BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh men’s soccer team lost its 2013 season opener by a score of 3-0 to the Bryant Bulldogs. The Mountain Hawks had strong points on both defense and offense, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Bulldogs.

“I like the way that we started out,” said Head Coach Dean Koski.  “We came out with a lot of energy, we moved the ball well and we played with a lot of confidence. We gave up a goal unfortunately and then kind of lost our way a little bit, which is not unusual for the first game of the season. I thought we played with a lot of vigor in the last ten minutes. We just have to fix the middle 70 minutes of the game.”

A corner kick by Bryant’s Lucas Guerriro in the sixth minute was initially cleared by Lehigh’s defense, but Jake Lamar was able to put a foot on it and send it into the back of the net to give Bryant the 1-0 advantage. 

In the 28th minute Bryant took a 2-0 lead when a corner kick from Guerriro connected with Marco Addonizio who headed the ball to the far corner of the net.  A Lehigh defender tried to stop the goal and ended up tapping it in the net as the goal was ruled an own goal.

Lehigh’s intensity picked up in the second half when it began to control the ball more. The Mountain Hawks couldn’t capitalize on a few good opportunities that began with a shot from junior Ali Famili, followed by a header just wide from junior Brian Suchoski. Bryant took a 3-0 advantage in the 60th minute when a Lehigh foul gave Bryant a free kick that led to a header from Bryant’s Connor Norat, which found the back of the net.

The Mountain Hawks closed out the game strongly as they kept possession and fired three shots in the last ten minutes. Junior Matt Shreiner provided the best scoring chance, but his shot was stopped by Bryant’s goalkeeper Chris Knaub as the sophomore preserved his shutout. Lehigh’s shots outnumbered Bryant’s 8-2 in the second half.

Although the Mountain Hawks did not prevail, Koski did see some bright spots.

“Matt Shreiner came off the bench, and gave us a lift and played with confidence,” said Koski. “He played more physically than his size would dictate, so I was very pleased with the way he stepped up.”

Bryant finished the game with 14 shots, compared to Lehigh’s 12. Mountain Hawk sophomore goalkeeper Kevin Motylewski recorded three saves.

Next up for the Mountain Hawks is a trip to Teaneck, N.J. to take on Fairleigh Dickinson in a Labor Day match set for 7p.m.