Lehigh locks up home postseason game with 2-2 double-overtime draw at American

Saturday, November 7

Washington, D.C.

12 p.m.

Lehigh University

10-5-3, 4-3-2PL

American

10-4-3, 5-2-2PL

OT 3

OT 4

Lehigh

American

Lehigh locks up home postseason game with 2-2 double-overtime draw at American

11/7/2015 4:01:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Lehigh men's soccer team closed out the regular season by playing American to a 2-2 double-overtime draw Saturday afternoon at Reeves Field. The tie coupled with results from around the league secure the No. 4 seed in the Patriot League Tournament for the Mountain Hawks who will host No. 5 Bucknell Tuesday in a quarterfinal matchup at 7 p.m. at the Ulrich Sports Complex.

"It was a good game for us on the road," said head coach Dean Koski. "I'm dissapointed that we gave up two early second-half goals, but happy that we put enough pressure on them to find a goal in the first half and I like that we came back to find an equalizer. I thought both teams played well and the game was very representative of the two teams."

The Mountain Hawks wrap up the regular season with a 4-3-2 league record, good for 14 points, and 10-5-3 overall mark. American moves to 5-2-2 in the Patriot League and will be the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament.

The first shot of the game came in the fifth minute on an attempt from sophomore Doyle Tuvesson that flew wide. The Mountain Hawks got off two more shots before American tallied its first in the 25th minute and Lehigh sophomore keeper Joe Bogan made the first of three saves in the next seven minutes.

An American foul set up a free kick from senior Jamie Luchini in the 36th minute just outside the 18-yard box. Luchini sent the ball in front of net and senior Ben Davis was able to flick it past Eagles keeper Dylan Hobert to put the Mountain Hawks ahead 1-0. Davis' goal ended a run of seven-straight shutouts for the Eagles and marked the first goal that American has conceded since Oct. 3. Bogan came up with another save in the 37th minute before Lehigh carried its 1-0 lead into halftime.

The Eagles evened the score just five minutes into the second half when Chris Fanet headed in a corner kick from Liam Robley to put the score at 1-1 in the 50th minute. American found the go-ahead goal just five minutes later when Joe Iraola sent a ball through traffic into the lower left-hand corner of the net in the 55th minute to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead.

Junior Danny Gonzalez stepped up in the 63rd minute when he sent a long blast from about 35 yards out across the field, over the head of Hobert and inside the left post to even the score at 2-2. Bogan and the Mountain Hawk defense were able to withstand heavy pressure from American in the final 25 minutes of regulation as the Eagles got off nine shots and three corner kicks, but weren't able to convert as the contest was sent to overtime tied at 2-2.

The Mountain Hawks fired off two shots and a corner kick in the opening four minutes of the first overtime period before American got off two shots, one of which was stopped by Bogan, but neither team could convert. A shot from Luchini was stopped by Hobert four minutes into the second overtime period, while the Mountain Hawk defense kept the Eagles from firing a shot and the game ended in a 2-2 tie.

Final shots stood 18-15 in favor of American, while the Eagles also controlled a 7-5 corner kick edge. Bogan made seven saves in goal compared to Hobert's four.

The Mountain Hawks open the Patriot League Tournament at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Ulrich Sports Complex against Bucknell. General admission tickets will cost $5, while anyone with a Lehigh ID can purchase tickets for $3. Free video of the contest will be available on the Patriot League Network. The winner will advance to the Patriot League Semifinals Friday at the site of the No. 1 seed which has yet to be determined.

"We want to recover and be well rested heading into that match," said Koski. "It's a repeat of last year's quarterfinal so my hope is that we'll come out ready to play and be just as prepared as Bucknell."

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