Saint Joseph’s repeats as Philly Spring Cup champions with 3-0 win over Lehigh

Saint Joseph’s put Lehigh under pressure in their own end early, found the all-important first goal and cruised to a 3-0 win in the Philly Spring Cup final Saturday afternoon at WSFS Bank Sportsplex.

Similar to their semifinal match against Lafayette, the Hawks came out strong in the early going and after a couple early opportunities Conor Clair won the ball back with the counter press, left it off for Charlie Undorf who was able to get the ball to the end line and send in a cross to the near post. Sebastian Perez-Gasiba ran from the left flank to meet the ball at the near post and was able to get the ball over the goal-line through traffic to make it 1-0.

“I saw Charlie running down line and I know he’s a very direct type of player and I know he’ll end up putting a ball in the box,” Perez-Gasiba said. “I saw a lane open for me and I just tried to make sure I got my foot on it and got it over the line.”

Lehigh nearly had a quick response with a cross sent in by Landon Bealer to Bora Turker at the back post but Coooper Jennings was able to get low to deny the chance, the second in a short span of time for the Lehigh forward.

The Jennings save would prove vital when St. Joe’s was able to grab a second before halftime. Cassidy Tanddo collected the ball on a back pass near the Lehigh bench and sent in a long ball toward Cristian Oliveira in the box who was in position to head it toward goal when Lehigh defender Ryan Mundy kicked the ball away. The play was whistled a foul for a high boot and a yellow card was shown by the referee. Clair then stepped in to convert the penalty kick and make it 2-0.

Aiden Gonzalez had a chance early in the second half to pull a goal back twisting his way into good shooting position but Jennings was there again to make the stop and grab his own rebound. Saint Joe’s was back in business on the attack again with veteran midfielder Matteo Mazzotta pulling the strings, forcing Lehigh goalkeeper Anton Kinnunen into a low stop off a short corner play. Kinnunen made a diving stop seconds later but was unable to keep out the ensuing header. Mazzotta’s corner found defender Diego Avelar at the back post and he went high to head it home.

Minutes later Thomas Robertson had a good look inside the D with a half volley but his shot went over the bar. Lehigh was able to draw a number of fouls and produce set piece opportunities and had spells of possession through Trey Sheeler operating in the middle of the park and Gonzalez off the dribble but the Hawks defense was able to stay compact, win a number of aerial duels and keep the clean sheet.

Nick Hanushchak had another strong game at center back paired with Avelar and Mark Mazzoni was active on both sides of the field while Clair’s presence in the attack and defensively, particularly on set pieces, was notable.

“I think we came into the game with one focus, staying disciplined, especially in the back,” said Hanushchak. “I think the discipline overall won us the game.”

Mazzotta’s control of the midfield and minutes off the bench from veteran midfielder Luke Johnson, who scored the winner in the semifinal, and underclassman Mason Csapo were also key on the day. The depth of the team and the options head coach Tim Mulqueen had in his rotation was both a good sign for the fall and a measure of the current state of the program, where players off the bench know their roles and can contribute.

“I thought we came out with the right attitude,” Mulqueen said. “We talked about it before the game, ‘I know it’s the spring but it’s a chance to win a trophy’ and from my experience in these games the teams that are willing to risk and go forward and be brave to win the game have a good chance. We wanted to have the first tackle, the first corner, the first throw-in, the first chance on goal and once we got onto that run we were able to get that goal and grew in confidence and were able to keep going.”

Mulqueen noted that they were able to beat the two Patriot League finalists in successive games, knocking off champions Lafayette 3-1 on Wednesday night and runners up Lehigh 3-0. Lehigh came in with wins in all three of their group games over last year’s finalist La Salle, Villanova and Temple, outscoring opponents 12-3.

“The clean sheet was important because we’ve had a tendency of letting teams back in the game,” Mulqueen said. “I was really excited we found the third goal and were able to limit their chances after that.”

With the spring season complete, Mulqueen and his staff will look ahead to the fall season while many of the players compete locally in USL League Two, NPSL and other competitions.