Coming off a two-game skid against William & Mary and Lafayette, American University was able to rebound on Saturday, October 11, with a 3-1 win against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks to improve to 5-6-1 on the season.
However, the game was not without some turmoil for head coach Zach Samol and the team. In the first half, Lehigh was able to control the tempo, slicing their way into American’s territory for nine shots, four of them being on goal, compared to AU’s four shots total for the half.
Fouls also dictated a key role in handing Lehigh chances to score in the onset, as American had six and Lehigh had three. The saving grace for AU was senior (goalkeeper) Matthew “The Great Wall of China” Tibbetts, who had four saves in the first half.
His defensive effort denied Lehigh the ability to score while American’s offense was still lagging. We do not know what Zach Samol said to his team during halftime, but the boys in blue were finally able to fight back during the second half.
The second half showed how American was able to come together as a team while Lehigh simultaneously ran out of gas.
The Eagles broke open the scoring when senior (midfielder) Sebastian Garces assisted grad (forward) Mustapha Sowe just three minutes into the second period. AU scored again ten minutes later after an intense back-and-forth when grad (D) Taku Takahashi was assisted by Sebastian Garces at 56:59.
At that point, it seemed like the Eagles were going to cruise to victory after the momentum swung their way. The power of friendship prevailed, the sun shone, and the crowd hollered and clapped enthusiastically.
Things got interesting when Lehigh sophomore Aiden Gonzalez (midfielder) scored off of a corner kick, making the game 2-1 with 13 minutes left to go. For a moment, Lehigh reclaimed the momentum and appeared to be right back in the game.
All of that was reversed when they were called offside, and in response, three Mountain Hawks, Sam Davis (D), Trey Sheeler (D), and Ryan Mundy (F), each received yellow cards thirty seconds later for committing fouls out of frustration.
That set American up with a prime field position to score immediately after the altercation, going up 3-1 at 81:10. From there, they were able to bleed the clock and secure the victory. The win came with its challenges, but thanks to the efforts of Matthew “The Great Wall of China” Tibbetts, Sebastian Garces, and all of our Eagles, they can call themselves the victors today.
After winning this game, American sits comfortably with the third seed in the Patriot League, and they aim to take this winning energy into Tuesday, where they’ll face #16, West Virginia.
