Saturday, October 16
Bethlehem, Pa.
6 p.m.
Lehigh University
2-9-2, 2-4-0PL
2
vs
0
Lafayette
7-5-2, 3-2-1PL
1
2
F
Lafayette
0
0
0
Lehigh
0
2
2
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
Koski wins 250th game; Lehigh knocks off Lafayette, 2-0 in rainy Saturday fixture
10/16/2021 11:51:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men's soccer team got an important three points on a rainy Saturday evening at the Ulrich Sports Complex, knocking off archrival Lafayette 2-0 in The Rivalry presented by Lehigh Valley Health Network and Coordinated Health. The Mountain Hawks (2-9-2, 2-4-0 PL) used two clutch second half goals, both off Trevor Koski assists to upend the Leopards (7-5-2, 3-2-1 PL) and stay alive in the hunt for a Patriot League Tournament berth.
The victory also marked the 14th straight meeting dating back to the 2008 season with a shutout as the result. In addition, The Ingrassia Family Men's Head Soccer Coach Dean Koski earned his 250th career victory at Lehigh.
"I think the most important thing for tonight was the ability get those three points," said Koski. "And while I do appreciate the Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry, it's important to us, we just needed to get points and Lafayette is one of the better teams right now in the conference.
"It was a good game for us to come out and find two goals. I thought it was a great team effort tonight, we played together and we were good in the box when we needed to be good in the box. I'm just really happy for the guys."
The first half was full of chances, both on the good and bad end for Lehigh, as the team led Lafayette 8-3 in that category at the half. Fifth year senior Trevor Koski recorded the first shot on goal of the game in the 23rd minute, but was saved by the keeper. Two consecutive shots on target from Dominic Flowers gave Lehigh life, but kept things knotted after the first 45 minutes.
Three straight shots off the target for Lehigh began the second half, but the Mountain Hawks broke through in the 60th minute off a free kick from Trevor Koski. Koski slung the ball into the box and Jack Sarkos delivered with the sliding kick to find the back of the net and give Lehigh a 1-0 lead. The goal was Sarkos' second of the season and ended up being the game-winning strike.
Things started to get a little heated following a yellow card on Dawson Berger in the 78th minute and another booking on Lafayette head coach Dennis Bohn in the 82nd, as the Leopards continued to fire five more shots, bringing the number to 12 straight without putting one past the end-line.
Two more yellows – one for Lafayette's Andrew Venezia and one for Lehigh's Euan Forrest – preceded the Mountain Hawks' second goal of the game, a beautiful strike off the foot of freshman Yoni Aidlberg, assisted by Trevor Koski's second of the game to put Lehigh ahead, 2-0 with just a little over three minutes to play.
Lafayette led the shots battle, 16-13 including 6-5 on goal, while the Mountain Hawks had the edge in saves (6-3) and fouls (10-9), while corner kicks were tied 3-3.
Sarkos tallied three shots including the goal and Trevor Koski had two shots with two assists. Dominic Flowers and Josh Luchini each put up two shots on the evening.
Blake Koski made six saves en route to his first career shutout and Lehigh's first of the season.
"I thought our backs were really solid tonight," Koski said. "I thought Spencer (Koski) and Hassane (Diakho) were great as our center-backs and I thought Blake (Koski) made timely saves when he needed to, but all-in-all, I thought our back four did a really nice job tonight."
Saturday night also marked the celebration of two championship teams – the 2000 Patriot League Champions and 1971 MAC Champions – with a halftime ceremony and post-game banquet, celebrating the 20th and 50th anniversaries, respectively.
Lehigh has a non-league tune-up on Tuesday evening, taking on Princeton at the Ulrich Sports Complex at 7:30 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and precedes the Mountain Hawks' important battle with Navy on Oct. 23 to continue the PLT push.
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
The victory also marked the 14th straight meeting dating back to the 2008 season with a shutout as the result. In addition, The Ingrassia Family Men's Head Soccer Coach Dean Koski earned his 250th career victory at Lehigh.
"I think the most important thing for tonight was the ability get those three points," said Koski. "And while I do appreciate the Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry, it's important to us, we just needed to get points and Lafayette is one of the better teams right now in the conference.
"It was a good game for us to come out and find two goals. I thought it was a great team effort tonight, we played together and we were good in the box when we needed to be good in the box. I'm just really happy for the guys."
The first half was full of chances, both on the good and bad end for Lehigh, as the team led Lafayette 8-3 in that category at the half. Fifth year senior Trevor Koski recorded the first shot on goal of the game in the 23rd minute, but was saved by the keeper. Two consecutive shots on target from Dominic Flowers gave Lehigh life, but kept things knotted after the first 45 minutes.
Three straight shots off the target for Lehigh began the second half, but the Mountain Hawks broke through in the 60th minute off a free kick from Trevor Koski. Koski slung the ball into the box and Jack Sarkos delivered with the sliding kick to find the back of the net and give Lehigh a 1-0 lead. The goal was Sarkos' second of the season and ended up being the game-winning strike.
The Leopards' offense went on a tear for the next 10 or so minutes, looking through every avenue to equalize, tallying seven straight shots with three shots on goal to no avail. Sophomore goalkeeper Blake Koski made three key saves during that stretch to keep the score at 1-0.The Trevor Koski free kick ⏩ the beautiful Jack Sarkos finish.
— Lehigh Men's Soccer (@LehighMSoccer) October 17, 2021
The goal that put Lehigh up 1-0!#GoLehigh | #DODN pic.twitter.com/FAIE3Endhe
Things started to get a little heated following a yellow card on Dawson Berger in the 78th minute and another booking on Lafayette head coach Dennis Bohn in the 82nd, as the Leopards continued to fire five more shots, bringing the number to 12 straight without putting one past the end-line.
Two more yellows – one for Lafayette's Andrew Venezia and one for Lehigh's Euan Forrest – preceded the Mountain Hawks' second goal of the game, a beautiful strike off the foot of freshman Yoni Aidlberg, assisted by Trevor Koski's second of the game to put Lehigh ahead, 2-0 with just a little over three minutes to play.
Lehigh played a man down for the final two or so minutes of the contest, after Forrest was shown his second yellow card of the game and the ensuing red, but the Mountain Hawks held on for the victory.First career goal for Yoni Aidlberg! 🙌
— Lehigh Men's Soccer (@LehighMSoccer) October 17, 2021
The freshman bangs one in on the assist from (who else?!) Trevor Koski, putting the game completely out of reach.#GoLehigh | #DODN pic.twitter.com/qmlQkaklr3
Lafayette led the shots battle, 16-13 including 6-5 on goal, while the Mountain Hawks had the edge in saves (6-3) and fouls (10-9), while corner kicks were tied 3-3.
Sarkos tallied three shots including the goal and Trevor Koski had two shots with two assists. Dominic Flowers and Josh Luchini each put up two shots on the evening.
Blake Koski made six saves en route to his first career shutout and Lehigh's first of the season.
"I thought our backs were really solid tonight," Koski said. "I thought Spencer (Koski) and Hassane (Diakho) were great as our center-backs and I thought Blake (Koski) made timely saves when he needed to, but all-in-all, I thought our back four did a really nice job tonight."
Saturday night also marked the celebration of two championship teams – the 2000 Patriot League Champions and 1971 MAC Champions – with a halftime ceremony and post-game banquet, celebrating the 20th and 50th anniversaries, respectively.
Lehigh has a non-league tune-up on Tuesday evening, taking on Princeton at the Ulrich Sports Complex at 7:30 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and precedes the Mountain Hawks' important battle with Navy on Oct. 23 to continue the PLT push.
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
LAF
LEHIGH
Goals
0
2
Shots
16
13
Shots on Goal
6
5
Saves
3
6
Corners
3
3
Fouls
9
10
Scoring Plays
Sarkos, Jack (2)
Assisted By: Koski, Trevor
Foot slid in off free kick from 6 and in
59:50
Aidlberg, Yoni (1)
Assisted By: Koski, Trevor
32 took ball himself, took a few steps a
86:51
Game Leaders
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
2
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's Soccer
D/M
/ Men's SoccerD/M
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's SoccerM
/ Men's Soccer
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/ Men's SoccerF
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