Second Half Comeback Propels Lehigh Past Navy 2-1

Saturday, September 26

Bethlehem, Pa.

6:00 PM

Lehigh University

3-2-4, 3-0-0

Navy

2-4-4, 0-2-1

Team	1	2	Final F
Navy	1	0	1
Lehigh	0	2	2

Photo by: Tommy Herstich

Second Half Comeback Propels Lehigh Past Navy 2-1

9/26/2026 8:54:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Riding a six-match unbeaten streak, Lehigh men's soccer returned to the Ulrich Sports Complex on Saturday evening to host the Navy Midshipmen. The Mountain Hawks mounted a second half comeback to defeat the Mids 2-1 and move to 3-0 against Patriot League competition.

"You don't like to be trailing early in a game, but I appreciated that we kept competing and creating opportunities," said Ingrassia Family men's head soccer coach Dean Koski. "It's always good for a team to see that they can come back and carve out three points after facing some early adversity."

Lehigh (3-2-4, 3-0-0 PL) was the more aggressive team offensively in the first half, outshooting Navy (2-4-4, 0-2-1 PL) 9-2 in the opening stanza. Despite this, the Mids struck first with a goal from Ryan Skandalis in the 21st minute that gave Navy a 1-0 halftime lead.

Trailing by a goal, the Mountain Hawks found an equalizer in the 63rd minute when first-year Massimo Talarico scored his first career goal off a feed from senior Landon Bealer. Only a few minutes later, junior Bora Turker was fouled in the box, giving him a chance at a penalty shot. Turker's penalty kick went past Navy's Sam Clark for what would ultimately be the game-winner.

The Mountain Hawks outshot the Mids by a staggering 22-4 margin in the game, including a 5-1 advantage in shots on goal. First-year Alex Junquera led the way with five shots, junior Aiden Gonzalez took four while senior Shea Coughlin and sophomore Luciano Larrea each tallied three.

"I'm happy with how we're defending," said Koski. "I think we're making good decisions in the box and we're doing a good job of getting numbers behind the ball. Teams are still going to put us under, so we still have to be able to show up and answer the call when those moments happen."

Lehigh returns to the pitch on Tuesday, September 29 at 6 p.m. on the road at Delaware. The first-place Mountain Hawks will then resume Patriot League play on Saturday, October 3 at 3 p.m. at Holy Cross.

"We haven't qualified for anything yet, so every game is the most important game," said Koski. "Every win gets a little bit harder as you go forward. We haven't accomplished anything yet other than moving in the right direction."

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