BALTIMORE – Loyola scored the game's only goal in the eighth minute, then staved off a Mountain Hawks' second-half charge to down the Lehigh men's soccer team, 1-0 at the Ridley Athletic Complex on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks held a 6-3 edge in second-half shots, forcing Loyola goalkeeper Chase Vosvick to stop three of them to preserve his team's victory. The win gives the Greyhounds the inside track at the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, with one regular-season game remaining. The Mountain Hawks, who have already clinched a league tournament berth, could still finish as high as second.
 
"Loyola came out flying at kickoff, scored a good goal and managed the first half very well," said Lehigh head coach Dean Koski. "We came out in the second half and played really well, put a lot of pressure on them, but were unable to find the back of the net. We had some good looks, some good chances, but it's hard to score goals against good teams. We played like we wanted to for most of the game, except about 25 minutes in the first half."
 
Loyola turned its first shot of the content into an early 1-0 lead as Nico Brown finished a cross at the 7:19 mark. The rest of the stanza saw seven shots, four by Loyola and three by Lehigh. Mountain Hawks' junior goalkeeper Will Smith made two saves to keep his team within one at the half.
 
Lehigh came out of halftime with two straight shots, including its first shot on goal before the Greyhounds responded with consecutive shots on target, which Smith stopped in the 57th and 58th minutes. As the half progressed, Lehigh continued to increase its pressure, ending the game with four of the final five shots, coming over the game's final 32:38.
 
Offensively, the Mountain Hawks had multiple opportunities. In the 76th minute, Greene played a ball in the box, which saw sophomore Sam Steinberg lay out for a header, but the shot sailed just wide. Lehigh went on to post two shots on goal in the final stages, from sophomore Blaise Milanek in the 88th minute and senior Matt Morana in the 90th minute, but Vosvick stood tall. The Mountain Hawks also had plenty other second-half opportunities that didn't always lead to shots. One saw sophomore Trevor Koski play a ball across the box, eventually finding the foot of freshman Josh Luchini in a dangerous position, but Luchini couldn't get a shot off.
 
"We were just putting pressure on them in the second half," said Koski. "I liked our mentality. I believe the goals will come if we keep doing the things we want to be doing."
 
Final shots were 10-8 in favor of Lehigh while corner kicks were even at three. Smith finished with four saves across Vosvick, who tallied three.
 
The Mountain Hawks will now return home for their regular season finale, hosting Holy Cross next Saturday on Senior Night. Opening kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
 
"The season's not over and the league's not over," said Koski. "We want to make sure we finish strong on Senior Night. We want to put two halves together and play for 90 minutes. Having a week of training and a couple days off will be good for the guys. Regardless of seed, we know we'll have to win some games against good teams to win a championship. It's just one game at a time."
 
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