain Hawks went 5-3-1 in league play to earn the No. 4 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, but fell to eventual champion Bucknell in the quarterfinal round. Lehigh finished the season 109 points higher in the NCAA RPI than the 2013 campaign as the Mountain Hawks completed the second-best turnaround in Division I. Koski knows that to build upon last year's upswing the team will need to come together and play consistently.
"Consistency will be important for us game in and game out," explained Koski. "If you play well in non-league games and do well and you can't do the same in league games then it makes it a lot harder. We certainly had our games in the league last year where we didn't step up. All of us from coaches to players realize that we need to be more consistent this year. If we have consistency then we can certainly do a lot more with our season."
Like Lehigh men's soccer on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content and team updates throughout the season.
Head Coach Dean Koski plans to mix experienced leaders with versatile underclassmen this season as he enters his 24th year at the helm with his sights set on a second-straight Patriot League Tournament berth.
"It's all about the team-first mentality," said Koski. "If we can put the team first it will go a long ways. If we can stay at the level of committed and compelled week in and week out then we can have a successful season."
The Mountain Hawks face the challenge of replacing two-time All-League goalkeeper Ciaran Nugent, but Koski is pleased with the prospects he has in goal. Junior Jacob Gottwald and sophomore Joe Bogan are competing for the starting job in net, while senior Everett McCord is also competing for minutes. Gottwald saw a majority of the action during the 2013 campaign as a freshman, starting in 11 games and making 46 saves. Bogan got the start in two games a season ago, compiling a 2-0 record with five saves and a 0.50 goals against average.
"We have a great competition brewing with our keepers right now," said Koski. "We're happy with all three keepers, but we will need more from them in the coming weeks. We like the competition so we could potentially see a rotation of keepers from game to game."
The back line will be anchored centrally by preseason All-League and 2014 second team All-League pick junior Justin Worley and 2014 third team All-League selection senior Brian Vail. The two experienced players will be complimented by senior Ben Davis as someone who could be a starter as well.
"Right now, we see Ben Davis as a very important backup in that role because we don't really have depth in the center back position," said Koski. "Ben can step in at any given moment so we really like our core of three experienced players there."
The outside back positions have seen significant competition with senior Kyle Chin and freshman Matt Morana competing at left back and freshmen Oscar Greene and Calum Bishop vying for right back.
"The defensive competition has been a good environment for us," said Koski. "Each position will obviously see one starter, but that could change throughout the season and I think the players will complement each other well."
Sophomores David Zipkin and John Marc Charpentier will be competing for the holding midfield position after both putting together strong preseasons. Junior Danny Gonzalez and sophomore Jack Miskel will begin the season as the starting attacking midfielders, with senior Ryan Bertrando and freshman Alex Greene also seeing significant minutes in the attacking mid role.
"Having depth in our midfield is very important to us," said Koski. "All of those guys have had great preseasons and we feel good about the skills and depth each of them will provide."
The front line is where Koski feels the team displays its deepest talent pool, with three players fighting for time in each of the three forward positions. Senior Jamie Luchini, junior Gianfranco Giammatteo and sophomore Doyle Tuvesson are projected to get the starting jobs up top for the beginning of the season. Luchini, a preseason All-League selection and 2014 second team All-League member, has been Lehigh's leading goal scorer for each of the last two seasons. Tuvesson put together a standout rookie campaign and was named to the NSCAA All-Northeast Region third team after finishing as Lehigh's second leading scorer with five goals and four assists. Luchini, Tuvesson and Giammatteo combined to score 58 percent of Lehigh's goals a season ago.
Koski expects senior Austin Decker, sophomore Nick Jewell and freshmen Ben Bates, Mark Forrest and Donovan Perayeff to all compete for minutes on the deep front line.
"We probably have more depth right now on our attacking half than our defensive half," said Koski. "We needed the competition in the team and having the ability to mix it up day in and day out if it keeps players sharp, rested and hungry."
Koski feels good about where the team is as preseason winds down and the team gets ready to take on its first opponent.
"Right now our camaraderie is equally as important as how they're playing," explained Koski. "It's still early and we're still working on developing a sense of how we'll interpret our attacking and defensive systems, but they've responded to the systems positively. They've worked hard for each other and came in prepared as a group fitness wise."
With seven seniors, six juniors, eight sophomores and seven freshmen, the balanced Mountain Hawk squad will rely on the leadership of the upperclassmen to set the tone for the season.
"I think the most important piece to this year is how well the seniors continue to do in leading this group and setting an example for what the expectations and standards are," said Koski. "Both the seniors and upperclassmen have done a really good job of embracing the freshmen and giving them opportunities to acclimate to the team. We could have two freshmen, maybe even three at times, start for us throughout the year so that's a credit to the program and to the seniors. As long as we stay true to the notion of team before self, we will be able to achieve our team goals."
The 2014 season was a strong turnaround season for the Mountain Hawks as Lehigh captured its first ten-win season since 2006. The Mountain Hawks went 5-3-1 in league play to earn the No. 4 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, but fell to eventual champion Bucknell in the quarterfinal round. Lehigh finished the season 109 points higher in the NCAA RPI than the 2013 campaign as the Mountain Hawks completed the second-best turnaround in Division I. Koski knows that to build upon last year's upswing the team will need to come together and play consistently.
"Consistency will be important for us game in and game out," explained Koski. "If you play well in non-league games and do well and you can't do the same in league games then it makes it a lot harder. We certainly had our games in the league last year where we didn't step up. All of us from coaches to players realize that we need to be more consistent this year. If we have consistency then we can certainly do a lot more with our season."
Like Lehigh men's soccer on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content and team updates throughout the season.
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