Tuesday, October 19
Bethlehem, Pa.
7:30 p.m.
Lehigh University
2-10-2
0
vs
2
Princeton
7-5-0
1
2
F
Princeton
0
2
2
Lehigh
0
0
0
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
Pair of second half goals stump Mountain Hawks vs. Princeton
10/19/2021 11:35:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The defense was stellar through the first half of play, but two second half goals stumped the Lehigh men's soccer team, falling 2-0 to Princeton Tuesday night at the Ulrich Sports Complex. The loss sends the Mountain Hawks (2-10-2) into the final three Patriot League contests with nine points up for grabs.
"I really appreciate when guys step out onto the field for the first time and Matias Mancheno was one of them," said The Ingrassia Family Men's Head Soccer Coach Dean Koski. "He played well, played with confidence and worked hard. I appreciate that and value that. Yoni Aidlberg as a freshman, for the last handful of games has done really well for us. Good for them.
"But gee wiz, if some of our best performances are coming from freshman who are playing for the first time, then it tells a little bit of the story of why we are struggling this season. Look, we have some of our more important guys on the bench hurt and we missed Stevo (Bednarsky), missed Trevor (Koski) and Euan (Forrest), but it gave us a chance to put some of the other guys in there for a non-league game. For the better part of 70 or 80 minutes, we did fine and even at 1-0 we were fine. To me, it's about effort and commitment and when some of the upperclassmen aren't bringing that execution, then it's disappointing."
The first half was pretty even and tightly contested between the two sides with shots in favor of Princeton, 8-6. Three of the Tigers' eight shots were on goal with sophomore Blake Koski making three saves.
For Lehigh, Perry Kingson had a shot saved by a Princeton defender in the 10th minute, the only shot on goal of the half for the Mountain Hawks.
The Tigers registered their first goal of the match in the 49th minute, a strike from Spencer Fleurant that initially bounced off Blake Koski. Two minutes later, Dominic Flowers had the Mountain Hawks' second shot on goal of the contest in the 51st minute.
In the 68th minute, Austen Carranza had his first of two solid chances saved by the Princeton keeper.
Daniel Diaz Bonilla came close to equalizing for the Tigers in the 80th minute, but Hassane Diakho stepped in and saved the ball from going into the net to keep the score at 1-0.
Jack Sarkos had two straight shots saved in the 83rd minute, but Princeton went in front 2-0 on the goal from Kevin O'Toole in the 86th minute off the assist from Malik Pinto.
The Tigers controlled possession at the end of the game, firing off four straight shots with a save from Koski in the 90th minute, hanging tough for the 2-0 victory.
Sarkos had four shots to lead Lehigh with two shots on goal. Perry Kingson registered two, with Austen Carranza also contributing a pair.
The Tigers led the way in shots, 22-12 including 14-6 in the second half. Princeton also had the edge in corner kicks, 7-5 while Lehigh had the edge in fouls, 7-4.
In the hunt to stay alive for a spot in the Patriot League Tournament, Lehigh heads to Annapolis on Saturday at 5 p.m. to take on Navy.
"We just need to pick our best team heading into that matchup," said Koski. "Our job is to go down there and try to find a way to get points and we'll need to focus on how we can do that."
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
"I really appreciate when guys step out onto the field for the first time and Matias Mancheno was one of them," said The Ingrassia Family Men's Head Soccer Coach Dean Koski. "He played well, played with confidence and worked hard. I appreciate that and value that. Yoni Aidlberg as a freshman, for the last handful of games has done really well for us. Good for them.
"But gee wiz, if some of our best performances are coming from freshman who are playing for the first time, then it tells a little bit of the story of why we are struggling this season. Look, we have some of our more important guys on the bench hurt and we missed Stevo (Bednarsky), missed Trevor (Koski) and Euan (Forrest), but it gave us a chance to put some of the other guys in there for a non-league game. For the better part of 70 or 80 minutes, we did fine and even at 1-0 we were fine. To me, it's about effort and commitment and when some of the upperclassmen aren't bringing that execution, then it's disappointing."
The first half was pretty even and tightly contested between the two sides with shots in favor of Princeton, 8-6. Three of the Tigers' eight shots were on goal with sophomore Blake Koski making three saves.
For Lehigh, Perry Kingson had a shot saved by a Princeton defender in the 10th minute, the only shot on goal of the half for the Mountain Hawks.
The Tigers registered their first goal of the match in the 49th minute, a strike from Spencer Fleurant that initially bounced off Blake Koski. Two minutes later, Dominic Flowers had the Mountain Hawks' second shot on goal of the contest in the 51st minute.
In the 68th minute, Austen Carranza had his first of two solid chances saved by the Princeton keeper.
Daniel Diaz Bonilla came close to equalizing for the Tigers in the 80th minute, but Hassane Diakho stepped in and saved the ball from going into the net to keep the score at 1-0.
Jack Sarkos had two straight shots saved in the 83rd minute, but Princeton went in front 2-0 on the goal from Kevin O'Toole in the 86th minute off the assist from Malik Pinto.
The Tigers controlled possession at the end of the game, firing off four straight shots with a save from Koski in the 90th minute, hanging tough for the 2-0 victory.
Sarkos had four shots to lead Lehigh with two shots on goal. Perry Kingson registered two, with Austen Carranza also contributing a pair.
The Tigers led the way in shots, 22-12 including 14-6 in the second half. Princeton also had the edge in corner kicks, 7-5 while Lehigh had the edge in fouls, 7-4.
In the hunt to stay alive for a spot in the Patriot League Tournament, Lehigh heads to Annapolis on Saturday at 5 p.m. to take on Navy.
"We just need to pick our best team heading into that matchup," said Koski. "Our job is to go down there and try to find a way to get points and we'll need to focus on how we can do that."
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
PRINCE
LEHIGH
Goals
2
0
Shots
22
12
Shots on Goal
7
5
Saves
5
5
Corners
7
5
Fouls
4
7
Scoring Plays
Fleurant, Spencer (1)
bounced off keeper, 21 finished for goal
48:44
O'Toole, Kevin (4)
Assisted By: Pinto, Malik
5 dishes on 1-2 to 6, who finishes point
85:54
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's SoccerM/F
/ Men's Soccer
D/M
/ Men's Soccer
D/M
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's SoccerF
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