Lehigh men’s soccer defeats James Madison 2-1

Thanks to a pair of goals from freshman midfielder Alex Greene, Lehigh men’s soccer defeated James Madison University 2-1 in its game Tuesday night at the Ulrich Sports Complex.

Greene scored the Mountain Hawks’ first goal in the 43rd minute on an assist from senior forward/midfielder Jamie Luchini. The first half was slow with six shots on goal by Lehigh (8-5-1) and only two by James Madison.

In the second half, Rhys Howard of James Madison tied the game with a goal at the 70:07 mark, which was assisted by teammate Tony Appleton. However, Greene scored Lehigh’s second goal as an almost immediate answer to the goal by the Dukes about a minute and a half later, giving the lead back to the Mountain Hawks and what would be the winning score. The goal was assisted by sophomore forward Doyle Tuvesson.

The second half was wrought with a lack of calls that made the crowd call out to the referees in anger. While the half was full of fouls, no cards were drawn even after an almost fight between a member of the Lehigh and James Madison teams about halfway through the second half.

“It was a good game for us with a good result against a good team,” coach Dean Koski said. “I appreciate that our guys responded well to giving up a goal. We competed well and found a results so I’m happy for the guys.”

Lehigh took a total of 20 shots on goal and capitalized on two while James Madison could only capitalize on one of its 11.

Lehigh brings the momentum from its last two wins into its next game in Boston against Patriot League opponent Boston University. The Mountain Hawks’ next home game is against rival Lafayette College on Oct. 28 at the Ulrich Sports Complex at 7 p.m.