HARRISONBURG, Va. – An 84th minute goal from sophomore Oscar Greene lifted the Lehigh men's soccer team to a gritty 1-0 win in the team's season-opener at James Madison on Friday evening. Senior goalkeeper Jacob Gottwald recorded six saves, including a huge stop in the final minute to secure his third career shutout. It is the third straight season that Lehigh has opened its season with a win.

"It's always good to get first win under our belt in the season opener," said head coach Dean Koski. "They played with a lot of grit. It gives us a little bit of momentum going into Sunday's game against a good team on the road."

After mustering two shots in the opening half, Lehigh had a shot blocked, leading to a corner kick in the 56th minute. Jack Miskel sent one in that was headed by David Zipkin, but JMU keeper Kyle Morton was there to make the save. Mark Forrest put another header on goal just under two minutes later, but Morton was there once again for the save to keep the game scoreless.

Lehigh broke through for the game's only goal in the 84th minute. Forrest served a ball across the field from just outside the 18-yard box towards Greene, who got a foot on the ball just before it went out of bounds and slid inside the far post for his first career goal, which proved to be the eventual game winner. Forrest, who was second on the team with 26 points a season ago, grabbed the assist.

"We were able to grind it out and found a goal late in the game," Koski said. "And then we had to weather an onslaught at the end. I'm proud of their effort. Our guys showed a lot of grit and determination."

After falling behind, James Madison nearly tied up the game in the 90th minute, but Gottwald came up big for Lehigh with a huge save off a header with just 53 seconds remaining to help seal the win.

"It was a great first start for him," Koski said of his keeper. "He did a good job and played with confidence and composure. He was in the right place at the right time. If he keeps it up, he can have a good year for us."

In total, JMU held an 18-7 advantage in shots and a 6-3 edge in shot on goal. Lehigh led the way in corners 6-3.

The Mountain Hawks will stay in Harrisonburg and wrap up competition at the JMU Invitational on Sunday at noon against Radford. The Highlanders captured a 1-0 win over NC State in their season opener earlier on Friday. Live stats will be available.

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

ECNL Girls N. Atlantic Players to Watch

Women's NCAA Tournament Round Two Preview

Best of Men's College Soccer Week 13