Saturday, November 3
Bethlehem, Pa.
6 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Holy Cross
Photo by: Josh Liddick
Lehigh aims for No. 2 seed in Senior Night clash with Holy Cross Saturday
11/2/2018 10:12:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — There is so much riding on this weekend for the Lehigh men's soccer team, as the regular season officially wraps up on Saturday night. The Mountain Hawks return to the Ulrich Sports Complex, searching for a chance to become the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Patriot League tournament and clinch a bye into the semi-final round next weekend at Loyola.
Playoff scenarios can be tricky, but there could be a lot that can happen for the Mountain Hawks to punch their ticket for that all-important second seed. Here are the scenarios per the official Patriot League tiebreaker rules.
• Win: Clinches the No. 2 seed.
• Tie: Can clinch the No. 2 seed if Boston U. beats or ties against Colgate. If Lehigh and Boston U. both end the regular season with 16 points, Lehigh will clinch the No. 2 seed because it beat Boston U. in the regular season.
• Loss: Can clinch the No. 2 seed if Colgate and Boston U. tie and American loses or ties Army West Point.
Lehigh's focus right now is Holy Cross on Saturday which also happens to be Senior Night to celebrate the accomplishments and tenures of the last remaining class from the 2015 Patriot League Championship team.
The Mountain Hawks have had their opportunities to score and take over games, but have only come away with one goal in their last five games. Lehigh is coming off a tough 1-0 loss to Loyola on Saturday which served as the Patriot League regular season title between the two teams. Junior goalkeeper Will Smith rebounded after giving up an early eighth minute goal, keeping the Greyhounds out of the net for the remainder of the match, but Loyola also kept the Mountain Hawks from scoring as well.
Freshman forward Josh Luchini enters the final regular season of his rookie season with six goals and two assists on the season and has played as well as you could hope for alongside senior captain Mark Forrest. Despite not scoring a goal since Oct. 3, Forrest still has five goals and five assists on the season. Forrest and Luchini remain one of the more formidable forward pairings in the Patriot League.
As for the rest of the team, the defense has really thrived this season led by junior Zarin Tuten and senior captain Matt Morana. With freshman Dawson Berger and junior Nolan Coulter added into the equation, every combination this season seems to have solidified the defense being put out onto the field game in and game out. The Mountain Hawks haven't allowed more than one goal to a team since Sept. 25 vs. Cornell.
As for Lehigh's steadfast goalkeeper Will Smith, there isn't much that needs to be said that hasn't been said already about his performance this year. Smith currently has 0.74 goals allowed average, a save percentage of 0.827 and nine shutouts, which continues to pace the entire league.
For Lehigh, Holy Cross is a soccer team that definitely cannot be taken for granted. Last season, the two teams met twice in a span of three days. The Crusaders defeated the Mountain Hawks, 1-0 on Nov. 4 before taking down Lehigh once again on Nov. 7 in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League tournament, 3-0 at the Ulrich Sports Complex.
This season is a little different, with Lehigh already in the tournament and Holy Cross already out, but the game of soccer is completely unpredictable.
Holy Cross is coming off a big win on its Senior Day, a 3-2 victory over Army West Point on Sunday. Before that, the Crusaders had dropped six straight games. Simon Becher leads Holy Cross in goals with six on the year. He's also contributed two assists for 14 points. Max Krause, R.J. Place and Tyler Bell have each tallied two goals themselves this season. Goalkeeper Henry Stutz has a 1.48 GAA so far, allowing 26 goals, and making 84 saves for a save percentage of 0.764.
Historically, Holy Cross leads the all-time series 13-12-6, winning the last four matchups between the teams. The Mountain Hawks have not beaten the Crusaders since Nov. 8, 2014, a 2-1 victory.
Saturday's match will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Playoff scenarios can be tricky, but there could be a lot that can happen for the Mountain Hawks to punch their ticket for that all-important second seed. Here are the scenarios per the official Patriot League tiebreaker rules.
• Win: Clinches the No. 2 seed.
• Tie: Can clinch the No. 2 seed if Boston U. beats or ties against Colgate. If Lehigh and Boston U. both end the regular season with 16 points, Lehigh will clinch the No. 2 seed because it beat Boston U. in the regular season.
• Loss: Can clinch the No. 2 seed if Colgate and Boston U. tie and American loses or ties Army West Point.
Lehigh's focus right now is Holy Cross on Saturday which also happens to be Senior Night to celebrate the accomplishments and tenures of the last remaining class from the 2015 Patriot League Championship team.
The Mountain Hawks have had their opportunities to score and take over games, but have only come away with one goal in their last five games. Lehigh is coming off a tough 1-0 loss to Loyola on Saturday which served as the Patriot League regular season title between the two teams. Junior goalkeeper Will Smith rebounded after giving up an early eighth minute goal, keeping the Greyhounds out of the net for the remainder of the match, but Loyola also kept the Mountain Hawks from scoring as well.
Freshman forward Josh Luchini enters the final regular season of his rookie season with six goals and two assists on the season and has played as well as you could hope for alongside senior captain Mark Forrest. Despite not scoring a goal since Oct. 3, Forrest still has five goals and five assists on the season. Forrest and Luchini remain one of the more formidable forward pairings in the Patriot League.
As for the rest of the team, the defense has really thrived this season led by junior Zarin Tuten and senior captain Matt Morana. With freshman Dawson Berger and junior Nolan Coulter added into the equation, every combination this season seems to have solidified the defense being put out onto the field game in and game out. The Mountain Hawks haven't allowed more than one goal to a team since Sept. 25 vs. Cornell.
As for Lehigh's steadfast goalkeeper Will Smith, there isn't much that needs to be said that hasn't been said already about his performance this year. Smith currently has 0.74 goals allowed average, a save percentage of 0.827 and nine shutouts, which continues to pace the entire league.
For Lehigh, Holy Cross is a soccer team that definitely cannot be taken for granted. Last season, the two teams met twice in a span of three days. The Crusaders defeated the Mountain Hawks, 1-0 on Nov. 4 before taking down Lehigh once again on Nov. 7 in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League tournament, 3-0 at the Ulrich Sports Complex.
This season is a little different, with Lehigh already in the tournament and Holy Cross already out, but the game of soccer is completely unpredictable.
Holy Cross is coming off a big win on its Senior Day, a 3-2 victory over Army West Point on Sunday. Before that, the Crusaders had dropped six straight games. Simon Becher leads Holy Cross in goals with six on the year. He's also contributed two assists for 14 points. Max Krause, R.J. Place and Tyler Bell have each tallied two goals themselves this season. Goalkeeper Henry Stutz has a 1.48 GAA so far, allowing 26 goals, and making 84 saves for a save percentage of 0.764.
Historically, Holy Cross leads the all-time series 13-12-6, winning the last four matchups between the teams. The Mountain Hawks have not beaten the Crusaders since Nov. 8, 2014, a 2-1 victory.
Saturday's match will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Players Mentioned
D/M
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
D
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