Box Score
Box Score (PDF)
PHILADELPHIA – It took the La Salle men's soccer team nearly 75 minutes to find its offensive groove on a picturesque Saturday afternoon at McCarthy Stadium, scoring thrice in the game's final 15 minutes to defeat Lehigh, 3-0. The Explorers improved to 2-3-2 on the year while the Mountain Hawks dipped to 1-4-1.
Freshman Dan Caya netted his first goal in an Explorer uniform in the 74th minute to put the Blue and Gold up 1-0. Senior Jason Plumhoff bent a free kick in front of the net, glancing off the head of sophomore Joe Farrell and onto the head of a streaking Caya.
Less than five minutes later, La Salle struck again on junior Tom Baker's first score of the campaign. Redshirt junior Nick Becker sent the ball nearly 30 yards in the air from midfield ahead to Baker, who was draped by two Mountain Hawk defenders. Lehigh's goaltender, Kevin Motylewski, came out in an effort to punch the ball away off the bounce. Baker out-leaped the quartet of Lehigh defenders, heading the ball into the net.
With a comfortable 2-0 lead, the Mountain Hawks sent numbers on offense, and La Salle took advantage in the 86th minute. Senior Kevin Pink, near midfield, played a thru-ball ahead to senior Glenroy Chapman, who scooted past the Lehigh defense and ousted Motylewski on a breakaway. The marker was Chapman's second of the season.
Each squad narrowly missed scoring opportunities earlier in the game. In the 17th minute, Plumhoff found Farrell on a cross right in front of the net, but Farrell's header banged off the upper-90 of the right crossbar. Lehigh nearly got on the board in the 62nd minute when Jamie Luchini rocketed a shot from point blank range that senior goalkeeper John McCarthy turned away. McCarthy made three saves in the contest.
For the match, La Salle outshot the visitors 16-10 and held a 6-2 edge on corners.
The Blue and Gold are back in action next Saturday (9/28) vs. the Stetson Hatters in Deland, Fla. Look for a full preview of the matchup this week on GoExplorers.com
NOTES: Plumhoff recorded his third assist of the season, upping his career tally to 19, good for a three-way tie for fifth in La Salle history. He now was 59 career points, three away from eighth in program history…McCarthy now has 380 career saves, fourth-most in program history. Today's shutout was the 25th of his career, most-ever at La Salle
