BETHLEHEM, Pa. – A three-goal performance by junior Mark Forrest helped the Lehigh men's soccer team earn a 3-2 season-opening win over reigning MAAC champion Rider on Friday night. Lehigh battled from behind to score three unanswered goals, before holding off Rider down the stretch to win their season opener for the fourth straight year, and their third straight home opener. Senior David Zipkin earned an assist on Lehigh's third goal and sophomore Will Smith made two saves in the winning effort.
 
Lehigh created multiple scoring chances in the first four minutes with three corner kicks and two shots on goal, but Rider keeper David Pastuna made stops on both shots. Rider responded quickly with a goal in the sixth minute as Jose Anuinaga served a ball forward into the box to Pablo DeCastro, who sent it into the top left corner of the goal, giving the Broncs the early 1-0 lead.
 
Lehigh evened up the score in the 18th minute as Doyle Tuvesson took a feed in the box and was dragged down from behind, awarding Lehigh a penalty kick. Forrest capitalized on the PK opportunity, knotting the score 1-1.
 
"It was a turning point for us," said head coach Dean Koski. "You don't ever want to go down early in a game, particularly at home. I was pleased with how we responded. Getting that goal in the first half was huge for us. I liked that we just kept competing. This is a good team. Rider has had some good runs and has some good players out there. I would've liked to give up fewer goals but overall to walk off the field with a win – that's important."
 
Forrest struck again in the 35th minute off a free kick to put Lehigh on top for the first time. After a Rider foul, Forrest lined up the kick from 30 yards out in the middle of the field and tucked the shot into the top left corner beyond the outstretched keeper, giving the Mountain Hawks a one-goal edge they would carry into halftime.
 
Rider nearly tied the match in the 66th minute as Elliot Otmani controlled a pass right in front of the goal, but skidded it just wide of the left post. Lehigh responded and found the back of the net once again in the 70th minute, as Zipkin served a pass forward into the corner of the box to Forrest, who turned to his left and buried his third goal of the match across into the top right corner, putting Lehigh on top 3-1.
 
Rider answered quickly, coming back with a goal just over two minutes later in the 73rd minute. Clement Bourett sent a ball toward goal, where Aaron Gabriel knocked it past Smith from close range to make it a one-goal game.
 
The Brown and White nearly extended the lead with eight minutes left as Oscar Greene threaded a pass ahead to Tuvesson on a breakaway, but Pastuna came out from the goal to slide and knock the ball away before the shot. The Lehigh defense held, not allowing a shot over the final 14 minutes to secure the win.
 
"We were inconsistent on defense, but they are things we can fix," Koski said. "Some of it is individual performance and some of it is communication and making sure that we're all on the same page. Those are things that you see early on in the season. We have to look at the video and study that, but they're all fixable."
 
The hat trick was the third of Forrest's career, joining his other three goal matches against Fordham on Sept. 29, 2015 and Seton Hall on Sept. 10, 2016.
 
"Getting three on any night is a good night," Koski said of Forrest. "Two of those three goals were incredibly well hit balls, on the restart and then he struck that ball in the run of play. That's what Mark can do and if he can continue that, he's going to be a lot to reckon with as a forward in our league and outside the league."
 
Lehigh will return to the pitch on Sunday afternoon at when they host George Washington at the Ulrich Sports Complex at 4 p.m.