Seton Hall
Seton Hall lost a tight game to Lehigh
Date: September 14, 2019By: Heaven Hill
After going winless on their Florida trip against ranked Florida Gulf Coast and Florida International, the Seton Hall Pirates’ losing streak was extended with a tough defeat at the hands of the Lehigh Mountain Hawks 1-0, in Bethlehem, PA.
Junior Andreas Nota drew the start in goal for this matchup, without a doubt wanting to prove himself after allowing two goals in the first half against FIU in Seton Hall’s last game. After scoring six goals in the season opener against Central Connecticut State, but then getting bottled up against FGCU and only mustering one goal off a penalty kick against the FIU Panthers, the Hall’s offense had something to prove as well.
The Pirates came out with aggression and a sense of haste, as they were whistled for five fouls within the first 20 minutes of play. Senior forward Carlton McKenzie was firing early and often, with two shots on goal that were saved by Lehigh goalie Will Smith. Freshman midfielder Eden O’Leary took a shot as well, but it was no good. It was interesting to see how tenacious Andreas Lindberg’s squad could be early in matchups, coming off of some tough losses.
Seton Hall continued to apply pressure with two corner kicks and a shot from senior midfielder Vittorio Argeri. Argeri, a transfer from coach Lindberg’s last stop at LIU Post, led the East Coast Conference in assists last year and figures to be a big piece of the Pirates’ puzzle this season. Lehigh’s offense took a little while to get going, with their first shot coming in the 23rd minute and a header shot on goal in the 29th minute from midfielders Stevo Bednarsky and Trevor Koski, respectively. These teams were playing each other very evenly and it was evident.
Both teams made substitutions and the first half ended fairly uneventfully, save for two late yellow cards after egregious fouls from Lehigh forwards Bratislav Petkovic and Tommy Dokho, and a shot on goal from Lehigh sophomore defender Justin Scharf. Seton Hall entered halftime with nil on the scoreboard, an improvement from their last game where they were down two entering halftime.
The second half began with two early fouls on the Pirates, before the Mountain Hawks finally broke the scoreless tie. Midfielder Natan Rosen roped a corner kick that was deflected by Seton Hall, which he then recovered before firing a cross to forward Josh Luchini. Luchini controlled the ball before launching a beauty off his left foot that ricocheted off a Pirate defender before slipping past Nota into the net. This was Luchini’s third straight game with a goal and it was simply debilitating for the Hall.
At that point, Lindberg’s unit was playing from behind and had to turn up the intensity, but the Mountain Hawks weren’t slowing down. Koski and Rosen continued to keep Nota busy and Lehigh even racked up a few fouls trying to keep pace with the Pirates. McKenzie tried to get the Pirates back in it but both of his shots, along with an attempt from midfielder James Boote, went wide. Argeri had a shot on goal that was thwarted by Smith, who had a masterful performance in goal, showing why he was on the All-Patriot League second team last season.
Rosen wanted to add a goal to his assist as he kept shooting with a shot and two shots on goal that were saved by Nota. McKenzie then closed out the game with a yellow card as frustrations possibly started to boil over for the Hall. The losing streak now stands at three games, in a matchup that was even everywhere but the scoreboard.
The Pirates now have Big East Conference play to look forward to, with a game against the Providence Friars in Rhode Island to continue this extended road trip. Last year’s outing resulted in a double overtime loss for Seton Hall. Let’s see if Lindberg and his team can flip the script and get back in the win column.
Heaven Hill can be reached at heaven.hill@student.shu.edu.
