HARRISONBURG, Va. - Radford broke a scoreless game with an 81st-minute goal to hand the Lehigh men's soccer team a 1-0 defeat on the final day of the JMU Invitational on Sunday. The Mountain Hawks hung tough against the preseason Big South favorites, but it wasn't enough as Lehigh finishes its opening weekend at 1-1.
 
"We came out a little bit slow in the first half and we weren't playing the way we needed to play, so we made some adjustments in the second half," said Lehigh head coach Dean Koski. "We handled adjustments well, played the way we wanted to play and put some pressure on them."
 
A pretty defensive first half saw seven combined shots between the two teams (six for Radford) and none on goal. The opportunities began to increase in the second half as the Highlanders had a shot blocked in the 53rd minute and a shot that sailed high in the 54th minute. Lehigh responded with a shot from junior Jack Miskel, but it went high.
 
Lehigh senior goalkeeper Jacob Gottwald was forced to make the first of his four saves in the 60th minute as the game remained scoreless. Gottwald was forced to make two more saves within the next six minutes.
 
The Mountain Hawks responded with their first shot on goal, fired by senior Nick Jewell in the 72nd minute, but it was stopped by Radford goalkeeper Aitor Pouseu Blanco.
 
"I don't think we created enough scoring chances," said Koski. "I would have liked to see us shoot a little bit more. They did a good job of bottling us and not giving us many good looks. They're a good defensive team and very organized."
 
Radford broke the deadlock at the 80:28 mark, converting a header off a cross, which gave the Highlanders a 1-0 advantage, proving to be the final.
 
Final shots were 18-3 in favor of Radford while the Highlanders held a 4-0 edge in corner kicks.
 
"We played against a good team, second game of the weekend, on a hot day, with three subs," said Koski. "I thought our guys played with a lot of courage. It took some fortitude to play in this weather. Our guys are exhausted and they should be. They left it on the field."
 
The Mountain Hawks now look ahead to their home opener as they host Delaware on Friday at 7 p.m.
 
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