Oct. 3, 2009

Box Score

EASTON, Pa. - More than 1,000 fans packed the stands of Bourger Field and witnessed one of the best soccer matches of the fall as they saw their Lafayette Leopards down Lehigh, 1-0, in overtime. Justin Kamine scored the game winner, his first goal of the season, as his squad captured its second league victory of the year.

With 4:16 to play in overtime, there was a scramble in front of the Lehigh goal. Kamine was able to get his foot on the ball and put it past Lehigh goalie Jonathan Nydell into the bottom right corner of the goal, sending his teammates and the Lafayette fans into a frenzy on the sidelines.

The Leopards (7-2-1, 2-0-0) may have only had four shots in the 95-plus minutes of action but Kamine made sure his shot was the one that counted. Goalie Philip Nelson made six saves in the game and his play kept his team in the game all night.

The Mountain Hawks (5-3-2, 1-1-0) out-shot Lafayette 13-4 and six of those shots were on goal and they kept pressure on the Leopard defense all night.

Nelson was put to the test early, as he was forced to make three saves in the first 25 minutes alone. Lehigh controlled the offensive pace of the game, firing off five shots in the opening 45 minutes while holding the Leopards to none.

Lafayette's defense buckled down in the final 20 minutes of the first half. Lehigh did not get another shot off while the Leopards managed to keep the ball in their half of the field. There were several scrums in front of the Lehigh goal but the Leopards still failed to record even one shot and it remained 0-0 at the midway point in the action.

Midway through the second period, Lehigh's Joe Puleo had a clear look at the goal with 26 minutes on the clock but it sailed high and less than a minute late Adam Gazda's shot was smothered by Nelson, keeping it a scoreless game.

The Leopards finally had their first true scoring opportunity with 67:07 on the clock. There was a flurry of activity in front of the Lehigh goal and Glenn was the only Lafayette player to get a shot off but it was saved by Jonathan Nydell, marking his first stop of the night.

With less than 14 minutes to play, Kyle Scharfenberg had another chance to get his team on the scoreboard but he fired a shot that sailed high of the goal.

Zachary Gould could have ended the game with 47 seconds left in regulation when he knocked a shot just inches wide of the goal, sending the game into overtime.

The Leopards are back in action next Saturday when they travel to American for a 1 p.m. match.

Postgame Notes:
- The shutout was the Leopards' seventh of the fall and Nelson's sixth. He now has 14 career shutouts, tied for sixth all-time in Lafayette history.
- Lafayette has now won six of its last nine matches against Lehigh.
- The last time the Leopards started with a 7-2-1 record or better was in 2007.
- Lafayette has now won four-straight home matches against the Mountain Hawks. The last time the Leopards lost to Lehigh at home was a 3-1 loss on Oct. 18, 1997.