Nov. 2, 2011

Box Score

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - One season ago it was Hunter College who ended Lehman's men's soccer joyride as the Hawks defeated the Lightning 2-0 in the CUNYAC Championship final.

But on Wednesday at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn it was Lehman's chance to flip the script with the Lightning emerging victorious, ironically by the same 2-0 score, behind two goals from star forward Oumar Niang and some timely goaltending by Marcos Coto-Batres.  Lehman now moves on to Saturday night's championship match to be held on Randall's Island where it will face the No. 3 seed, Baruch, who toppled York College 5-0 in the day's other semifinal match.

Wednesday's sunny skies and relatively balmy temperature were a far cry from the heavy rain/driving snow mix that enveloped the College of Staten Island on Saturday, forcing the postponement of the original match.  At the time, Hunter held a 1-0 lead after 45 minutes of play.  Given a second chance in more favorable conditions, however, the Lightning's athleticism and skill showed through.

Following three quality chances – one each by Thaddeus Ikwuka, Will Arbieto-Lopez and Guihounou Guede that were turned aside by Hunter keeper Zade Haobsh – the Lightning finally broke through in the 13th minute courtesy of Niang.  Selected to shoot a penalty kick for an infraction in the goal box, Niang drilled the match's first goal into the lower left corner past a diving Haobsh for the 1-0 lead.

In the 32nd minute, Niang struck again, this time warding off a Hunter defender on his way to the net before beating Haobsh for a second time and a 2-0 Lightning lead.  Including the first two rounds of the CUNYAC Championships, Niang has now tallied 14 goals.

Hunter had a golden opportunity to get back in the match immediately following the start of the second half by virtue of a penalty kick awarded to the Hawks in the 51st minute.  However, Coto-Batres, perhaps channeling his performance from last year's semifinal against Baruch when he stonewalled the Bearcats in a penalty kick shootout, did it once again, diving to his right to turn away Danny Vera and keep the Lightning in front by two goals.

The Hawks had one last quality opportunity to slice their deficit in the 73rd minute, but Coto-Batres stopped Darwin Gramajo to all but seal the win.  Coto-Batres finished with five saves on the day.

For the match the Lightning outshot the Hawks 16-10 with 10 of its shots finding their way on goal.

Saturday's championship match is scheduled for 6 p.m.  Free tickets are available to all fans by clicking here.