Men's Soccer Drops League Opener to Lehigh, 1-0

Saturday, September 23

Bethlehem, Pa.

7 p.m.

Army West Point

5-3-0

Lehigh

5-2-0

Army West Point

Lehigh

Men's Soccer Drops League Opener to Lehigh, 1-0

September 23, 2017 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Army West Point men's soccer team was unable to overcome an early deficit and ultimately dropped its Patriot League opener, 1-0, to Lehigh on Saturday night at the Ulrich Sports Complex.

"Lehigh has good strikers and they took advantage of a scoring opportunity in the first half," head coach Russell Payne said. "I thought we were going to get back in game, but we ran out of time. We are going to take the positives out of this game and look forward to the next one."

Army falls to 5-3 and 0-1 in Patriot League play, while the Mountain Hawks extend their winning streak to four and improve to 5-2 and 1-0 in conference action.

The Black Knights fired countless strikes toward the Lehigh net, but Will Smith, the reigning Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week, was up for the challenge and picked up a season-best seven saves to hold Army scoreless.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Army held the shot advantage in the first half for the sixth consecutive contest.
The Mountain Hawks' first-half goal was just the second first-half score allowed by Army this season.
Army outshot Lehigh 15-7.
Lehigh was limited to two shots on goal in the game.
Junior Ibrahim Seye appeared in his first match of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

In the 10th minute of action, Lehigh jumped ahead 1-0 after Mark Forrest, the team's leading scorer, received a pass from Matt Morana and placed it into the back of the net.
Army managed to generate several scoring opportunities in the opening half, placing five shots on goal and manufacturing five corners, but was unable to sneak a shot past the Lehigh keeper, who made five saves in the first stanza.
The Mountain Hawks would play a more defensive second half to preserve their one-goal advantage and successfully held off Army's offensive attack en route to the league win.

UP NEXT
The Black Knights will return to West Point for back-to-back home games starting with a matchup against Sacred Heart on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Malek Stadium at Clinton Field.