Boxscore

Photo courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. - The University of Delaware men’s soccer team dropped a 5-1 decision to visiting Lehigh University in its home opener on Tuesday evening at Delaware Mini-Stadium.

Though the Blue Hens (1-4-0) dominated ball control for much of the game, which was evident as they tallied 10 corner kicks to Lehigh’s (2-2-1) four, the Blue and Gold fell behind 2-0 and were not able to recover.

The visitors posted goals in the 14th and 27th minutes of play before Delaware sophomore Kyle Ellis (at right) answered back with one of his own at 29:13.

Netting his first goal in a UD uniform, Ellis tapped in a pass from freshman midfielder Ben Raymond. Raymond had collected a deflected ball and found the feet of Ellis to bring the game within one.

The Delaware goal added a notch of intensity to the remaining minutes of the first half, though neither team was able to make a dent before the buzzer would sound.

The Mountain Hawks returned from the break to score in the 55th, 62nd and 65th minutes and finalize all scoring at 5-1. Delaware fought off the pressure and was able to maintain a well-balanced game, but could not break Lehigh’s defense.

“As a group we worked hard,” said fourth-year head coach Ian Hennessy. “But for the amount of shots on goal that we gave up, to have five goals scored is a remarkable statistic. Credit goes to Lehigh.”

Lehigh registered only 14 shots to Delaware’s 11.

Junior co-captain Conrad Rusnak made three saves in goal during 68:25 of play, while Brandon Paul made his collegiate debut in the remaining minutes. Paul played the final 21:35 of the game and made two stops for the Hens.

Delaware will host Rider on Friday, September 18 in a 7:30 p.m. match at Delaware Mini-Stadium.

AGATE:

Lehigh.............................2...3.....5
Delaware..........................1...0.....1

Scoring Summary: First Half: LEHIGH - Austin Decker (Jesse Schram) 13:14, LEHIGH - Adam Gazda (Neal Melchionni) 26:56, UD - Kyle Ellis (Ben Raymond) 29:13; Second Half: LEHIGH - Steven Avena 54:58, LEHIGH - Adam Gazda (Joe Puleo) 61:51, LEHIGH - Joe Puelo 64:12; Corner Kicks: UD - 10, LEHIGH - 4; Saves: UD - 5 (Conrad Rusnak 3, Brandon Paul 2), LEHIGH - 3 (Jonathan Nydell 2, Chris Varga 1); Fouls: UD - 7, LEHIGH 17; Offsides: UD - 0, LEHIGH - 1.