EASTON, Pa. – Soph. forward Riley Martin notched his second goal of the season on Saturday, to lift Lafayette over American (1-0). The Leopards advanced to 4-5-3 with their triumph over the Eagles.

The first concrete opportunity of the match fell to the visitors in the ninth minute. Both sides were battling near midfield, when an American defender booted the ball high and towards the Leopards' goal. A Lafayette defender attempted to head the ball back to senior captain Eric Axtman, but Mustapha Sowe jumped the pass. The forward tried to retain control and round Axtman, but the Harrisburg, Pa. native did well to smother the chance.

Lafayette's first look on goal came in the 23^rd minute courtesy of sophomore midfielder James Melnick. Martin won the ball back in the Maroon and White's attacking third, before he found Melnick's feet. The Conshohocken, Pa. native was 30 yards out from goal, but he fired a powerful effort that required a brilliant save from Matthew Tibbetts.

American retained the majority of the first half's possession, but the hosts grew more and more confident as time ticked by. Nonetheless, at the intermission the match remained scoreless.

The Maroon and White only needed 17 seconds in the second period to break the deadlock. Martin was driving towards the byline and quickly squared the ball across the box looking for forward Nicolas Papadopoulos. After an initial scrum, the ball landed on the freshman's foot and he carefully laid the ball off into Martin's path. The Economics major wasted no time with his right-footed strike, blazing the ball past Tibbetts to put Lafayette out in front.

The Leopards' created another solid chance in the 68^th minute through junior Samir Dishnica. Lafayette was in sound possession when sophomore Joseph Lee was passed the ball. The Hasbrouck Heights, N.J. native cleverly found Dishnica with a tidy pass in American's penalty area. The midfielder shifted the ball back onto his left foot, but his shot soared over the Eagles' crossbar.

Axtman was called into action in the 70^th minute. American was knocking the ball around Lafayette's penalty area prior to winning a free kick. Troy Elgersma and Taku Takahashi stood over the ball, but Elgersma took the responsibility. The forward struck a missile towards net, but Axtman was equal to the task.

With 20 minutes to go, the visitors were methodical with the ball, but lacked urgency trailing by a goal. They did well to stifle more Lafayette attacks, but struggled in the final third. Despite their patience, the Leopards managed the clock well and saw out their fourth win of the season and third at home.

The Maroon and White are back on the pitch at 1 p.m. on Saturday as they make the trip to Baltimore, Md. to face conference foe Loyola.
 

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