The Lehman College men's soccer club team participated in their first exhibition game of the 2008 season on Monday afternoon, taking on the Medgar Evers Cougars in a late afternoon contest at the South Field on the campus of Lehman. The Lightning got off to a strong start in the contest, netting the game's first goal, but the Cougars struck back with a pair of unanswered scores to take the game by a final of 2-1.
The Lightning got on the board early on as Nnachi Amah lit up the scoreboard by netting a goal via a direct kick 14:11 into the game. Amah's kick sailed left of Medgar Evers goaltender John Ajirotutu to give Lehman the early 1-0. A feisty Lehman defense held the Cougars in check until the 42:45 mark when Medgar Evers would even the score at one apiece thanks to a score by Sharard Sullivan. Sullivan blasted a 35-foot drive past the outstretched arms of Lehman goalkeeper Timothy Hamisi to knot the game at one. As the first half came to a close, the game was tied.
The second half saw Medgar Evers go on the offensive at the Lightning dodged a number of bullets early on. Lehman's defense continued to hang in there, but in the 70th minute, Medgar Evers' Ancil Porter would give the Cougars the lead for good, placing a ball inside the left goalpost and past Hamisi to give Medgar Evers the 2-1 lead. That lead would hold up, giving the Cougars the one-goal win. Despite the loss, it was a promising start for a Lehman club team that aspires to solidify themselves as a varsity unit in the very near future.
“Obviously for the first time out, I was very impressed with the energy and the effort,” Lehman College Head Coach Joe Andre' said following the loss. “We have some work to do, but this was a good start as we look towards what we hope to accomplish with this unit in the future.”
For Lehman, Hamisi made five stops and the Lightning recorded five shots for the game. Medgar Evers' Ajirotutu only needed to make one save to record a victory for his team. The Cougars recorded 32 shots on the day.
The Lightning's next exhibition contest will be Friday afternoon at the South Field at Lehman College against the John Jay College Bloodhounds, with game-time scheduled for 3:30pm.
