#22/25 Spiders Fall In Patriot League Debut At #14/15 Lehigh

Bethlehem, Pa. – The No. 22/25 University of Richmond soccer workforce got here up quick in its Patriot League debut Saturday, falling 21-14 to No. 14/15 Lehigh in a recreation outlined by missed alternatives and offensive struggles.

Richmond’s lone offensive landing got here on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Kyle Wickersham with 4 seconds left within the first quarter. The rating was arrange by a CJ Fraser interception on the Lehigh 27-yard line, adopted by a 15-yard run from Isaiah Dawson to carry the Spiders to the one-yard line. Wickersham completed the day 14-of-20 for 113 yards, was sacked twice, and was intercepted on Richmond’s remaining drive.

“A tough one,” stated Richmond head coach Russ Huesman. “Give a lot of credit to Lehigh. They had a good plan coming in. Offensively, we were not very good today and defensively, we didn’t put much pressure on their quarterback when he dropped back to throw.”

Lehigh punted on its subsequent two drives, with Jaiden Fair returning the second punt 20 yards to the Lehigh 44 to arrange one other promising Richmond possession. The Spiders drove to the four-yard line, however a excessive snap sailed over Wickersham’s head, leading to a 19-yard loss and compelled the Spiders to accept a kick. In his collegiate placekicking debut, Will McManus — often the workforce’s kickoff specialist — missed the 32-yard attempt after changing the sooner PAT.

Lehigh capitalized on the missed alternative, scoring on the next drive to tie the sport 7-7 at halftime. After deferring the opening coin toss, Lehigh acquired the second-half kickoff and marched downfield for a landing to take a 14-7 lead. The spotlight of Richmond’s day got here instantly after with a 99-yard kickoff return landing by sophomore Dawson — the fourth-longest in program historical past. Graduate kicker Jayden Alsheskie got here in and transformed the additional level to tie the sport at 14.

Richmond was pressured into certainly one of its six punts on the day early within the fourth, and Lehigh responded with a 12-play, 87-yard drive that drained greater than seven minutes off the clock and ended with the go-ahead landing. Following a collection of punts from each groups, Richmond acquired the ball again at its personal 18-yard line with 1:49 remaining. However, Wickersham was intercepted, and Lehigh ran out the clock to seal the win.

Offensively, Richmond struggled all through the sport, managing simply 10 first downs — solely two of which got here within the second half — whereas Lehigh posted 21 and outgained the Spiders 298 to 181.

Richmond was led defensively by sophomore Peyton Seelmann, who recorded 12 tackles. Senior Carter Glassmyer added 9, whereas sophomores Lee Bruner IV and Tayshaun Burney every had six. TJ Baldwin tallied two tackles for loss, together with an eight-yard sack, and Donovan Hoilette added one other sort out for lack of 4 yards.

“We’ve got work to do,” Huesman added. “We’ve got young guys on both sides of the ball, but give Lehigh credit—they beat us. I’m not sure on either side of the ball we were good enough to win today.”

Richmond returns to motion subsequent Saturday when it travels to Wofford searching for its first win of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for six:00 p.m.