BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Freshman Josh Luchini scored in the 50th minute to give the Lehigh men's soccer team all it would need as the Mountain Hawks downed Navy 1-0 on Saturday. Lehigh had a number of additional scoring chances all game, but were just off the mark or saw Navy goalkeeper Tyler Fahning make strong saves. The Mids also cleared two balls off the line to ensure the margin wasn't greater. With the win, Lehigh improves to 4-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since 2006 and remains in sole possession of first place in the league standings, five points ahead of the next closest team at the end of Saturday's contests.
 
"We were sharp in the first half, created a lot of chances but didn't score. That makes you a little bit tighter going into the second half, but I think getting that goal relaxed us," said Lehigh head coach Dean Koski. "Navy did a really nice job of bending, but not breaking and cleared a lot off the line. I'm pleased with the amount of opportunities we created. I'm frustrated that we didn't score more just to give us a bit of a cushion, but three points is three points. Whether it's 1-0 or 3-0, it doesn't matter. It's three points."
 
The Mountain Hawks outshot Navy 13-8 in the first half, several of the chances being glittering opportunities. In the 14th minute, sophomore Trevor Koski'sshot looked ticketed for the back of the net, but a Navy defender made the save on the goal line.
 
Lehigh's shots kept coming and in the 25th minute, senior Mark Forrest centered to Koski right in front of the goal, but the ensuing shot sailed high. The Mountain Hawks added three more shots on goal, in the 28th, 34th and 35th minutes, but Fahning made the stops. Navy surged towards the end of the half, but Lehigh junior goalkeeper Will Smith made three saves over the final 3:49 to keep the game scoreless after 35 minutes of play.
 
In the 50th minute, Navy's back line cleared another ball off the line, this time on sophomore Stevo Bednarsky's shot, but Luchini was there and roofed the rebound to give Lehigh a 1-0 lead at the 49:58 mark.
 
"Right place, right time for Josh," said Koski. "Stevo put the ball in where he needed to. It's really important that our guys are in positions to score. We put ourselves in a lot of positions to score tonight. It took one to get the result. Josh is playing really well and if he can continue to find goals for us and open up spaces for Mark, hopefully we'll find more opportunities to score."
 
Although Navy had chances as the half progressed, no shots were on target. On the other end, Forrest's header from in close in the 82nd minute forced Fahning to make an impressive stop to keep the score at 1-0. In the end, Lehigh's defense allowed just one shot over the game's final 33:12 to wrap up its second straight shutout and third in four league games thus far.
 
Final shots were 22-12 in favor of Lehigh while corner kicks were tied at five. Smith finished with five saves, all in the first half, while Fahning tallied six.
 
The Mountain Hawks return to action next Saturday when they travel to rival Lafayette to face the Leopards. Opening kickoff is set for 12 p.m.

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