Saturday, October 19
Annapolis, Md.
8 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Navy
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
Mountain Hawks set to clash for first place at No. 22 Navy
10/18/2019 11:25:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Last Saturday night, the Lehigh men's soccer team earned a 1-0 victory over Loyola at the Ulrich Sports Complex to get stay undefeated in Patriot League play and create a tie for first place in the standings. This Saturday, the Mountain Hawks (8-4-1, 4-0-1 PL) look to keep the streak going at No. 22 Navy in a battle for first place at Glenn Warner Soccer Facility at 8 p.m.
Lehigh fell to Princeton, 3-0 on Tuesday night in non-league action, but the team maintains position in the league with 13 points, tied with the Midshipmen (11-0-1, 4-0-1 PL).
Tuesday's game with the Tigers was only the third matchup this season in which Lehigh failed to tally a goal and the Mountain Hawks have scored just one goal in their last four games dating back to Oct. 2 at Colgate. Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week Nick Jennings scored on a penalty kick on Saturday against Loyola, which ended up being the game-winning goal.
Despite not scoring in his last five games, sophomore forward Josh Luchini still maintains the team and Patriot League lead in goals with nine this season, along with his 18 points. Junior Trevor Koski and fifth-year Alex Greene share the lead for assists with four each this year, while Luchini (28), freshman Natan Rosen (26) and Koski (24) are the Mountain Hawks' shot leaders this year.
Senior Ian Marshall made his first career start in goal on Tuesday at Princeton, but Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week Will Smith returns to between the pipes on Saturday with his 0.90 goals against average and 44 saves for a save percentage of .800. Smith has registered five shutouts to his total for this season, upping his career number to 20, which ranks second in program history and sixth in Patriot League history.
Lehigh is averaging 1.31 goals per game and 11.8 shots per game this season, despite just the one goal in the last five games.
The Midshipmen have had a magical start to the season after finishing 2018 on a four-game winning streak. Navy is the 22nd ranked team in the nation as voted by United Soccer Coaches and is currently on a 16-game unbeaten streak dating back to last season. The only blemish for Navy is a 1-1 draw last Friday night against Army West Point, which dropped the Mids from No. 19 to No. 22 in the poll. Navy has scored 24 goals this year and allowed just three as goalkeeper Ian Bramblett comes in as one of the nation's best goalkeepers. Bramblett owns a goals allowed average of 0.25 with 25 saves this season and nine shutouts.
The scoring has been led by both Jacob Williams and Nicko West with seven and six goals, respectively. Joe Alex and Matt Nocita have each added three tallies while Diego Manrique leads the team in assists with five so far. The Midshipmen are averaging 2.00 goals per contest and 11.2 shots per game with a .530 SOG%. 16 of Navy's 24 goals this season have been scored in the first half.
Navy leads the all-time series over Lehigh, 32-20-7 with the Mountain Hawks winning the last three matchups. In 2018, Luchini scored the game-winner in the 50th minute off an assist from Stevo Bednarsky to seal the deal and improve Lehigh's league record to 4-0.
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh fell to Princeton, 3-0 on Tuesday night in non-league action, but the team maintains position in the league with 13 points, tied with the Midshipmen (11-0-1, 4-0-1 PL).
Tuesday's game with the Tigers was only the third matchup this season in which Lehigh failed to tally a goal and the Mountain Hawks have scored just one goal in their last four games dating back to Oct. 2 at Colgate. Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week Nick Jennings scored on a penalty kick on Saturday against Loyola, which ended up being the game-winning goal.
Despite not scoring in his last five games, sophomore forward Josh Luchini still maintains the team and Patriot League lead in goals with nine this season, along with his 18 points. Junior Trevor Koski and fifth-year Alex Greene share the lead for assists with four each this year, while Luchini (28), freshman Natan Rosen (26) and Koski (24) are the Mountain Hawks' shot leaders this year.
Senior Ian Marshall made his first career start in goal on Tuesday at Princeton, but Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week Will Smith returns to between the pipes on Saturday with his 0.90 goals against average and 44 saves for a save percentage of .800. Smith has registered five shutouts to his total for this season, upping his career number to 20, which ranks second in program history and sixth in Patriot League history.
Lehigh is averaging 1.31 goals per game and 11.8 shots per game this season, despite just the one goal in the last five games.
The Midshipmen have had a magical start to the season after finishing 2018 on a four-game winning streak. Navy is the 22nd ranked team in the nation as voted by United Soccer Coaches and is currently on a 16-game unbeaten streak dating back to last season. The only blemish for Navy is a 1-1 draw last Friday night against Army West Point, which dropped the Mids from No. 19 to No. 22 in the poll. Navy has scored 24 goals this year and allowed just three as goalkeeper Ian Bramblett comes in as one of the nation's best goalkeepers. Bramblett owns a goals allowed average of 0.25 with 25 saves this season and nine shutouts.
The scoring has been led by both Jacob Williams and Nicko West with seven and six goals, respectively. Joe Alex and Matt Nocita have each added three tallies while Diego Manrique leads the team in assists with five so far. The Midshipmen are averaging 2.00 goals per contest and 11.2 shots per game with a .530 SOG%. 16 of Navy's 24 goals this season have been scored in the first half.
Navy leads the all-time series over Lehigh, 32-20-7 with the Mountain Hawks winning the last three matchups. In 2018, Luchini scored the game-winner in the 50th minute off an assist from Stevo Bednarsky to seal the deal and improve Lehigh's league record to 4-0.
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Players Mentioned
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