EASTON, Pa. – The Lafayette men's soccer team grabbed its first win of the season in a gritty match against the Siena Saints on Wednesday night. Sophomore defender Cole Duschang scored his first collegiate goal in the 70^th minute and it proved to be the winner.

The match was slated to begin at 7 p.m., but due to inclement weather in the Easton area, kick off occurred just after 9 p.m.

The first half of the match was back and forth, as both teams attempted to decipher each others game plan.

Lafayette's first chance of the match came in the eighth minute after a fellow Leopard drew a freekick just outside the penalty area. Sophomore midfielder Beaux Lizewski struck the set piece on goal, but Siena goalkeeper, Bennet Glinder, made a comfortable save.

Senior goalkeeper Griffin Huff was called into action in the sixth minute and he made a big save as Mario Navarro Perez barreled down on goal. Overall, the Corning, N.Y. native was not tested much in the first 45 minutes. 

Neither side managed to get anything convincing going forward in the first half, but the Saints held the majority of the ball while the Leopards looked to break on the counter. At the intermission, the match was all square at 0-0.

Lafayette came out of halftime with higher energy. In the 59^th minute, freshman defender Jackson Vajda managed a great headed effort on goal off a service from Duschang. However, Glinder was up to the task, pushing the ball just wide of his back post.

Just three minutes later Siena won a penalty kick after a Leopard was charged with a handball violation in his own penalty area. Navarro Perez stepped up to take the spot kick, but Huff had other ideas. Navarro Perez rifled his shot down the middle of the goal and Huff made a stellar foot save to keep the Saints off the board.

After some chippy play from both teams, the Maroon and White found the goal they were looking for in the 70^th minute. Lafayette won a free kick on the left flank about 40 yards from goal and senior captain, Carter Houlihan, stood over the ball. His service floated to the back stick where a waiting Nicholas Liebich rose above the rest to head the ball back towards goal. His header found his center back partner, Duschang, who didn't think twice before flicking the ball past an oncoming Glinder. This was Duschang's first goal in Maroon and White.

From that moment on it was all about defending for Lafayette. Siena began to throw more men forward, but the Leopards dealt with every service and threw their bodies in front of shots to keep the clean sheet. Despite the Saints' efforts, the Leopards emerged victorious moving to 1-0-1 on the season.

Lafayette is back in action at 7 pm on Saturday on the road versus Fairfield.