PHILADELPHIA - Senior Omri Ezra registered a penalty-kick goal in the 85th minute of action to give the La Salle University men's soccer team a thrilling 1-0 win over Lehigh on Tuesday evening at McCarthy Stadium. The shutout win is the third straight for the Explorers and moves La Salle to 3-0-1 on the season, its best four-match start in over 15 years.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In a defensive struggle that produced very few chances throughout the match, the contest opened up a little in the second stanza.
• Lehigh had its best chance in the 82nd minute when a scrum in front of next ultimately produced a corner kick after the Explorers cleared a couple of dangerous chances.
• The fine defense ultimately led to the game winner a couple of minutes later, as freshman Kyrese Lynch-Bailey was fouled in the box and a penalty kick was awarded.
• Ezra placed the ball on the spot and calmly finished to give him his first goal as a La Salle Explorer and put the home team on top, 1-0.
• Over the final five minutes, the Mountain Hawks put pressure on the La Salle defense but the back line held up for the third straight game and came away with another clean sheet.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The two teams combined for just 10 shots throughout the match, five for each side.
• Sophomore Filip Sabatti, who was named Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, went largely untested but did come up with a save to extend his shutout streak to 270 minutes.
• Overall, the Explorers have held their opponent scoreless for 291:18 consecutive minutes.
• A total of seven yellow cards were handed out on the night, including six to Lehigh players.

UP NEXT

• The Explorers continue their home stretch on Saturday, September 9 with a contest against reigning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion Quinnipiac.
• Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m., with the game set to be aired digitally on ESPN+.