Lehigh University Athletics
Thursday, August 22
Bethlehem, Pa.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
0-0-1, 0-0-0
0
vs
0
La Salle University
0-0-1, 0-0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Salle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lehigh | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mountain Hawks Battle La Salle To Draw in Season Opener
8/22/2024 10:17:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - In a chippy season-opener, it was Lehigh men's soccer and La Salle who tied 0-0 Thursday night at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Thursday's game featured seven yellow cards with five yellow cards going to the Explorers and two yellow cards going to the Mountain Hawks.
"I thought La Salle played a really good competitive and territorial game, which challenged us in a lot of areas, but I thought we responded well to not buckling," said head coach Dean Koski.
In addition to seven total yellow cards, Lehigh committed 13 fouls and La Salle finished with eight fouls. The Explorers held a 10-3 advantage in corner kicks. The Mountain Hawks created chances as they tallied 15 total shots, but they were unable to capitalize on them. La Salle recorded three shots.
"Our biggest weakness in the final third was just giving up too many corner kicks, but beyond thought, I thought instructionally we were good tonight," Koski said. "I thought we created enough chances to score some goals and that's really important. There certainly are games where we don't create any chances, so I was pleased with the chances we created. Our final product wasn't sharp, but this is game one, so we have time to work on those things."
Three of Lehigh's 15 shots were on goal, while the Explorers finished with two shots on goal. First-year forward Aiden Gonzalez finished with a game-high of five shots.
Senior goalkeeper Ryan Gross tallied two saves for the Mountain Hawks, while La Salle's Valentin Kneis recorded three saves in net.
"Overall, I think we were a little reckless at times with our fouls and a little undisciplined and got ourselves stretched in ways we didn't need to, but this is step one," Koski said.
The Mountain Hawks will look to capture their first win of the season when they host Rider on Monday at 6 p.m. Monday's game will be aired on ESPN+.
"I thought La Salle played a really good competitive and territorial game, which challenged us in a lot of areas, but I thought we responded well to not buckling," said head coach Dean Koski.
In addition to seven total yellow cards, Lehigh committed 13 fouls and La Salle finished with eight fouls. The Explorers held a 10-3 advantage in corner kicks. The Mountain Hawks created chances as they tallied 15 total shots, but they were unable to capitalize on them. La Salle recorded three shots.
"Our biggest weakness in the final third was just giving up too many corner kicks, but beyond thought, I thought instructionally we were good tonight," Koski said. "I thought we created enough chances to score some goals and that's really important. There certainly are games where we don't create any chances, so I was pleased with the chances we created. Our final product wasn't sharp, but this is game one, so we have time to work on those things."
Three of Lehigh's 15 shots were on goal, while the Explorers finished with two shots on goal. First-year forward Aiden Gonzalez finished with a game-high of five shots.
Senior goalkeeper Ryan Gross tallied two saves for the Mountain Hawks, while La Salle's Valentin Kneis recorded three saves in net.
"Overall, I think we were a little reckless at times with our fouls and a little undisciplined and got ourselves stretched in ways we didn't need to, but this is step one," Koski said.
The Mountain Hawks will look to capture their first win of the season when they host Rider on Monday at 6 p.m. Monday's game will be aired on ESPN+.
Team Stats
LAS
LEH
Goals
0
0
Shots
5
15
Shots on Goal
2
3
Saves
3
2
Corners
10
3
Fouls
8
13
Game Leaders
Shots
5
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Men's Soccer
GK
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