Lehigh beats Colgate, 2-1 on the road

October 2, 2019

HAMILTON, N.Y. — For the fourth game in a row, the Lehigh men's soccer team starred on offense, this time at the expense of three-time defending Patriot League champion Colgate, as the Mountain Hawks defeated the Raiders, 2-1 Wednesday night at Beyer-Small Field. With the victory, Lehigh improves to 7-2-0 overall and a perfect 3-0-0 in league play.

For the ninth time this season, the Mountain Hawks scored first, as sophomore forward Josh Luchini scored a goal in the 33rd minute after a nice pass from Trevor Koski to give Lehigh a 1-0 lead. The goal is Luchini's Patriot League-leading ninth of the season as the reigning National Player of the Week has now scored a goal in his third straight game and has a tally in seven of the Mountain Hawks' nine contests this year so far. The assist was Koski's fourth of the year as he currently is tied for the team lead in that category.

33' | LEHIGH GOAL!!!! Who else?! Josh Luchini takes a pass from Trevor Koski and finds the back of the net past the Colgate keeper for the score. It's Luchini's ninth goal of the season and Lehigh leads, 1-0. Watch: https://t.co/7jRjNNurJY. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/I9G3Nd2N3c
— Lehigh Men's Soccer (@LehighMSoccer) October 2, 2019

The Mountain Hawks looked like they would head into the locker room with a slim 1-0 lead, but Colgate scored with just two seconds left on the shot for Mason Miller. The Raiders' late goal tied the game up at 1 after the first 45 minutes of action.

"I thought Colgate was very organized, they did a really good job of pressing us at the right times," said head coach Dean Koski. "They came out with pretty strong intentions so we had to make some adjustments during the half and I thought our guys did that."

Despite scoring first, Lehigh trailed Colgate in shots during the first frame, 6-3 and also on corner kicks, 2-0. However, senior goalkeeper Will Smith made three key saves in the first half before giving up the equalizer to Miller in the 45th minute.

Lehigh's defense continued to hold its own heading into the second half with a chance to take the lead in what could possibly have been the game-winner the way the two squads had been playing.

In the 71st minute after a stoppage in action and a Zarin Tuten free kick, the Mountain Hawks managed to get into their offensive zone again, as a short-hop pass from Alex Greene found the foot of junior midfielder Stevo Bednarsky, who rocketed the ball way above the top of the box for what would become the game-winning tally. The goal is Bednarsky's second of the season and in as many games.

71' | LEHIGH GOAL!!! Oh my 'Lanta. Stevo Bednarsky puts this shot on a frozen rope after the pass from Alex Greene and Lehigh takes a 2-1 lead here. Watch: https://t.co/7jRjNNurJY. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/zD5MtDPpuy
— Lehigh Men's Soccer (@LehighMSoccer) October 3, 2019

"I thought that goal was so important for us to get a lead," said Koski. "I don't think Stevo could have hit that ball any harder, truer or any more accurately than he did. He would say that was a shot you get only once in a season and Trevor (Koski) said Stevo hit the ball harder than he did (against Northwestern).

"But it was a really important goal from our captain that we needed on the road against a really good team and I'm obviously really proud of the team and of Stevo."

Lehigh had another close chance in the 73rd minute by Natan Rosen, but his shot was saved by Jacob Harris as the score remained the same for the remaining 19 minutes. Lehigh held on for the 2-1 road decision against a very defensive-minded Colgate team.

82' | Wonderful, tightly contested defense for the Mountain Hawks, who get out of trouble and get the ball out of the zone. Lehigh leads, 2-1 in the closing minutes of this contest. Watch: https://t.co/7jRjNNurJY. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/UN2z0rUiec
— Lehigh Men's Soccer (@LehighMSoccer) October 3, 2019

Smith ended up making five saves for the Mountain Hawks, keeping the Raiders out of the net for the majority of the contest.

"I thought defensively, we were up to the task tonight for 89 minutes," Koski said. "You need that in a Patriot League game and it only takes, five, ten seconds for something bad to happen and if we're not really dialed into the moment and to the situation, I think that's where we have to get better as a program. I think at times we have mental lapses and most of those are on the communication side, but I know we can fix those things."

From a shots taken standpoint, it was Rosen who led the way for Lehigh with four, including three on goal. Koski had two shots, while Bednarsky, Luchini and Michael Tahiru each registered a shot throughout the game.

The victory is Lehigh's fourth in a row dating back to the Patriot League opener at American on Sept. 21. The streak is the Mountain Hawks' longest since they won five straight games between Sept. 8 and Sept 26, 2017. The 7-2 start to a season is the best since Lehigh went 7-1-1 to open the 2006 season. That Mountain Hawks team ended up finishing 15-2-2 overall and a perfect 7-0 in league play to claim the Patriot League regular season crown and a NCAA Tournament berth.

Lehigh will return home on Saturday to host Army West Point at the Ulrich Sports Complex at 6 p.m. That contest will be streamed live on the Patriot League Network.

"The first thing we look at is getting points on the road," said Koski. "We've already picked up six points on the road because and it's really hard to do that. Now we have to reset and focus on Army because they are going to want the same things that we want. They're going to come prepared to compete and I know their coach is going to get them ready to play the kind of soccer they play.

"Every match is going to feel like this in the league because the difference between winning and losing in most Patriot League matches, with some exceptions, is one goal. So our next two days are going to be us getting our team prepared for Saturday's game."

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