No. 4 seed Lehigh men’s soccer’s competitive play outmatched No.1 seed Colgate University, 2-0, Friday night in Hamilton, New York, to advance to the Patriot League Championship.
The victory was Lehigh’s 12th win of the season and its first league championship appearance since 2004. The Mountain Hawks will face No. 3 seed American University on Sunday for the title.
Lehigh’s two first half goals came from freshman forward/midfielder Mark Forrest and senior forward/midfielder Jamie Luchini. Forrest’s goal was his ninth of the season, which was off of an assist from Ben Davis.
Luchini’s goal was set up by sophomore forward Doyle Tuvesson’s cross pass, when Luchini was able to capitalize on a header to put the Mountain Hawks up 2-0 in the 25th minute. Luchini currently leads the Mountain Hawks with eight goals to go along with nine assists.
The semifinal shutout gives Lehigh 10 clean sheets on the season. Nine of those belong to sophomore goalkeeper Joe Bogan, who had four saves in the game on Colgate’s 12 shots.
Lehigh finished the game with 11 total shots, four of which were taken by Luchini. Three of Colgate’s 12 were taken by freshman defender Aram Ouligian. Colgate finished the game with four corner kicks, which topped Lehigh’s three.
Lehigh’s defense was instrumental in the big win as it specifically was able to withstand a late Colgate attack in the remaining 15 minutes.
The Mountain Hawks will take on American University in the finals on Colgate’s Beyer-Small ’76 Field on Sunday at 1 p.m. American is coming off a 2-0 win at No. 2 seed Boston University. The winner of Sunday’s Championship contest plays their way into the NCAA Tournament.
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