WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Mountain Hawks use a hot start to clinch a great result in a Patriot League road contest on Saturday with a 4-1 victory over American. Lehigh is now 4-1-1 in the Patriot League and is 10-4-1 overall. The Eagles fall to 2-3-0 in league play and 3-9-1 overall.

Three different Mountain Hawks notched tallies on the day, including two in the second half by Mark Forrest to lead the team on the day. Alex Greene tallied the opening goal of the game and dished out two assists, while Doyle Tuvesson tallied the eventual game-winner with a tally in the 13th minute.

“We did a good job of getting out in front of the game early, but I really did not feel comfortable until we got the third goal. American kept attacking and we got a little sloppy defensively, so having that third goal early in the second half was huge for us,” said head coach Dean Koski.

The top-ranked offense in the Patriot League flexed its muscles early and often as Lehigh had a two-goal lead in the first 13 minutes of play. Greene got things going as he was in the right place at the right time to knock in a rebounded save from a Forrest shot in the second minute. Greene now has four tallies on the season to move into a tie for second place on the team, while Forrest picked up his seventh assist on the season.

Lehigh turned to its other big offensive gun to provide some offense in the first half as Doyle Tuvesson netted a tally in the 13th minute to give Lehigh a quick 2-0 lead. Tuvesson moves into a tie with Greene for the second-most goals on the this season with four, as the senior forward extends his career-high point total to 17 this season.

Will Smith finished with two saves in the first half as the Eagles turned up the pressure after falling behind. After being dominated early, American fought back to nearly even up the shot count as Lehigh led, 7-6, heading into the break with AU holding a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks.

After receiving a helper from Forrest in the first half, Greene returned the favor early in the second half as he set up the league’s top scorer for his first tally on the day. Forrest finished to the back post in the 55th minute his 12th goal of the season, setting a new career high.

“Mark continues to find a way to score goals and was outstanding again today. He is very tough to play against because he can go stretches without getting a touch, but is such a clinical finisher that he makes the most out of his opportunities,” said Koski. “Alex was our man of the match. He was moving all over the field today and was a handful for the defense. He made the biggest difference for us today.”

Forrest was not done as he tacked on another goal in the second half. Tommy Dokho set up the play and picked up the assist as he fed a cross to Forrest who netted the tally in the 67th minute. Forrest now has three multi-goal games this season and five games with a goal and an assist.

The Eagles avoided a shutout as they got on the board in the 77th minute. Alameen Salako netted the tally following a free kick opportunity by American.

“We were solid defensively for most of the game. Will made the saves he needed to make and was very solid throughout the game. We just needed to do a better job in front of him at times and controlling their runs into the box,” said Koski.

Lehigh extends its unbeaten streak to four-straight in league play and has reached double-figures in the overall win column for the third time in the last four seasons. The Mountain Hawks picked up just their seventh win over American in 25 meetings all-time.

Lehigh’s three points on Saturday moves the Brown and White closer to locking up a Patriot League postseason berth. The Mountain Hawks return to action Wednesday in a home league match against Bucknell scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff.

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