KINGSTON, R.I. - In a back-and-forth game, the Lehigh men's soccer team scored in the 11th minute and made just enough plays to win as the Mountain Hawks topped Rhode Island, 1-0 on Friday evening. Freshman Doyle Tuvesson scored the game's lone goal while senior Ciaran Nugent stopped a penalty kick and junior Brian Vail made three goal-saving defensive plays, including clearing the ball off the line after Nugent's penalty kick stop.
 
"I thought we played a very good first half and really executed our game plan the way we hoped," said head coach Dean Koski. "We found a goal and felt pretty comfortable going into the second half, then I thought we lost our way a little bit and didn't get a hold of the ball like we did in the first half. I thought we gave them several opportunities from being careless and not managing the game."
 
Lehigh unleashed the game's first shot just over a minute in as sophomore Gianfranco Giammatteo fired a shot wide. The next shot was a goal as Tuvesson scored the first of his career. Junior Austin Decker found him with a perfect feed that bypassed the backs, setting the freshman up about eight yards from goal. Tuvesson finished a header to make it 1-0 at the 10:45 mark.
 
The Mountain Hawks continued pressuring and less than seven minutes later, fired three shots on goal in a 58-second span. Lehigh went on to outshoot the Rams 8-3 in the first half.
 
URI pressured the Mountain Hawks in the second half, holding a 10-5 advantage, but Lehigh withstood the pressure. Nugent came up big at 60:50, saving a Matt Sykes penalty kick as Vail was there to clear the rebound. It was just one of several game-saving plays for Vail as he headed a ball off the end line and cleared another with his foot.
 
"Brian was in the right place at the right time, and that's where you need to be as a defender, said Koski. "We needed him there."
 
Late in the second half, Lehigh pushed to try and add insurance as sophomore Danny Gonzalez unleashed a shot in the 80th minute and shot on goal in the 82nd minute. Trying to tie, the Rams had a shot on goal at the end of regulation, but Nugent was there to make his fourth save and preserve the shutout.
 
"We weren't terribly pleased with our second-half performance, but when you're on the road, you have to be happy to come up with a win," said Koski. "Last year, we didn't get these games. This year, we're getting some of those and that's important."
 
Final shots were tied at 13 while the Rams held a 7-5 edge in corner kicks. Nugent's four saves came across URI's Nils Leifhelm, who made five.
 
Lehigh will look to carry the momentum in the back end of its Rhode Island road trip as the Mountain Hawks travel to Brown on Sunday to face the Bears. Opening kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
 
"When you go on the road against two good opponents, you certainly want to come away with two wins," said Koski. "To come away with a win on the front end takes some pressure off for the second game, so we're not wound as tight. My hope is that we have enough confidence against a really good Brown team and we can put two good games together."
 
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