Lehigh Edges Men's Soccer in PL Semifinal, 1-0

Tuesday, November 11

Bethlehem, PA

7 PM

Boston University

10-8-0, 5-4-0

Lehigh – PL Semifinal

9-5-5, 5-1-3

Team	1	2	Final F
Boston U.	0	0	0
Lehigh	0	1	1

Boston University men's soccer dribbles the ball up the field with Lehigh defender on the side

Photo by: Dan Koerner

Lehigh Edges Men's Soccer in PL Semifinal, 1-0

November 11, 2025 | Men's Soccer

Box Score Coach Nylen Postgame

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Making its fourth straight Patriot League semifinal appearance, the No. 4-seeded Boston University men's soccer team dropped a tightly-contested 1-0 decision at No. 2 Lehigh Tuesday night.

Extending their unbeaten streak to four games, the Mountain Hawks improve to 9-5-5, as the Terriers (10-8) saw their season come to an end despite posting a 13-9 advantage in shots. Giacomo Zizza broke the scoreless deadlock in the 54th minute, and Anton Kinnunen recorded four of his five saves in the second half to preserve the shutout.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After both teams attempted a shot during the first seven minutes of action, the Mountain Hawks drew a penalty kick at 7:59.
Thomas Robertson tried a low shot toward the right post, but senior Sheraz Saadat made a diving save with outstretched arms and followed up with another stop on the Mountain Hawks' rebound attempt.
Neither team attempted a shot until freshman Sebastian Otero forced Kinnunen to make a save at 34:41.
Three minutes later, Saadat smothered one shot and kicked save another.
BU took three more over the final 90 seconds of the half but were unable to put them on goal.
Early in the second half, the two teams exchanged corner kicks that were quickly cleared.
During the 54th minute, Jason Pynadath played a through ball into the top of the box, where Giacomo Zizza collected the ball and curled a shot that deflected off the foot of a Terrier into the back of the net.
Trying to score the equalizer, BU dominated possession for the rest of the game, but Kinnunen stopped sophomore Pharis Petrica's attempt at 68:26 and added three more saves over the last 20 minutes.
In the final seconds, senior John Roman headed a cross sent into the box trying to score inside the near post, but again, Kinnunen was in the right position to seal the victory.

GAME NOTES

Sophomore Jack Grossman, senior Ethan Gill and junior Andrea Di Blasio all recorded two shots apiece.
Gill finished the season with a team seven goals and 15 points, while Petrica had a team-highseven assists alongside three goals for 13 points.
Blanked for the fifth time this season with four occurring on the road, BU ended the year 4-6 away compared to the 6-2 home mark.
Led by head coach Kevin Nylen, BU's senior class was the only one in the league to reach four straight PL semifinals with two regular season titles and the 2023 tournament crown.
BU and Lehigh met in the PL tournament for the first time with the Mountain Hawks improving to 8-6 all-time following a 2-0 win in Boston back on Oct. 25.