Lehigh University Athletics
Sunday, August 29
Bethlehem, Pa.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
0-2-0
0
vs
3
Vermont
2-0-0
1
2
F
Vermont
1
2
3
Lehigh
0
0
0
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Mountain Hawks shut out by Vermont in home opener
8/29/2021 4:14:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A big crowd graced the stands of the Ulrich Sports Complex on Sunday afternoon, but the Lehigh men's soccer team fell to Vermont, 3-0.
With the defeat, the Mountain Hawks drop the first two contests to start the 2021 season.
"Vermont is a good team," said The Ingrassia Family Men's Head Soccer Coach Dean Koski. "But we made them better today because we played poor defensively. I didn't think our commitment on the defensive side of the ball was good and I'm a little concerned about that.
"We gave up three goals and one on a restart. We just have to be tougher and we weren't. We've got to re-visit that as a coaching staff and see what pieces we're missing and how to fill in those gaps. Right now, our performances the last two games show that we're beat up a little bit. There's more to us as a team and we'll figure it out, but these first two games have been good for us because it's revealing some of the areas we have to get better at."
The Mountain Hawks nearly broke the game open in the third minute when Euan Forrest laced a free kick off the top of the crossbar and nearly in the back of the net. It was one of three total shots on the day for the junior defender.
After its first shot on goal in the 12th minute was saved by Blake Koski, Vermont scored the first goal of the game in the 14th minute, a corner kick off the head of Garrett Lillie for the score.
Lehigh had four consecutive shots miss the target in the final seven minutes, with two shots on goal from Forrest and two blocked shots from freshman Perry Kingson.
The Catamounts scored twice more in the contest, once in the 55th minute and one in the 60th to come away with the 3-0 shutout victory.
Vermont was aggressive from the get-go, a key for the clean sheet, as the team led the way in fouls, 14-9 as well as cards with seven including a second yellow and red for Jared Leheta in the 87th minute.
Shots were 14-8 in favor of the Catamounts, while also leading in shots on goal (5-3), saves (3-2) and corner kicks (7-4).
Forrest and Kingson each had three shots on the afternoon, totaling six of Lehigh's eight shots. Seniors Valentine Perevalov and Michael Tahiru each tallied one.
The Mountain Hawks look to snap a two-game losing streak on the road at Pitt, the No. 3 team in the country by way of the United Soccer Coaches. The game will be a rematch of the 2019 NCAA Tournament First Round, when the Panthers got the 2-0 victory.
"I think it's going to be a challenge for us playing on the road," Koski said. "But we build our schedule to be challenged in the first half. We want our nine league opponents to be the best we can get and we're happy to go out and play against one of the best teams in the country.
"We can't look at rankings, we just have to go out and play against a really good team and have to be at our best to have a shot."
The contest begins at 7 p.m. from Ambrose-Urbanic Field and will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra through the ESPN+ ($) service.
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Gallery: (8-29-2021) Men's Soccer vs. Vermont, 8/29/21
With the defeat, the Mountain Hawks drop the first two contests to start the 2021 season.
"Vermont is a good team," said The Ingrassia Family Men's Head Soccer Coach Dean Koski. "But we made them better today because we played poor defensively. I didn't think our commitment on the defensive side of the ball was good and I'm a little concerned about that.
"We gave up three goals and one on a restart. We just have to be tougher and we weren't. We've got to re-visit that as a coaching staff and see what pieces we're missing and how to fill in those gaps. Right now, our performances the last two games show that we're beat up a little bit. There's more to us as a team and we'll figure it out, but these first two games have been good for us because it's revealing some of the areas we have to get better at."
The Mountain Hawks nearly broke the game open in the third minute when Euan Forrest laced a free kick off the top of the crossbar and nearly in the back of the net. It was one of three total shots on the day for the junior defender.
After its first shot on goal in the 12th minute was saved by Blake Koski, Vermont scored the first goal of the game in the 14th minute, a corner kick off the head of Garrett Lillie for the score.
Lehigh had four consecutive shots miss the target in the final seven minutes, with two shots on goal from Forrest and two blocked shots from freshman Perry Kingson.
The Catamounts scored twice more in the contest, once in the 55th minute and one in the 60th to come away with the 3-0 shutout victory.
Vermont was aggressive from the get-go, a key for the clean sheet, as the team led the way in fouls, 14-9 as well as cards with seven including a second yellow and red for Jared Leheta in the 87th minute.
Shots were 14-8 in favor of the Catamounts, while also leading in shots on goal (5-3), saves (3-2) and corner kicks (7-4).
Forrest and Kingson each had three shots on the afternoon, totaling six of Lehigh's eight shots. Seniors Valentine Perevalov and Michael Tahiru each tallied one.
The Mountain Hawks look to snap a two-game losing streak on the road at Pitt, the No. 3 team in the country by way of the United Soccer Coaches. The game will be a rematch of the 2019 NCAA Tournament First Round, when the Panthers got the 2-0 victory.
"I think it's going to be a challenge for us playing on the road," Koski said. "But we build our schedule to be challenged in the first half. We want our nine league opponents to be the best we can get and we're happy to go out and play against one of the best teams in the country.
"We can't look at rankings, we just have to go out and play against a really good team and have to be at our best to have a shot."
The contest begins at 7 p.m. from Ambrose-Urbanic Field and will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra through the ESPN+ ($) service.
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
UVM
LEHIGH
Goals
3
0
Shots
14
8
Shots on Goal
5
3
Saves
3
2
Corners
7
4
Fouls
14
9
Scoring Plays
Garrett Lillie (1)
Assisted By: Alex Nagy
Header from the 13 corner finds left cor
13:17
Nacho Lerech (1)
Assisted By: Alex Nagy , Matt Black
slow to the cross, finished off near pos
54:59
Matt Black
Gets free on breakaway, finds right corn
59:35
Game Leaders
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's SoccerF/M
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