51³Ô¹ÏÍø

Men’s Soccer Battles to a 1-1 Tie At Lehigh

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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø men’s soccer team kept its slim Patriot League playoff hopes alive with a 1-1 tie at Lehigh Saturday evening.  Travis Rains (Wilmington, N.C.) scored the Raiders only goal in the first half.  It is Rains’ first-career goal.

51³Ô¹ÏÍø grabbed the early lead at 9:57 of the first half when Sean O’Sullivan (Brooksville, Fla.) sent a corner into the box that Rains headed past the keeper for the goal.

Lehigh had a golden opportunity to tie the match in the first half, but Will Martin (Excelsior, Minn.) came up huge in stopping a penalty shot from Doug Cusick.

The teams battled back and forth for fifty scoreless minutes.  Lehigh tied the score at 61:55 of the second half when Brandon Smith tallied a goal off a pass from Peter Classi.

The teams played two scoreless overtime periods to finish in a 1-1 tie.  It is Lehigh’s fifth straight tie and seventh tie of the campaign.  51³Ô¹ÏÍø has now tied four matches.

Lehigh outshot 51³Ô¹ÏÍø 14-12, and held the advantage in corners, 5-3.  Martin made five stops in net, including the penalty kick, while Sam Bishop turned aside four 51³Ô¹ÏÍø shots.

51³Ô¹ÏÍø is now 1-3-1 in the Patriot League and 3-8-4 overall.  The Raiders are next in action Saturday, November 1, in a must win match at Holy Cross.  Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.