The men’s soccer team (6-2 overall, 1-0 conference) faced off against the Holy Cross Crusaders on Saturday in its first Patriot League matchup of the season. The Leopards were coming off a win-streak-ending loss against St. Francis College Brooklyn, and were looking to regain the momentum that took them to four consecutive victories earlier this season. They were victorious not only against Holy Cross (2-0) but also against St. Peter’s University (2-1) on Tuesday.
Saturday night’s scoring began in the 34th minute with a goal from senior forward Marcos Kitromilides, propelling the Leopards in front 1-0.
The score remained the same heading into the second half.
Sophomore defender Eoin Martin secured the victory for the Leopards, scoring his first career goal in the 53rd minute. His goal was the product of a throw-in from senior midfielder Will Echeverria. Martin’s goal extended the Leopards’ lead to 2-0 and helped win him Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week.
The Leopards dominated the game offensively, producing eleven shots while the Crusaders recorded only one. Junior forward Hale Lombard led the team with four shots, but he could not find the back of the net.
The game featured high tensions, as the Crusaders recorded three yellow cards and one red card. The Leopards were also fairly familiar with the piercing shrill of the ref’s whistle, as they earned two yellow cards. One was handed to senior defender Nick Hazel, and the other to senior goalkeeper Alex Sutton.
The Leopards played excellent defense, and Sutton recorded a save on the one shot that Holy Cross was able to produce on goal. Sutton played through all 90 minutes of action.
“We did well with the ball,” Martin said. “We did a good job keeping possession, and put pressure on them defensively when necessary.”
Their victory against Holy Cross was the team’s first Patriot League win of the season, bouncing back after a loss in out-of-conference play.
“We just focused on the next game, kept a short memory span, put everything behind us and moved on,” Martin said.
This mindset also rendered the Leopards victorious when they battled St. Peter’s on Tuesday night.
The Maroon and White got off to a scalding hot start as they found their spot on the board early when junior midfielder David Mizrahi landed a header past St. Peter’s goalkeeper off of another throw-in by Echeverria.
The second half opened up with the Leopards still up 1-0, but the gears quickly shifted as the Peacocks answered with a shot past sophomore goalkeeper Griffin Huff in the 50th minute.
Things changed when Lafayette was awarded a corner kick in the 56th minute. The team capitalized on this opportunity as Kitromilides found the back of the net to solidify the Maroon and White’s second win of the week.
The Leopards hope to continue this upward momentum as they head up to Boston to face the Boston University Terriers for their second Patriot League matchup tomorrow at 6 p.m.