HAMILTON, N.Y. – The Lehigh men’s soccer team picked up its first win in Hamilton since October 21, 2006 Saturday afternoon as the Mountain Hawks rolled to a 3-1 win. Junior s Jamie Luchini, Austin Decker and Ryan Bertrando scored Lehigh’s goals, while senior keeper Ciaran Nugent recorded another strong performance in net. Lehigh moves to 4-3-1 in league play and picks up a big three points to move into a tie for fourth place, while the Raiders fall to 2-5-1 in league play.

 

Based on Saturday’s available results, Lehigh will officially clinch a spot in the Patriot League tournament if Loyola ties or loses to No. 23 Navy in tonight’s 7 p.m. game.

 

“We got three points at a tough place to play on the road and that’s what’s important,” said head coach Dean Koski. “I’m pleased with the effort of the team and the commitment of trying to manage things on both sides of the ball. Getting two first-half goals was big for us, especially since we had a two-goal lead once Colgate scored.”

 

The first shot of the game came in the eighth minute on an attempt from Lehigh that flew wide. Nugent made two huge saves in the 15th minute on shots from Colgate’s Troy Moo-Penn and Chase Pagani.  The keeper came up with another big stop in the 25th minute on an attempt from the Patriot League’s leading scorer Ethan Kutler.

 

After Nugent’s three saves, Lehigh was able to get on the board in the 27th minute as freshman Jack Miskel fed Luchini at the stop of the 18-yard box and the junior buried the ball into the bottom right-hand corner of the net to put Lehigh up 1-0.

 

Just a few minutes later as the clock read 31:39, Decker and Luchini exchanged a give-and-go as Decker fired the ball from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box into the back of Colgate’s net and give the Mountain Hawks a 2-0 lead they’d carry into halftime.

 

The Raiders tallied the first two shots of the second half, but the Mountain Hawks struck again in the 59th minute. After a Lehigh free kick rebounded off a Colgate player, Bertrando fired from the top of the box into the bottom right-hand corner of the net to extend Lehigh’s lead to 3-0.

 

The Raiders were able to get one back in the 75th minute on a goal from Nick Rizzo, but it proved to be too little, too late as the Mountain Hawks walked away with the 3-1 victory.

 

Nugent made three big saves while Colgate keepers Ricky Brown and Peter Tappenden weren’t able to make any stops. Colgate held a 9-4 shot advantage.

 

“Ciaran was certainly our man of the match today,” said Koski. “He’s had two really good games back-to-back and has made big saves that we’ve needed him to make.”

 

The Mountain Hawks return to action next Saturday at Holy Cross for the final game of the regular season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and free video will be available on the Patriot League Network.

 

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