BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ 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.
¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ 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. ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ has now tied four matches.
Lehigh outshot ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ 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 ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ shots.
¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ 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.