BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men’s soccer team outshot defending Patriot League Champion Bucknell 30-16, but wasn’t able to find a game winner Saturday night at the Ulrich Sports Complex as the teams played to a 1-1 double-overtime draw. Junior Gianfranco Giammatteo scored Lehigh’s goal in the ninth minute before the Bison found an equalizer in the 52nd. Lehigh’s record moves to 10-5-2 overall and 4-3-1 in the Patriot League, while Bucknell now sits at 6-6-5 overall and 2-3-3 in league play.

 

“I think it was a good game in a lot of ways other than the fact that we didn’t finish the chances that we had,” said head coach Dean Koski. “Whenever you generate that many shots it’s a good thing, but Bucknell’s keeper made some key saves to keep them in the game. Coming off a game 48 hours ago, I thought the energy was good and the effort was good.”

 

The Mountain Hawks controlled possession for the first few minutes of the game and were able to convert early when a Bucknell foul led to a free kick positioned about 30 yards out in the ninth minute. Senior Jamie Luchini took the kick and Giammatteo was able to head it into the lower left-hand corner of the net past the diving Bucknell keeper to give the Mountain Hawks a quick 1-0 lead.

 

Bucknell threatened with four shots over the next ten minutes, but Lehigh sophomore keeper Joe Bogan was able to save one while the others flew wide. The Mountain Hawks peppered the Bison with several shots as well, including a chance on a temporarily open net from senior Austin Decker that flew high with just a few minutes remaining, but neither team could find another goal as Lehigh carried a 1-0 lead into halftime.

 

Lehigh fired the first two shots of the second half, but Bucknell was able to even the score in the 52nd minute when Sabastiaan Blickman sent a ball through traffic and into the lower right-hand corner of the net to even the score at 1-1.

 

Luchini had a good scoring opportunity when he found himself in a one-on-one situation with Bucknell keeper Clarke Fox after working his way around the Bison defense in the 63rd minute, but Fox was just able to get his feet on the ball to send Luchini’s attempt wide. The Bison peppered Lehigh with three shots in the next seven minute before Lehigh regained possession.

 

In the final 18 minutes of regulation, Lehigh held the Bison to just one shot while the Mountain Hawks rattled off ten shots and eight corner kicks. Fox made three huge saves during the time frame, while others flew just wide or bounced off the post. Despite the intense pressure, Lehigh wasn’t able to convert as the game went to overtime tied at one.

 

Bucknell had a corner kick in the first minute of overtime, but it was all Lehigh from there as shots from Giammatteo and Luchini preceded an attempt from Forrest that skirted just wide before the contest was sent to a second overtime period.

 

Bogan made arguably his best save of the night on a Bucknell free kick that was positioned just outside the 18-yard box as he dove to his right to keep the direct kick out of the net in the 106th minute. Fox made two huge saves in the 109th minute on a header from sophomore David Zipkin and a hard Luchini shot before time expired and the teams walked away with a 1-1 draw.

 

Luchini fired 12 of Lehigh’s 30 shots. The Mountain Hawks also held a 13-4 corner kick edge. Fox finished with eight saves, while Bogan secured three.

 

The Mountain Hawks return to action next Saturday when Lehigh heads to American for the regular-season finale. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m.

 

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