HAMILTON, N.Y. - Behind two goals from senior Jamie Luchini and a stout defensive effort, the fourth-seeded Lehigh men’s soccer team earned its first Patriot League Tournament Championship since 2000 with a thrilling 2-1 win over No. 3 seed American on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles tied the score at the 59:09 mark, but just 1:40 later, Luchini tallied his second of the game to put the Mountain Hawks in front for good.

 

“With the first championship, you’re a little bit overwhelmed,” said Lehigh head coach Dean Koski. “With this one, I was able to appreciate more in the moment, just seeing how happy the guys are and enjoying their response to winning a championship. When you win a championship as a coach, it’s something you feel good about, but I’m really happy for the guys. They’ve worked hard for this and it was a goal of theirs. It’s a fantastic group of young men and I hope there’s more in them (in the NCAA Tournament).”

 

The win extends Lehigh’s unbeaten streak to nine games, improving to 13-5-3 overall heading into the program’s fourth-ever NCAA Tournament and first since 2006.

 

Luchini earned Patriot League Tournament MVP honors after securing eight points behind three goals and two assists in Lehigh’s three postseason games. He was joined on the All-Tournament team by sophomore keeper Joe Bogan and juniors Danny Gonzalez and Justin Worley.

 

The Mountain Hawks were officially outshot 16-8, but Lehigh held a 5-3 edge in shots on goal, forcing American goalkeeper Dylan Hobert to make three saves, including a pair of strong stops. On the other end, Lehigh’s defense allowed just three shots on goal, all in the second half.

 

“American is a really good team and we knew going into today that it would be hard to keep them off the scoreboard,” said Koski. “If we could keep them to one goal or less and we could find two goals, we knew we’d improve our chances of winning. Overall, when you play in a championship game like this, you have to be sound defensively.

 

Freshman Mark Forrest fired the game’s first shot in the eighth minute, but it sailed wide. Less than one minute earlier, Bogan punched out a dangerous cross to set up Lehigh’s first sustained offensive pressure of the afternoon.

 

The Mountain Hawks created the game’s first corner kick in the 12th minute, but they couldn’t convert. As the first half progressed, American continued to pressure, but the Eagles couldn’t get past the Lehigh defense.

 

Sophomore Doyle Tuvesson almost gave Lehigh a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute as he was sprung in on the left side by Luchini, but Hobert made the save to his left. Just less than six minutes later, the Mountain Hawks wouldn’t be denied as sophomore John Mark Charpentier made a touch to freshman Mark Forrest in the right corner, who followed with a cross, which Luchini put past Hobert to make it 1-0 at the 30:16 mark.

 

Tuvvesson had another glittering opportunity late in the first half as he got behind the defense and fired a shot, but Hobert made an aggressive leaping save to keep the margin at one.

 

American finished the first half with six shot, but none were on goal due in large part to Lehigh’s defense. The Eagles had one last corner kick in the final seconds, which was cleared by the Mountain Hawks.

 

The Eagles came out strongly in the second half, finishing with a 10-2 shots edge in that stanza. American converted its second shot of the half into the game-tying goal at 59:09 as Dale Ludwig headed in a cross to even the score at one.

 

It didn’t take long for Lehigh to answer as exactly 100 seconds later, freshman Alex Greene made a pass to Luchini in the box and the ensuing shot beat Hobert inside the left post to make it 2-1 Mountain Hawks in the 61st minute.

 

“It was a nerve-racking time for those couple minutes,” said Luchini. “They started getting a little momentum. Alex made a great combination play and I was able to finish it. At that point, I think we knew with our back line and the way they’ve been playing in the playoffs, that we had it.”

 

From there, the Lehigh defense held on, continuing to limit quality opportunities. American fired eight shots the rest of the half, but only two were on goal and four shots blocked by Mountain Hawk defenders. Bogan made two saves, including one in the 89th minute to help wrap up the victory.

 

With the win, Lehigh will advance to its fourth NCAA Tournament in program history. The NCAA Men’s Soccer Selection Show will take place at 1 p.m. Monday (Nov. 16) and will be aired live on NCAA.com.

 

“I told the guys a week ago, it’s okay to dream big,” said Koski. “It was okay for them to think about being in the NCAA Tournament, to think about their name being show on TV for the selection show. Think about what it would be like, then track back to what it’s like to be a champion. The guys are excited about getting into the NCAA Tournament, then depending on who we draw, I think we have a good shot.”

 

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