For the second straight year, the Lehigh men’s soccer team is heading to the Patriot League Tournament.
Lehigh (10-5-3, 4-3-2 Patriot) secured the fourth seed after concluding its season with a double-overtime draw against American University, coupled with results around the Patriot League.
The Mountain Hawks are carrying a six-game unbeaten streak into Tuesday’s quarterfinal game against Bucknell University, who will be the fifth seed in the tournament. The team’s last lost came four weeks ago against Army.
The senior class had a combined record of 6-26-2 in their first two seasons in brown and white. Since then, they have compiled a mark of 20-13-4, including two postseason berths and the school’s first six-game unbeaten streak since fall of 2007.
“The seniors have done a remarkable job,” assistant coach Ryan Hess said. “They are huge factor for our success these past few seasons. Foundations have been laid down by them in terms of hard work and setting goals. We’re certainly proud of them.”
Although Lehigh had a smooth ending to its season, the 2015 campaign wasn’t always on an upward trend. After winning three of their first four games, the Mountain Hawks would put together a solid non-conference record of 4-2-1 prior to Patriot League play. However, their non-league success didn’t translate to the Patriot League games early on as they lost three of their first conference matchups.
“The most important thing I think I’ve learned is that a Patriot League game is nothing like a non-league game,” freshman forward/midfielder Mark Forrest said. “It took a little while to get used to the speed of play of physicality of it all.”
Despite the slow start in Patriot League play, Lehigh would recover quickly with four straight victories, including a 2-0 win over arch-rival Lafayette College. The win marked the first time Lehigh has defeated Lafayette in five years.
Following the four-game streak, the Mountain Hawks’ last two games of the season resulted in draws against Bucknell and American. The 1-1 draw against Bucknell clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament.
Forrest has had an impressive first-year with the Hawks. In the regular season, he accumulated 19 points behind his team-high eight goals and three assists. The Douglassville, Pennsylvania, native was a three-time recipient of the Patriot League Rookie of the Week award and is a strong candidate for Patriot League Rookie of Year.
“He was a good addition, and he’s a good kid,” senior forward Jamie Luchini said. “There was constant communication between us. It was important to not treat him like a freshman, but if he ever needed help, I would be there for him.”
Forrest said he owes a lot of his success to Luchini and sophomore forward Doyle Tuvesson for helping him throughout the year.
Luchini anchors the Lehigh attack with his team-high 21 points on seven goals and seven assists. Luchini has been the go-to man in tight games as he tallied four game-winning goals this season, which ranks first in the Patriot League. Sophomore goalkeeper Joe Bogan has a 9-2-3 record in goal to go along with a 0.95 goals against average and 66 saves.
Lehigh will look for its first Patriot League Tournament victory since 2004 when the Mountain Hawks defeated Bucknell University. Ironically, Lehigh’s quarterfinal opponent on Tuesday is Bucknell.
In addition, Lehigh faced Bucknell in the tournament quarterfinals last season, which ended in a 4-0 loss to the Bison. Hess believes the key for making a tournament run is confidence and cohesiveness.
“Confidence is going to big for us and making sure we play as a team,” Hess said. “It’s a really close group and they’ve worked hard. If we play for each other and as a unit, we will at least put a good product out there.”
Lehigh faced off against Bucknell two weeks ago and the game resulted in a double-overtime 1-1 draw.
The Mountain Hawks will host the Bison on Tuesday from Ulrich Sports Complex. The game is set to kickoff at 7 p.m. If the Mountain Hawks win, they will travel to Hamilton, New York, to play either Colgate University or Boston University in the semifinals.
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