Wednesday, November 1
Bethlehem, Pa.
6:00 p.m.
Lehigh University
3-10-5, 2-5-2
1
vs
2
Bucknell
2-10-4, 1-6-2
1
2
F
Bucknell
0
2
2
Lehigh
0
1
1
Photo by: Hannah Ally
Lehigh's Season Ends With 2-1 Loss to Bucknell
11/1/2023 9:07:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh men's soccer's 2023 season ended with a 2-1 loss to Bucknell on Wednesday at the Ulrich Sports Complex.Â
"It was certainly one of our tougher seasons - not necessarily because of the results, but all of the challenges we faced with our injuries and losing some really key players for the entire season," said head coach Dean Koski. "It was a really difficult thing to overcome. "I'm really excited and pleased that the guys that we asked more of that weren't quite ready to step in still gave what they could give, so everybody who had a chance played this year. We never had a practice where guys just mailed it in - they showed up."
The Mountain Hawks end their season with a 3-10-5Â record (2-5-2 PL), and the Bison end their season with a 2-10-4 overall record (1-6-2).Â
Up until late in the second half, both defenses stood strong, limiting very few chances.Â
Bucknell's Marco Valentic opened the scoring in the 84th minute.Â
The Bison scored again just 50 seconds later. Valentic, who had just connected on the first goal, found an open Kasper Piela, who was there to put it right in the back of the net.Â
Yusef Gueye answered with a goal of his own in the 86th minute to cut the deficit to 2-1, but it would be too little too late for the Mountain Hawks. That goal was also the first career goal for Gueye. Beckett Wenger had the assist on Gueye's goal. Wenger finished the last two games with three total assists.Â
Lehigh outshot Bucknell 10-5 on Wednesday. Blake Koski tallied one save in net for Lehigh. Bucknell's Rex Alphen made two saves.Â
It was a chippy game as the teams combined for 27 fouls. There were also five total yellow cards.Â
"When you have a tough season like this, what ends up happening is sometimes you have players that just don't care, but these guys cared up until the last whistle, and I'm very proud of them and happy that they figured out it's that journey and the process that is the most important thing," Koski said.Â
Wednesday's game also marked the end for Lehigh's seven seniors.Â
"That final game for the seniors is the worst part of my job over my 30 years," Koski said. "Whether you're on the road or at home, just knowing that's the last time you'll wear the Lehigh uniform is devastating. All I could say to our seniors is I'm proud of what they've given as student-athletes here. This is a hard place to be successful in the classroom and a hard place to be successful on the field. Winning is hard at the Division I level, and winning is even harder in the Patriot League because the margins are so slim."Â
"It was certainly one of our tougher seasons - not necessarily because of the results, but all of the challenges we faced with our injuries and losing some really key players for the entire season," said head coach Dean Koski. "It was a really difficult thing to overcome. "I'm really excited and pleased that the guys that we asked more of that weren't quite ready to step in still gave what they could give, so everybody who had a chance played this year. We never had a practice where guys just mailed it in - they showed up."
The Mountain Hawks end their season with a 3-10-5Â record (2-5-2 PL), and the Bison end their season with a 2-10-4 overall record (1-6-2).Â
Up until late in the second half, both defenses stood strong, limiting very few chances.Â
Bucknell's Marco Valentic opened the scoring in the 84th minute.Â
The Bison scored again just 50 seconds later. Valentic, who had just connected on the first goal, found an open Kasper Piela, who was there to put it right in the back of the net.Â
Yusef Gueye answered with a goal of his own in the 86th minute to cut the deficit to 2-1, but it would be too little too late for the Mountain Hawks. That goal was also the first career goal for Gueye. Beckett Wenger had the assist on Gueye's goal. Wenger finished the last two games with three total assists.Â
Lehigh outshot Bucknell 10-5 on Wednesday. Blake Koski tallied one save in net for Lehigh. Bucknell's Rex Alphen made two saves.Â
It was a chippy game as the teams combined for 27 fouls. There were also five total yellow cards.Â
"When you have a tough season like this, what ends up happening is sometimes you have players that just don't care, but these guys cared up until the last whistle, and I'm very proud of them and happy that they figured out it's that journey and the process that is the most important thing," Koski said.Â
Wednesday's game also marked the end for Lehigh's seven seniors.Â
"That final game for the seniors is the worst part of my job over my 30 years," Koski said. "Whether you're on the road or at home, just knowing that's the last time you'll wear the Lehigh uniform is devastating. All I could say to our seniors is I'm proud of what they've given as student-athletes here. This is a hard place to be successful in the classroom and a hard place to be successful on the field. Winning is hard at the Division I level, and winning is even harder in the Patriot League because the margins are so slim."Â
Team Stats
BUC
LEH
Goals
2
1
Shots
5
10
Shots on Goal
3
3
Saves
2
1
Corners
0
4
Fouls
15
12
Scoring Plays
Marco Valentic (1)
Assisted By: Charlie Holmes
GOAL by BUC Valentic, Marco Assist by Holmes, Charlie.
83:34
Kasper Piela (1)
Assisted By: Marco Valentic
GOAL by BUC Piela, Kasper Assist by Valentic, Marco.
84:24
Yusef Gueye (1)
Assisted By: Beckett Wenger
GOAL by LEH Gueye, Yusef Assist by Wenger, Beckett.
85:31
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
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