Saturday, September 24
Worcester, Mass.
7:30 p.m.
Lehigh University
2-5-1, 0-1-0PL
1
at
3
Holy Cross
5-3-0, 1-0-0PL
1
2
F
Lehigh
1
0
1
Holy Cross
1
2
3
Men's Soccer Suffers Defeat in Patriot League Opener at Holy Cross
9/24/2016 10:39:00 PM | Men's Soccer
WORCESTER, Mass. – The Lehigh men's soccer team dropped a 3-1 decision on the road to Holy Cross on Saturday night to open its Patriot League slate.
Lehigh has now lost back-to-back conference openers to Holy Cross after losing 1-0 at home last season.
With the loss, the Mountain Hawks are now 2-5-1 on the season and 0-1 in the PL. Holy Cross improves to 5-3 on the year and 1-0 in league play.
"It is tough to win games in the Patriot league when you give up a goal in the first 90 seconds and put yourself in an uphill battle right away," said head coach Dean Koski. "I thought the result of the game was fair. Holy Cross showed that they were committed to winning tonight and we did not match their effort."
Lehigh recorded the first shot of the game, which came 25 seconds in by Mark Forrest, but it was Holy Cross that recorded the first goal. Yuji Callahan is the one who got it done for the Crusaders as he recorded a tally in just the second minute of play.
The early deficit seemed to light a fire under the Mountain Hawks and one player in particular in Jack Miskel. The junior tied the game and put his team back in it as he finished on a strike to the upper right corner of the net from 35 yards out in the 30th minute.
The goal by Miskel is now his second in the last two games and are the only goals for Lehigh in those games.
The Crusaders needed little time in the second half to notch the go-ahead goal. Following a save by Jacob Gottwald, Holy Cross was awarded a corner kick and took advantage of the situation as Matt Villano found the back of the net from two yards out in the 53rd minute. Villano leads HC as he now has five goals on the season.
Lehigh had an opportunity to answer back quickly with two chances in the 59th minute. The first came on a penalty kick opportunity, but the shot by Forrest was saved and then his follow up attempt was also saved by Henry Stutz. The Crusader goalkeeper finished with seven saves on the night.
Riding the wave of momentum built up by its goalkeeper, Holy Cross ripped off a flurry of shots starting in the 70th minute. After putting four shots on or near the target in a three-minute span, Joey DeVivo finally found the back of the net for the Crusaders on a rebound following a save by Gottwald.
After being out-shot 6-2 in the first half, Holy Cross found another gear in the second half and ended up out-shooting Lehigh 14-6 in the half. The Crusaders held a 16-12 advantage for the match.
Holy Cross now improves to 5-0 at home this year and has out-scored opponents 15-4 in those games.
The Mountain Hawks will take a brief break from Patriot League play when the return home to face St. Francis (Pa.) in a non-conference match on Tuesday night. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. from the Ulrich Sports Complex. Lehigh will resume PL completion next Saturday, Oct. 1 on the road at Colgate.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
HC
Goals
1
3
Shots
12
16
Shots on Goal
8
10
Saves
7
7
Corners
3
5
Fouls
9
11
Scoring Plays
Callahan, Yuji (1)
Assisted By: Carfora, Justin
Eight yards out lower right side.
1:27
Miskel, Jack (2)
Upper right corner 35 yards out
29:08
Villano, Matt (5)
Assisted By: DeVivo, Joey
Scored from 2 yards out from pass.
52:47
DeVivo, Joey (2)
Assisted By: Rupp, Arno
5 yards out off rebound.
72:31
Game Leaders
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
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