BETHLEHEM, Pa. – In a game plagued by fouls, the Lafayette College men's soccer team battled to a 0-0 draw against rivals Lehigh on Saturday night.
The draw brings the rivalry all-time record to 48-53-11.
Lafayette (8-4-3 (4-2-1)) and Lehigh (9-4-2 (5-0-2)) were set in a defensive battle from the start. The first shot of the game would go to Lehigh with sophomore
Alex Sutton making the stop to keep the Mountain Hawks from putting one the board right away. Senior
Ryan Goncalves follow up with a shot of his own soon after but it just missed the mark, keeping the score at 0-0 for the rest of the first half. Â
The second half saw the same course of action with each team firing shots and none finding the back of the net. Lehigh had a chance at the end of the second half but the shot was wide enough to go just passed the pipes to send the game into overtime. Â
After the end of both overtimes, each squad had only taken a shot on goal, neither found a way past each sides goalkeepers, ending the game in a scoreless draw.
Sutton was solid in between the pipes, playing all 110 minutes and recording three saves. He has now recorded his fifth shutout of the season and the 10
th of his collegiate career. Â
Senior
Christian Williams led the way for the Leopards with three shots and two on goal. Goncalves and freshman
Hale Lombard each fired two towards Lehigh's goalkeeper and freshman
Yiannis Panayides, sophomore
Andrew Venezia, junior Martin Ssessenga, senior
Adam Bramson and senior
Dylan Royalty all totaled a shot apiece.
Between the two teams, the game saw 40 fouls. The first half alone had 15, nine for Lafayette and six for Lehigh and the second half saw nine apiece. The first overtime period saw the complete opposite with no fouls being called. The second overtime had seven called, three on Lafayette and four on Lehigh.
Up next for the Leopards is their final nonconference match of the season, as they will head to Philadelphia to take on Drexel Tuesday at 6 p.m. They are back in Patriot League action next Saturday, hosting Bucknell at Oaks for their final regular season home game of the season.
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