Luchini Is “It” For Lehigh
With Lehigh University men’s soccer enjoying a strong season, sophomore Josh Luchini is at the center of their success.
The year is 2015 and Lehigh University has won their second-ever Patriot League Championship in men’s soccer. They are led by Jamie Luchini, the conference tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Fast forward to the present-day, the Mountain Hawks are sitting undefeated in conference play, 7-2 overall, and they are again led by a Luchini wearing #19. This time, it’s Jamie’s younger brother, Josh.
Josh, the sophomore star, hit the ground running when he arrived on campus last year, scoring six goals and provided four assists as a true freshman. “I think it’s been a pretty smooth transition from high school to college because of the focus the team has on welcoming in new freshman and making them feel right at home,” he explained. “People definitely play better when they are in a comfortable environment, and Lehigh has definitely provided me with that.”
That comfort has led to a sophomore surge from Luchini, who was named the NCAA Player of the Week last week. Josh has nine goals already in this campaign. In 1998, Andrew Mittendorf set the Lehigh men’s single-season goal record with 24. When I asked Josh if that was attainable for him this season, he answered, “I think that just depends on how the rest of the season goes obviously. That would be an amazing achievement for me personally but if we are winning without me scoring goals then that’s fine with me too, as long as I can contribute to the team I’m fine with not getting that record but getting a PLC (Patriot League Championship).”
⭐️ Player of the Week x Week 5 ⭐️
Sophomore forward Josh Luchini tallied 4️⃣ of Lehigh's 6️⃣ total goals last week, including a hat trick and both gamewinners.
#NCAASoccer | @LehighMSoccer pic.twitter.com/9R6fxPJaJh— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) October 1, 2019
Just like hip-hop group Camp Lo, Lehigh soccer is at its best with Luchini. Referencing the 1996 hit song “Luchini AKA This Is It” that he thinks he first heard as an 11-year-old, Josh said, “It’s a catchy song but I haven’t heard anything else from Camp Lo that I can think of off the top of my head.”
Will the younger Luchini be able to match his older brother’s feat of winning a conference title for their school? “I think that this team definitely has the capability to win the PLC. Ever since preseason our end goal is to win a PLC and everyone has bought into that,” Josh explained. “I think the keys are to just stay focused on the year and have that team first mentality that I think people are starting to buy into now. I think it will all come together and it’ll be something special.”
The Mountain Hawks play a tough non-conference match today as they face Georgetown in D.C. Kick-off is set for 3 PM Eastern Time and will be live on HoyaVision.
