Thursday, November 21
Pittsburgh, PA
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Pittsburgh (First Round)
Photo by: Brent Hugo
Mountain Hawks set to visit Pitt in NCAA Tournament First Round matchup
11/20/2019 11:04:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — After winning its third-ever Patriot League Championship on Saturday night in a 1-0 victory over archrival Lafayette, the Lehigh men's soccer team will participate in its fifth NCAA Tournament, taking on Pitt at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21 with the winner heading to Washington, D.C. on Sunday to take on No. 3 seeded Georgetown at noon.
Following an unprecedented run to the top, the Mountain Hawks are 13-4-3 overall on the season after going an unblemished 6-0-3 in Patriot League play this year, en route to the team's second-ever regular season title and the first since 2006. 2019 marks the first time in program history that Lehigh won the Patriot League Regular Season title and Tournament in the same season.
Lehigh had quite the haul in end-of-season awards after two players in particular had dominant seasons in their respective sides of the ball. Sophomore forward Josh Luchini was named Offensive Player of the Year after scoring 24 points on a league-best 11 goals and two assists, while senior Will Smith was named Goalkeeper of the Year for the first time after a league-best .840 save percentage and eight shutouts. He was named Patriot League Tournament MVP after two shutouts in the postseason, upping his total to a league-high 10 on the year.
On a national level, Smith's save percentage ranks third of all NCAA Division I goalkeepers, while his 10 shutouts is currently the fourth-most.
In the Patriot League tournament, three other players had strong outings, as juniors Stevo Bednarsky and Trevor Koski, as well as sophomore Michael Tahiru were all named to the All-Tournament team for their performances. Tahiru scored the game-winning goal vs. Lafayette in the 54th minute, while Koski provided the assist, his fifth of the 2019 season.
It's been four years since the Mountain Hawks last competed in an NCAA Tournament matchup, last falling to Hofstra, 2-1 in OT in the first round. Lehigh hasn't advanced since 2006, when it drew Rhode Island 1-1 before winning, 5-4 on PKs to head to the Sweet 16.
For Pitt, they are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1965 after making a great run to get to this point. After beating NC State in the ACC Quarterfinals back on Nov. 10, the Panthers fell at #2 Clemson in the semifinal round, 1-0 on Nov. 13. Two of Pitt's final three ACC games of the regular season were wins over #22 Virginia Tech (3-1) and #1 Virginia (2-0).
The Panthers (9-7-2, 4-3-1 ACC) are led by Edward Kizza, who has scored 26 points on 11 goals and four assists this season and was named a First Team All-ACC Selection. Freshman Veljko Petkovic is second on the team with 17 points on six goals and five assists. He is the younger brother of junior forward Bratislav Petkovic.
Lehigh and Pitt faced off once before in the two program's histories, back in 2015, when the Panthers beat the Mountain Hawks, 3-0 at the Ulrich Sports Complex. That was just the second game of the season that Lehigh won its second-ever Patriot League title.
The Mountain Hawks have been battle-tested all season long in preparation for this very moment. Lehigh has faced five Power-5 opponents in 2019 going 3-2 against those teams. Lehigh beat Northwestern (Big Ten), 2-0 back on Sept. 6, Seton Hall (BIG EAST), 1-0 on Sept. 14 and Rutgers (Big Ten), 1-0 on Oct. 29.
Thursday night's first round matchup will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra at 7 p.m.
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Following an unprecedented run to the top, the Mountain Hawks are 13-4-3 overall on the season after going an unblemished 6-0-3 in Patriot League play this year, en route to the team's second-ever regular season title and the first since 2006. 2019 marks the first time in program history that Lehigh won the Patriot League Regular Season title and Tournament in the same season.
Lehigh had quite the haul in end-of-season awards after two players in particular had dominant seasons in their respective sides of the ball. Sophomore forward Josh Luchini was named Offensive Player of the Year after scoring 24 points on a league-best 11 goals and two assists, while senior Will Smith was named Goalkeeper of the Year for the first time after a league-best .840 save percentage and eight shutouts. He was named Patriot League Tournament MVP after two shutouts in the postseason, upping his total to a league-high 10 on the year.
On a national level, Smith's save percentage ranks third of all NCAA Division I goalkeepers, while his 10 shutouts is currently the fourth-most.
In the Patriot League tournament, three other players had strong outings, as juniors Stevo Bednarsky and Trevor Koski, as well as sophomore Michael Tahiru were all named to the All-Tournament team for their performances. Tahiru scored the game-winning goal vs. Lafayette in the 54th minute, while Koski provided the assist, his fifth of the 2019 season.
It's been four years since the Mountain Hawks last competed in an NCAA Tournament matchup, last falling to Hofstra, 2-1 in OT in the first round. Lehigh hasn't advanced since 2006, when it drew Rhode Island 1-1 before winning, 5-4 on PKs to head to the Sweet 16.
For Pitt, they are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1965 after making a great run to get to this point. After beating NC State in the ACC Quarterfinals back on Nov. 10, the Panthers fell at #2 Clemson in the semifinal round, 1-0 on Nov. 13. Two of Pitt's final three ACC games of the regular season were wins over #22 Virginia Tech (3-1) and #1 Virginia (2-0).
The Panthers (9-7-2, 4-3-1 ACC) are led by Edward Kizza, who has scored 26 points on 11 goals and four assists this season and was named a First Team All-ACC Selection. Freshman Veljko Petkovic is second on the team with 17 points on six goals and five assists. He is the younger brother of junior forward Bratislav Petkovic.
Lehigh and Pitt faced off once before in the two program's histories, back in 2015, when the Panthers beat the Mountain Hawks, 3-0 at the Ulrich Sports Complex. That was just the second game of the season that Lehigh won its second-ever Patriot League title.
The Mountain Hawks have been battle-tested all season long in preparation for this very moment. Lehigh has faced five Power-5 opponents in 2019 going 3-2 against those teams. Lehigh beat Northwestern (Big Ten), 2-0 back on Sept. 6, Seton Hall (BIG EAST), 1-0 on Sept. 14 and Rutgers (Big Ten), 1-0 on Oct. 29.
Thursday night's first round matchup will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra at 7 p.m.
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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