Men’s soccer ends season with 4-0 loss in PL quarterfinals

The Lehigh men’s soccer season came to a close Tuesday night at the end of the team’s first playoff appearance in three years.

The Mountain Hawks were seeking to clinch their first playoff victory since 2004, but fifth-seeded Bucknell University earned a definitive 4-0 win over fourth-seeded Lehigh in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal game.

Despite failing to advance to the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament, there was still much for the team to be proud of as its season concluded. Last year, the men’s soccer team finished 2-14-1. This year, they finished 10-8-1 to give Lehigh its first 10-plus win season since 2006.

In the game’s first 30 minutes, Lehigh was able to fire four shots, only to have three of them blocked and one saved. Both teams were able to put together some strong offensive possessions but struggled to find the back of the net. However, with 29:59 remaining in the first half, the scoring drought ended as a free kick by Bucknell deflected off of a Lehigh player for an own goal to give the Bison a 1-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, Bucknell added another goal to increase its lead to 2-0, where the score remained through halftime.

In the second half, Lehigh’s attack was able to find more scoring opportunities but failed to convert.

“One of the main differences tonight between Bucknell and us was that they were able to capitalize on their chances and we weren’t,” junior forward/midfielder Jamie Luchini said after the game. “We just couldn’t find that extra pass or dribble to have a very good chance on goal.”

One of the Mountain Hawks’ best chances to score came from Luchini, who had a breakaway opportunity but was tripped by a Bucknell defender before he had a chance to notch a shot on goal. Lehigh’s best crosses to the middle couldn’t seem to find a Mountain Hawk in position to finish, and Bucknell defenders seemed to always be in the right place to deflect the ball and thwart Lehigh’s scoring chances.

Bucknell, however, continued to find scoring success in the second half. In the 65th minute of the game, Bucknell junior midfielder Chris Thorsheim kicked a well-placed shot off a free kick that just evaded diving Lehigh senior goalkeeper Ciaran Nugent and found the corner of the net. Later, with just 47 seconds remaining in the game, Bucknell extended its lead once again by scoring off a penalty kick to make the final score 4-0.

“Bucknell played the way we knew that they would play, but they came out and competed to win, and we came out and played to win,” said coach Dean Koski. “At this stage of the season, it’s about competing in these moments, and I thought Bucknell did a really good job of competing in the big moments.”

The game concluded the collegiate careers of four seniors: Nugent, midfielder/defender Ali Famili, defender Brian Suchoski and midfielder Matt Shreiner.

Koski credited this group of seniors for the immense improvement in the program this season.

“We really had to take a good, hard look at ourselves last offseason, and to the seniors’ credit, they drove that conversation and really changed our culture and our attitude,” Koski said.

Luchini saw some of those positive changes come through in the game.

“Even when the score was inevitably out of reach, the team really fought tonight,” he said. “That shows a ton of heart and character, and my hope is that those qualities of our current team will and must translate to next year’s success.”