BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A result for the ages, the Lehigh men's soccer team used three second half goals including the first career hat trick for sophomore forward Josh Luchini to defeat Boston University, 4-2 on Saturday night at the Ulrich Sports Complex. The win is the Mountain Hawks' third in a row and improves their overall record to 6-2-0 and 2-0 in the Patriot League.
 
Josh Luchini has done almost everything a Lehigh player could possibly do in his first 26 career games. On Saturday night, the forward was on a whole other level, netting a goal in the 11th minute from Natan Rosen, the game-winner in the 69th minute from Alex Greene and an unassisted tally in the 83rd minute that ended up being the insurance needed for Lehigh to grab the home victory. For Luchini, goals 6, 7 and 8 on year are the 12th, 13th and 14th goals of his career. He has already surpassed his season total of six from a year ago, and just through the first eight matches of the season.
 
"We told Josh, 'if it takes you 10 chances to score three goals, that's fine,' but I think he and we felt that he could have had two or three more because he put himself in good positions," said head coach Dean Koski. "But that's what good forwards do. If you score three goals at any level, then that's special."
 
The hat trick is also the Mountain Hawks' first since Mark Forrest scored three against Holy Cross on Senior Night last season to close out the regular season.
 
After one half of play, Lehigh went into the locker room trailing, 2-1 after two headers from Matt McDonnell found the back of the net to give the Terriers the advantage.
 
Trailing 2-1 with a chance to tie the game up, junior Stevo Bednarsky used a pass from Greene on the give-and-go to score his first goal of the season. The assist was Greene's second of the game and third in his last two games.
 
After giving up two scores in the first 40 minutes of the contest, Lehigh's defense did its part for the remaining 50 minutes to keep Boston U. from scoring and hold on for a 4-2 win.
 
"It was actually a challenging game for us, more challenging than I thought it would be," said Koski. "The first half I think we settled in defensively and gave up two goals we typically don't give up.
 
"But I like the way we started, I liked we got the goal but I think we relaxed a little bit and we became complacent. We made some psychological adjustments at halftime and I think the guys responded well to that and did in the second half what they should have done in the first."
 
Lehigh four goals are the most the team has scored in a single game since the Mountain Hawks scored four against Loyola on Oct. 28, 2017. The Mountain Hawks have also netted at least one goal in each game this season and have scored the first goal in seven of their eight games this season.
 
The Mountain Hawks out-shot the Terriers, 13-6 on the night with six shots on goal to Boston U's three. Lehigh also managed to get six corners on the night, while Boston U. had none.
 
Individually, Luchini led the Mountain Hawks with six shots, five of which were on goal. Rosen and Trevor Koski each had two shots, while three other Lehigh players registered one.
 
Lehigh will get ready to face defending Patriot League champion Colgate on Wednesday in the team's third league contest of the season. That match will take place in Hamilton, N.Y. with coverage on the Patriot League Network beginning at 7 p.m.
 
"We've had three away games and now coming back home was nice, we just want to keep momentum going," Koski said. "I think our guys' confidence is good and if we can just keep that consistency and not let our highs get too high and not let our lows get too low and focus on our next game, we'll be OK."
 
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
 

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