University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
Lehigh
Delaware Holds Off Lehigh, 3-2, Behind Two Goals From Delgado
9/13/2015 2:58:00 PM | Men's Soccer
NEWARK, Del. -- Blue Hen junior All-American Guillermo Delgado scored twice while Carlos Perales also found the back of the net as the University of Delaware men's soccer team posted a 3-2 victory over Lehigh Sunday afternoon at Stuart & Suzanne Grant Stadium.
The Blue Hens won their second consecutive match and improved to 3-1-1 on the season, while the Mountain Hawks fell to 3-2 on the year.
Delgado opened the scoring just 5:26 into the contest when he headed home a cross from seven yards out off a feed from the right side by Dani Laguna. Perales (left) made it a 2-0 game in the 20th minute when he collected a loose ball in the box and drilled a shot home, and the Blue Hens eventually carried the two-goal advantage into the break.
Lehigh got on the board in the 68th minute when Mark Forrest connected with Jamie Luchini, who blasted a shot into the goal from seven yards out to cut the deficit to one. However Delgado gave UD an insurance goal when he took a feed from Robert Gillin and beat Lehigh goalkeeper Joe Bogan from six yards out at the 83:43 mark.
The Mountain Hawks' Alex Greene fired a laser into the bottom right corner of the net to again make it a one-goal game with 4:19 to play, but the Blue Hens would not allow the equalizer.
UD goalkeeper Blai Palmi made two saves to earn the victory for the Blue Hens, who enjoyed a 21-7 shot advantage.
Ian Hennessy: “I think the last week or so we've been starting to get a team rhythm together, so with some good weather and a nice crowd here I think it was in the cards. We played well against Seton Hall and could have had more than two goals there, and today against a very good Lehigh team we could've had more as well, so I think it's a timing thing. With a college season as short as it is, I think it takes five or six games for a team to find its rhythm and to start to develop a sense of who we are. I thought Guillermo's work with Dani Laguna was fantastic for us today, so credit to Dani for making the space and providing for him.”Guillermo Delgado: “I thought we put on a great performance today. We started hard which hasn't been something we've always been doing, but in the first minutes today we pressed them and played intelligently and sure enough we were able to keep the game in our pocket. Dani and myself are pure danger all of the time just because we're both very direct, so when we play with two strikers it draws defenders from me or him, which allows the other one to get a free header.”
MATCH NOTES
• Delgado moved into a tie for third place in school history with 70 career points, along with John Petito
• Delgado's 31 goals are third most in school history, and four shy of second place
• Delgado posted the sixth multi-goal game of his career, and leads the team with four goals this year
• Perales ranks second on the team with two goals this season
• Laguna and Gillen each picked up the first assist of their careers
• Delaware earned its first victory over Lehigh since the 2002 season
• The Blue Hens head to Iona on Wednesday for a 4:30 p.m. match with the Gaels
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Kevin Tritt at: ktritt@udel.edu (email) / 302-831-8715 (office) / 302-383-5005 (cell)
