This past weekend, the Lafayette men’s soccer team (7-3-1 overall, 2-1-1 conference) took on Patriot League competitor Bucknell in an away match. Coming off a tough loss at the hands of the Naval Academy, the Leopards were looking to bounce back in their fourth Patriot League matchup of the season. The Maroon and White accomplished this goal, winning 1-0 for their second Patriot League win this year.
“We knew that Bucknell is a possession-based team and holds the ball a lot, so going into the game we knew at some point we would have to be patient,” senior forward Marcos Kitromilides said.
Kitromilides recorded the only goal of the low-scoring matchup when the Leopards were awarded a penalty kick in the 33rd minute. He torpedoed the ball into the back of the net, giving Lafayette a 1-0 lead. The goal was Kitromilides’ sixth of the season and his fourth game-winner.
Bucknell’s offense forced the Leopards to battle defensively throughout the game. The Bison recorded 18 total shots, 14 of which came in the second half. Nevertheless, the Bison could not find the back of the net because of the Leopards’ unwavering defensive unit and some adjustments made in the second half.
“We changed formation in the second half, we usually play 4-1-4-1 and we changed it to 4-2-3-1,” Kitromilides said.
This adjustment ensured a favorable outcome for the Maroon and White, whose defense has been strong all season. They have only surrendered one goal over their first four games in conference play, the best in the Patriot League to this point.
The Leopards finished the night with nine shots, four of which were on goal. Kitromilides recorded one goal off of one shot and junior forward Hale Lombard attempted three shots, one of them being on goal. In addition, the Maroon and White recorded thirteen fouls on the night, while the Bison had seven.
Senior goalkeeper Alex Sutton logged a season-high eight saves in the contest. He was recognized as Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week for this performance. On the other side of the pitch, Bucknell’s goalkeeper recorded three saves and allowed one goal.
With two Patriot League wins under their belt, the Leopards now look toward their fifth Patriot League matchup of the season against their rival Lehigh.
“The approach we’ve been having every season against Lehigh is that we do not treat it like any different of a game, we prepare the same as we would for any other game,” Kitromilides said. “As a program, we definitely want to beat Lehigh, but we don’t treat them any differently. We want to remain calm and be confident, and not having a mid-week game helps us a lot with that as it gives us more time for preparation.”
The Maroon and White aim to put this mentality into practice during their match tomorrow, which will take place at 7 p.m. at Mike Bourger ‘44 Field at Oaks Stadium in Metzgar Fields.