Lehigh tops Stetson in overtime, 1-0
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - After Lehigh and Stetson combined for 34 shots in regulation with no goals, it only took freshman Doyle Tuvesson one shot in overtime to send his team home winners as the Mountain Hawks topped Stetson 1-0 on Friday evening. The goal came just 31 seconds into the extra session as he took a feed from junior Jamie Luchini and beat the Stetson goalkeeper inside the right post.
"I saw our center back about to play a long ball and then I saw Jamie check in," said Tuvesson. "Once the ball was going to Jamie, I noticed that he saw me, so I made a run in behind the defense. Jamie played a great flick and I was in on goal. I was pretty nervous to be honest, but I knew I had to tuck it inside the corner."
The Mountain Hawks finished the evening with 22 shots, but just four were on goal. Three of those shots on goal came over the game's final 1:06 (final 35 seconds of regulation and 31 seconds of overtime) as Lehigh continued to increase its pressure as the game progressed.
"It's always good to get a win at home, but we're not going to get ahead of ourselves," said Lehigh head coach Dean Koski. "We have a lot of work to do. I thought today was a really good indication of some of our lapses, but we're glad to get a win against a good team."
Stetson controlled play for most of the first half, earning a 9-7 shots edge and forcing senior goalie Ciaran to make three saves. In the 19th minute, Nugent made a strong aggressive play to come out and break up a charging Stetson forward before he could get a shot off.
Late in the first half, Tuvesson put a free kick towards net, forcing goalie J.J. Lofthouse-Smith to make an impressive save to keep the game scoreless. Stetson had a rush with just minutes remaining in the half, but sophomore Justin Worley cleared a ball following a good pass in front, then moments later, Nugent made a strong diving save to force a corner kick.
Lehigh controlled possession in the second half, but most of its shots were either blocked or came from distance. Not until the final minute did the Mountain Hawks unleash a shot on goal as a shot from senior Matt Shreiner and header from junior Ryan Bertrando were stopped by Lofthouse-Smith.
That led into the overtime period when Luchini connected with Tuvesson and quickly sent Lehigh to its second home victory in as many tries this season.
"They really disrupted us in the first half. We weren't able to get a foot on the ball and that's a credit to how they were playing," said Koski. "In the second half, we settled in a little bit better. We had a strong lift from our bench in this game and we needed that. We're glad to get the victory."
Final shots were 22-14 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 7-4 edge in corner kicks. Nugent finished with five saves for his 17th career shutout and third this season.
"I think Ciaran was huge for us, especially in the first half in making the saves he did to keep us in the game," said Koski. "We lost our way defensively, but once we settled in, I thought we did a better job of managing. When we needed Ciaran to make a save he did and that's what we need from him."
The Mountain Hawks remain home Tuesday to face Villanova before opening Patriot League play on Saturday Sept. 27 against American at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Both contests are set for 7 p.m. and can be viewed for free on the Patriot League Network.
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