AU alumni gathered to support past members and watched on as the Eagles stormed past the Lehigh Mountain Hawks Sept. 28 to earn their. first Patriot League win
During half time the AU 1978-79 soccer team was honored in a special on the field ceremony. The 78’-79’ squad is known for being the first AU men’s soccer team to capture the East Coast Conference championship and receive a NCAA tournament bid.
Also being celebrated was Kuykenstrong Day, a day to support and raise awareness for AU soccer graduate and former assistant coach Shawn Kuykendall 05’ current battle with thymic cancer.
Freshman forward Joe Iraola led the Eagles (3-3-2, 1-0-0 PL) to a 2-0 victory over the Mountain Hawks (1-5-1, 0-1-1 PL). Registering the game’s two goals, Iraola raised his season total to three and now leads the team in goals.
After the game head coach Todd West attributed Iraola’s success to his “explosiveness,” “speed” and “ability to outpace” the opponent.
With 10 minutes left in the first half, freshman defenseman Michael Cherry drove down the field and passed left to Iraola. Moving in towards the box Iraola shot to his right just past the diving Lehigh freshman goalkeeper Jacob Gottwald to score the first goal of the game.
The Mountain Hawks struggled to answer back. With nine minutes left in the half Lehigh broke through the AU defense only to be stopped by senior goalkeeper Billy Knutsen. In the first half Knutsen collected two saves.
The second half was lively back and forth as both teams displayed incredible ball handling skills, notably junior midfielder Stephen Hauschild and freshman midfielder Kibu Mbaluku. Mbaluku had three strong drives into the box in the span of 10 minutes, but could not connect with the back of the net.
In the 55th minute AU continued to charge into Lehigh territory. Senior midfielder Patrick Mehlert moved down the right side passed cross passed left to Iraola who then one touched the ball into the back of the net for the second goal of the game.
The Mountain Hawks could not answer back. They would attempt five shots on goal in the second half but none resulted in a score. The game marked the third shutout of the season for goalkeeper Billy Knutsen, totaling his season score to 33 saves so far.
Throughout the game, both teams were highly physical and energetic in what West describes as “Patriot League wars.” Junior defender Conor Osborne was a part of this highly physical matchup.when he was undercut and fiercely flipped onto his back and was later injured on a contact play in the second half.
The win also marked the Eagles first home win of the season and evens the teams record back to .500
The Eagles will face Georgetown University on their home turf Oct. 1.
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