BETHLEHEM, Pa. (September 1, 2010) – The Rutgers men’s soccer team (0-1) lost its season opener on the road at Lehigh (1-0) on Wednesday night at the Ulrich Sports Complex.

 

The Mountain Hawks took a 1-0 lead in the first half and added a pair of scored in the second half, en route to a 3-0 victory.

 

“For the first 15-20 minutes I thought we played well but that was about it,” said Rutgers head coach Dan Donigan. “We were not very efficient at all. There were some glaring things tonight that I was disappointed with. Obviously we’re not where we want to be or where we expected to be. It’s the first game, but it’s what we worked very hard for all spring and summer and we had much higher expectations. I give Lehigh credit, they are a good team but at the same time, I’m disappointed with our performance.”

 

Rutgers and Lehigh shared offensive opportunities in the first half, taking six shots apiece. The Scarlet Knights put three of those chances on goal, but was unable to come away with a score. The Mountain Hawks, however, found their game-winner in the 23rd minute on a goal from Joe Puleo.

 

The Scarlet Knights will return to Piscataway for a five-match homestand, beginning with Delaware on Friday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m.