Lehigh Claims 2-0 Victory Over Loyola Maryland in Patriot League Opener
BALTIMORE – Lehigh needed 45 minutes to find itself. Once it did, Loyola Maryland never recovered.
The Mountain Hawks shook off a flat first half and struck twice after the break to claim a 2-0 win at Ridley Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon, opening their Patriot League campaign with three hard-earned points on the road.
Head coach Dean Koski didn’t sugarcoat the opening stretch.
“I thought we struggled in the first half to be consistent with the way we wanted to play, but we regrouped at halftime and thought we came out in the second half with better intentions,” the Ingrassia Family men’s head soccer coach said. “We did a better job of creating chances in the second half and did a good job defensively of shutting them down.”
For 45 minutes, it was Loyola on the front foot.
Lehigh (1-2-3, 1-0 PL) managed just two shots before halftime, while Loyola (1-6, 0-1 PL) fired six and forced junior goalkeeper Anton Kinnunen into action. He answered with three saves before the break, the main reason the sides went into the locker room locked at 0-0.
The reset changed everything.
Lehigh came out sharper, quicker and far more ruthless. The breakthrough arrived in the 48th minute, and it was worth the wait. Junior Bora Turker, still searching for his first of the season, finally got it, finishing off a move created by junior Aiden Gonzalez and first-year Alex Junquera. One clean attack, one precise strike, and the tone of the match flipped.
The pressure didn’t ease. With Loyola chasing, spaces opened, and Lehigh punished them again.
In the 65th minute, senior Thomas Robertson doubled the advantage, netting his second goal of the season and putting the Mountain Hawks firmly in control. From there, the job was simple: protect the lead, trust the back line, and lean on a goalkeeper in form.
Kinnunen did the rest.
He needed just one save in the second half to complete his third consecutive shutout and the seventh clean sheet of his career. The stat sheet tilted Loyola’s way – 15-10 in shots and 5-2 in corners – but the scoreboard belonged to Lehigh, a testament to a defensive unit that refused to crack.
“Our backs and Anton are in sync with each other,” Koski said. “I like our mentality and we’re defending better in the box. And when we need Anton to make a save, he’s been there and he’s been sharp.”
Koski sees a group hardening quickly through early-season battles.
“No game has been easy, and I think our guys have learned a lot early on this season,” he said. “We had good confidence going into this game and we’ll have a better confidence coming out of it.”
That confidence will be tested again soon.
Lehigh returns home on Saturday, September 19 at 6 p.m. for its Patriot League home opener against Army, a side Koski respects and expects to push his team.
“We’re glad to get three points on the road, but we know that every game is going to be a challenge for us,” he said. “We’ve got a big game next weekend against Army at home. They’ve had a good start, so it’ll be a good challenge.”
The shutouts are stacking up. The points have started to follow. Now comes the question that will shape Lehigh’s season: can this defensive steel carry them through the grind of Patriot League play?
