BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men’s soccer team fell 3-0 to Bucknell on Saturday night at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Two early Bison goals and a penalty kick in the final minutes doomed the Mountain Hawks, as Lehigh fell to 1-6-1 on the season.

“We gave them 16 shots, we did a good job in the second half of pressing them, but we couldn’t figure them out,” said head coach Dean Koski. “They figured us out. When you go down two goals in the first 14-15 minutes, it changes things. You have to change how you play and you have to chase the game. Quite frankly, I don’t think we generated enough offensively to threaten them over the course of 90 minutes.”

The Bison struck early in the game with their first goal coming in the ninth minute. Alli Mayowa headed the ball into the upper right of the net off a corner kick from Josh Butzke. Five minutes later, Connor Willings connected off a loose ball to sink Bucknell’s second goal into the lower right corner of the net. The Mountain Hawks picked up intensity after the Bison’s second goal, recording four shots of their own. None of Lehigh’s shots were able to find the back of the net as the Bison went into halftime with a 2-0 lead.

The Mountain Hawks got off their first shot on goal in the 58th minute off the foot of senior captain James Meyerkord, but Bison keeper Mike Lansing kept it out of harm’s way. Lehigh fired off two more shots on goal before a penalty in the box gave Bucknell a penalty kick opportunity. Chris Thorsheim capitalized on the opportunity for the Bison, netting the team’s third and final goal of the game.

Lehigh tallied four shots on goal, while Bucknell notched five. Mountain Hawk freshmen Danny Gonzalez and Gianfranco Giammatteo led Lehigh with two shots apiece. The Bison held a 16-8 shot advantage and 6-2 corner kick advantage.

The Mountain Hawks will now begin preparations for a mid-week match at home against archrival Lafayette. The Leopards will come to the Ulrich Sports Complex Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

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