Lehigh University Athletics
Saturday, October 2
Bethlehem, Pa.
6 p.m.
Lehigh University
1-8-1, 1-3-0PL
2
vs
1
Army West Point
6-3-1, 3-1-0PL
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army West Point | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Lehigh | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Photo by: Josh Liddick
Forrest's game-winning heroics lands Lehigh's first victory over first place Army
10/2/2021 11:37:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – It took a little longer than they are typically used to, but the Lehigh men's soccer team earned its first victory of the 2021 season, a 2-1 stunner over first place Army West Point Saturday evening at the Ulrich Sports Complex. The Black Knights (6-3-1, 3-1-0 PL) equalized in the 85th minute, but a Euan Forrest header with just 52 seconds left on the clock lifted the Mountain Hawks (1-8-1, 1-3-0 PL) to victory.
The win snaps Lehigh's worst winless streak to start a season since the 1938 campaign at nine straight games.
"I'm happy for our players, it certainly was a rough stretch for us and I really liked the way they played tonight," said The Ingrassia Family Men's Head Soccer Coach Dean Koski. "I thought they played with heart, energy and passion that we needed in order to win and we had glimpses of that throughout the season but haven't been able to put it together for an entire game.
"Even more importantly when you give up a goal late, which is always a tough thing to do and to come back and score a game-winner with a minute left is huge for the team."
Army tallied the first shot on goal of the contest early in the first half in the second minute when John Poncy's shot was corralled by Blake Koski.
The Mountain Hawks struck first in the ninth minute on Jack Sarkos' first goal of the season after Dominic Flowers played the ball into the box, in which Sarkos was able to beat the keeper for the nifty goal. Nolan Jetter was credited with the secondary assist on the play.
The score for Sarkos was the second of his career, his first in the run of play after scoring against Bucknell in the spring on a PK.
"Nolan [Jetter] was great for us today," said Koski. "He didn't play against Bucknell and he came into the starting lineup and was one of our best players today. I loved his energy, covered a lot of ground and made a lot of great decisions with the ball.
"Jack got the start today and I thought he was great from the first whistle at holding the ball and helping us build out of the midfield. He got a great assist from Dom [Flowers], who played him a great ball. Defensively, I thought Hassane Diakho and Spencer Koski did a really great job as central defenders, they won a lot of balls and managed the rest of the backs well."
D'Anthony Brown had a chance to knot the score at 1-1 in the 16th minute that bounced off the crossbar and Lehigh had an opportunity to pull ahead by two goals on an Austen Carranza shot that was saved by the Black Knights as a team in the 19th. Natan Rosen closed the first half with a shot on goal in the 42nd minute that was saved.
Lehigh out-shot Army West Point, 4-3 in the first half with the Black Knights leading in fouls, 8-7.
It was shots galore for both sides in the second half with neither side willing to give in. The Mountain Hawks picked up the first two shots on goal of the second half with a Perry Kingson shot that was saved by Jacob Suppiah and Dominic Flowers just a couple minutes removed. Koski made four saves in a span of six minutes to keep the game a 1-0 score in favor of Lehigh.
After Blake Koski was shown a yellow card in the 82nd minute, the Black Knights put the pressure on, getting a corner kick opportunity just two minutes later, as a Jack Eaton header hit the crossbar, putting the ball in the right place for John Poncy to bang it in for his third goal of the season, equalizing the score at 1-1 in the 85th.
The Black Knights and Mountain Hawks each had one more shot on goal in the tank between the 85th and 86th minutes, but Army frantically tried to get the game-winner on two shots in two seconds in the 88th.
In the final minute of action, Josh Luchini played the ball into the box, finding the head of Euan Forrest who put it into the left side of the net for the game-winner as time winded down.
The goal was Forrest's first of his career, his first game-winner as the Mountain Hawks prevailed for their first win of the season, a month and a half into the schedule.
Army out-shot Lehigh, 15-13 including 8-7 among shots on goal. Blake Koski made seven saves and nearly netted the clean sheet before letting in the late goal. Austen Carranza finished with a team-best three shots, while Jack Sarkos, Perry Kingson and Josh Luchini each finished with two.
The ensuing win carries a ton of momentum into the coming week for Lehigh, as it turns right around to host No. 3 West Virginia Tuesday evening at the Ulrich Sports Complex, live on ESPN+.
"I think [tonight's win does start almost a new season] for us," said Koski. "We just have to continue to be mindful of where we stand in the Patriot League. For us, everything right now is about the Patriot League and October is what defines whether you are going to get into the tournament or not.
"Certainly we will elevate all of our Patriot League matches from here on out and we have a very important game on Tuesday against a nationally-ranked West Virginia team. But we schedule opponents like that so we can get better and we're looking forward to it."
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
The win snaps Lehigh's worst winless streak to start a season since the 1938 campaign at nine straight games.
"I'm happy for our players, it certainly was a rough stretch for us and I really liked the way they played tonight," said The Ingrassia Family Men's Head Soccer Coach Dean Koski. "I thought they played with heart, energy and passion that we needed in order to win and we had glimpses of that throughout the season but haven't been able to put it together for an entire game.
"Even more importantly when you give up a goal late, which is always a tough thing to do and to come back and score a game-winner with a minute left is huge for the team."
Army tallied the first shot on goal of the contest early in the first half in the second minute when John Poncy's shot was corralled by Blake Koski.
The Mountain Hawks struck first in the ninth minute on Jack Sarkos' first goal of the season after Dominic Flowers played the ball into the box, in which Sarkos was able to beat the keeper for the nifty goal. Nolan Jetter was credited with the secondary assist on the play.
That didn't take long! What a pass from Dominic Flowers to Jack Sarkos, who finished to give Lehigh a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute. #PLTop3
— Lehigh Men's Soccer (@LehighMSoccer) October 2, 2021
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/JpXxnNGbuv pic.twitter.com/OrBfPIQ9H9
The score for Sarkos was the second of his career, his first in the run of play after scoring against Bucknell in the spring on a PK.
"Nolan [Jetter] was great for us today," said Koski. "He didn't play against Bucknell and he came into the starting lineup and was one of our best players today. I loved his energy, covered a lot of ground and made a lot of great decisions with the ball.
"Jack got the start today and I thought he was great from the first whistle at holding the ball and helping us build out of the midfield. He got a great assist from Dom [Flowers], who played him a great ball. Defensively, I thought Hassane Diakho and Spencer Koski did a really great job as central defenders, they won a lot of balls and managed the rest of the backs well."
D'Anthony Brown had a chance to knot the score at 1-1 in the 16th minute that bounced off the crossbar and Lehigh had an opportunity to pull ahead by two goals on an Austen Carranza shot that was saved by the Black Knights as a team in the 19th. Natan Rosen closed the first half with a shot on goal in the 42nd minute that was saved.
Lehigh out-shot Army West Point, 4-3 in the first half with the Black Knights leading in fouls, 8-7.
It was shots galore for both sides in the second half with neither side willing to give in. The Mountain Hawks picked up the first two shots on goal of the second half with a Perry Kingson shot that was saved by Jacob Suppiah and Dominic Flowers just a couple minutes removed. Koski made four saves in a span of six minutes to keep the game a 1-0 score in favor of Lehigh.
After Blake Koski was shown a yellow card in the 82nd minute, the Black Knights put the pressure on, getting a corner kick opportunity just two minutes later, as a Jack Eaton header hit the crossbar, putting the ball in the right place for John Poncy to bang it in for his third goal of the season, equalizing the score at 1-1 in the 85th.
The Black Knights and Mountain Hawks each had one more shot on goal in the tank between the 85th and 86th minutes, but Army frantically tried to get the game-winner on two shots in two seconds in the 88th.
In the final minute of action, Josh Luchini played the ball into the box, finding the head of Euan Forrest who put it into the left side of the net for the game-winner as time winded down.
The 90th minute game-winner by Euan Forrest from Josh Luchini. What an ending!#PLTop3 | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/KQyRHZTTMJ
— Lehigh Men's Soccer (@LehighMSoccer) October 3, 2021
The goal was Forrest's first of his career, his first game-winner as the Mountain Hawks prevailed for their first win of the season, a month and a half into the schedule.
Army out-shot Lehigh, 15-13 including 8-7 among shots on goal. Blake Koski made seven saves and nearly netted the clean sheet before letting in the late goal. Austen Carranza finished with a team-best three shots, while Jack Sarkos, Perry Kingson and Josh Luchini each finished with two.
The ensuing win carries a ton of momentum into the coming week for Lehigh, as it turns right around to host No. 3 West Virginia Tuesday evening at the Ulrich Sports Complex, live on ESPN+.
"I think [tonight's win does start almost a new season] for us," said Koski. "We just have to continue to be mindful of where we stand in the Patriot League. For us, everything right now is about the Patriot League and October is what defines whether you are going to get into the tournament or not.
"Certainly we will elevate all of our Patriot League matches from here on out and we have a very important game on Tuesday against a nationally-ranked West Virginia team. But we schedule opponents like that so we can get better and we're looking forward to it."
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Catching up with head coach @DeanKoski following the Mountain Hawks' 2-1 win over first place Army, earning Lehigh its first win of the 2021 season. 🗣 pic.twitter.com/A2BgQlPGG4
— Lehigh Men's Soccer (@LehighMSoccer) October 3, 2021
.@jSarkk10's first career goal in the run of play was a big one, giving the Mountain Hawks the momentum needed to pull off the win over Army Saturday night. The junior forward talked about it with @LehighSports after the victory. 🗣 pic.twitter.com/iB3n9bSisq
— Lehigh Men's Soccer (@LehighMSoccer) October 3, 2021
First career goal, first career game-winner and first career interview for @ForrestEuan following Lehigh's 2-1 win over Army West Point Saturday night at Ulrich Sports Complex! 🗣 pic.twitter.com/2G0IAuA5IM
— Lehigh Men's Soccer (@LehighMSoccer) October 3, 2021
Team Stats
ARMY
LEHIGH
Goals
1
2
Shots
15
13
Shots on Goal
8
7
Saves
5
7
Corners
4
5
Fouls
14
9
Scoring Plays
Sarkos, Jack (1)
Assisted By: Flowers, Dominic , Jetter, Nolan
#11 played it into #9 into the box, who
8:11
John Poncy (3)
Assisted By: Jack Eaton
Initial header off crossbar, 17 put in r
84:10
Forrest, Euan (1)
Assisted By: Luchini, Josh
#19 served into box and #4 headed into l
89:08
Game Leaders
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
M/F
/ Men's Soccer
D/M
/ Men's SoccerD/M
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's Soccer
M/D
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's Soccer
M/F
/ Men's SoccerF
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