The men’s soccer team (0-1 Patriot League, 3-2-2 overall) lost its opening game of conference play on Saturday against Colgate (1-0 Patriot League, 3-3-1 overall) before earning a much-needed victory over Albany (2-5-1 overall) on Tuesday night.
The Leopards kicked off their Patriot League campaign on the road, traveling to Hamilton, New York, to play the Raiders. The teams traded half-chances to begin the game, but the Maroon and White found the opening goal just before halftime. Sophomore defender Nikolas Hadjimitsis drove down the right sideline before crossing for sophomore midfielder Max Fujimori to score his first goal of the season with a lunging effort.
Colgate began to grow into the game after the second half, dictating most of the play and forcing the Maroon and White to defend. The Leopard resistance was broken in the 64th minute when the Raiders worked the ball down the Leopards’ left side and into the penalty area, before finding a clean shot that beat senior goalkeeper Griffin Huff.
The Raiders would find the winning goal just eight minutes later, scoring from a free header off of a corner. That goal marked the third time in four games that Lafayette had given up a corner-kick goal. Despite the Leopards committing players forward in the later stages, they came up empty-handed and the Raiders took all three points.
“It was a disappointing last week,” sophomore midfielder Beaux Lizewski said. “We know that we’re better than that, so obviously we weren’t satisfied. We went into this week, this game, looking to really capitalize on the opportunity.”
Lizewski would play an important role in getting the Leopards off and running against the Great Danes. With senior forward Lawrence Aydlett and sophomore forward Roy Biegon unavailable, head coach Dennis Bohn shifted Lizewski from his normal position in central midfield to the right wing. In the 16th minute, Lizewski found space on the right and delivered a picture-perfect cross to senior forward Andrey McIntyre to score with a header.
“It’s always fresh to play in a new position since last week wasn’t a great week for me in the middle,” Lizewski said. “To get out, be more creative, on the ball a little bit more, it was really exciting.”
The Leopards dominated a sluggish Albany team for most of the first half, with the pressing from Lizewski and McIntyre drawing several turnovers. However, with just 26 seconds left to play in the half, Albany nabbed an equalizer, tapping home from a low cross through the Leopards penalty area.
That goal set the stage for a dramatic second half. In the 57th minute, freshman forward Cameron Bohn was brought down in the box, earning the Leopards a penalty kick. In addition, the Albany player who fouled Bohn was shown a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity. After a lengthy delay, senior midfielder Carter Houlihan scored from the spot, putting the ball in off the crossbar.
The game became very stop-and-start from then on, with several Albany players receiving yellow cards for arguing with the referee.
“I think Albany got a little worked up with the ref and that got in their heads,” Lizewski said. “Our message was to keep a cool head and not let that distract us.”
Despite the manpower advantage, the Leopards suffered a big blow when junior defender Nicholas Liebich exited the game through injury. Liebich, along with sophomore defender Cole Duschang, has started every game for the Leopards and is a key piece of the back line.
“This is a great showcase of the depth we have on the bench,” junior goalkeeper Eric Axtman said of the team’s handling of injuries. “When one of our guys who plays almost every minute of the game goes down, that’s big stuff. Next man up is our mentality.”
The Great Danes pushed for a winner late on in the game, as an Albany forward found space in the box in the 88th minute. A stunning save from Axtman down to his left kept the ball out and the Leopards held on to win.
“He really saved the game for us, it was incredible,” Lizewski said of Axtman. “When he gets these moments to play in games, I know he’s going to make the most of it.”
The Leopards will host Navy (0-1 Patriot League, 1-4-2 overall) on Saturday to continue conference play.
“When you get wins at home, it changes the whole vibe,” Axtman said. “It makes it tough for people who come here and that’s exactly what we want.”
