Lehigh looking for three points at Holy Cross Saturday
Posted: 10/21/2011 | Last updated: October 21, 2011 at 09:54 AM
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After scoring four goals and taking 44 shots in its previous two matches, the Lehigh men’s soccer team will look to keep the offensive momentum going when it travels to take on Holy Cross Saturday at 3 p.m. The Mountain Hawks (6-2-5, 2-1-1 PL) are currently tied in second place with seven points in the Patriot League standings and will be hoping to get an important three points against the Crusaders (1-10-2, 0-4 PL).
Lehigh is coming off a pair of 2-0 victories against Navy and Albany. After scoring just seven goals in 11 games before those, the Mountain Hawks offense seems to be waking up at the right time while it has been getting contributions from different players each match.
Each of those four goals in the previous two games has been scored by four different Lehigh players. Daniel Odenwelder scored the game-winning goal in the 17th minute against Navy while Joe Puleo added an insurance goal in the 43rd minute. Against Albany, it was Kevin Strunk who netted the game-winner in the 66th minute while Brian Suchoski scored his first-career goal in 71st minute.
While the offense looks to continue scoring, the Mountain Hawks’ defense has continued to be stellar. Lehigh has nine shutouts on the season and entered the week ranked No. 2 in the nation in goals against average (0.30), No. 2 in saves percentage (0.927) and No. 4 in shutout percentage (0.67).
Lehigh will look to put it all together on both ends of the pitch as it faces a Holy Cross team that is looking for its first Patriot League win this season. The Crusaders have struggled to get things going on offense as it has scored one goal in its four Patriot League matches. Holy Cross is coming off a 2-1 double-overtime loss in a non-league match against New Hampshire. Josh Cintas leads the team in points with six (1 goal, 4 assists) on the season as Holy Cross keeper Evan Polanik is second in the league in saves per game (4.0) in league matches.
It will be the 24th meeting between the two schools with Lehigh holding the slight edge 9-8-6. In last season’s meeting, Lehigh defeated Holy Cross 2-0, both goals coming off the foot of Neal Melchionni.
Holy Cross will have a LIVE blog on its site of Saturday’s match. Check back here soon for the link.