Searching for a victory in its Patriot League home opener, the men’s soccer team was forced to wait another day as Lehigh scored two second-half goals to down the Bison 2-1 on Oct. 4 at Emmitt Field. The Bison did succeed in their next match, a 4-1 triumph at Loyola (Md.) on Oct. 8.

The Mountain Hawks entered the game with a 5-3 record, and the Bison were coming off of their first Patriot League victory of the season at Army. Early on, the game belonged to the Orange and Blue, as they maintained possession for most of the first half.

The first tally on the scoreboard was made in the blink of an eye by Jesse Klug ’16 less than four minutes into the game, a shot inside the left post off an assist from Patrick Figgie ’16. His fourth goal of the season gave the Bison a 1-0 lead, a mark they would keep until the second half.

“After the early goal we made the mistake of relaxing, which allowed Lehigh to get into the game. We need to work harder as a team to play a full 90 instead of just playing well in short spurts throughout the game,” Austin Lenart ’17 said.

Lehigh came out firing in the second half, and the Bison defense finally broke in the 73rd minute. The Mountain Hawks were able to tie the game at one apiece, and even after some added offensive pressure there on out, Lehigh got the final laugh.

The heartbreaking goal came in the 89th minute for Lehigh off of a 30-yard free kick. The ball launched from that far out squeezed by all defenders and goalie Mike Lansing ’16 to give Lehigh the win. Both teams totaled 13 shots and five corners on the day, so the result certainly could have been in favor of the Bison if a few key moments were flipped.

“We need to focus on the details in the later minutes of the game,” Dan Bank ’18 said. “Details such as defending set pieces and being effective in managing the game. It was a terrible feeling losing the game in the final minutes of play, but we will remember the feeling and use it to our advantage.”

Although the loss took the energy out of the Bison, it didn’t take away their heart and motivation, as they came back and defeated Loyola. Jonathan Grad ’15 had two headers in the game go into the back of the net, the first from Klug’s foot and the second on the assist from Lenart and Chris Thorsheim ’16. Klug also scored in the first half in addition to a 25-yard strike in the second half to bring his season goal total to six.

The victory raised the Bison record to 6-6 overall, 2-1 in Patriot League play. The Orange and Blue next face American on Oct. 11 at Emmitt Field.