Kauschke, Lejbowicz Power Pirates to 2-0 Win Over Lafayette in Season Opener

Thursday, August 21

South Orange, N.J.

8 PM

Seton Hall University

1-0-0, 0-0-0

Lafayette

0-1-0, 0-0-0

Lafayette

Seton Hall

Kauschke, Lejbowicz Power Pirates to 2-0 Win Over Lafayette in Season Opener

8/22/2025 1:06:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Seton Hall men's soccer claimed a 2-0 victory in its season opener at home against Lafayette, marking the first meeting between the two programs in 64 years.

The opening stages of the match featured foul-filled, physical play as both teams pushed the limits early. While the Pirates' defense stifled the Leopards' attack, it took until the 22nd minute for the Pirates to get on the board. After a Lafayette handball in the box, Til Kauschke stepped up to the penalty spot and drilled the ball home to put The Hall up 1-0. With a lead at their back, the Pirates' defense suffocated the Leopards in the second half. The Hall capped off the win when Mikkel Lejbowicz, in the 89th minute, collected a ball in the box and put Seton Hall up 2-0 with mere minutes remaining, securing a Seton Hall victory.

With the win, The Hall moves to 1-0-0 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After 64 years without facing each other, both schools released decades' worth of frustration in the opening stages of the match. The two sides traded sixteen fouls and a pair of yellow cards in the opening 20 minutes, but the Pirates launched two off-target shots that presented early pressure to their opposition.

That pressure eventually yielded results when, in the 22nd minute, a crowded box in front of the Lafayette goal led to a Leopards defender committing a handball, setting the Pirates up with a penalty kick. Stepping to the spot, Til Kauschke picked up where he left off last season and drained the kick to put The Hall up 1-0 midway through the first half.

22' | Cold as ice, killer from the spot 🥶

Til Kauschke cashes in on the PK for the Pirates first goal of the season! #HALLin🔵⚪️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/emyX5ZMCUi
— Seton Hall Men's Soccer (@SHUMSOC) August 22, 2025

Now holding a lead, the Pirates' defensive aggression continued to feed the new-look Pirate attack. At halftime, the Pirates had logged six shots and held Lafayette shotless.

Coming out of the halftime break, Lafayette made three changes to their lineup with the hopes of sparking a counter to the Pirates' pressure. Their best attacking chance of the match would come as a result in the 49th minute. That chance, however, fell flat as a shot off the post and a save by Matias Molina quashed the visitors' offensive momentum.

The first Molina magic moment of 2025 🪄🎩#HALLin🔵⚪️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/4yk1D6EjsG
— Seton Hall Men's Soccer (@SHUMSOC) August 22, 2025

As both sides went to their benches to stave off fatigue, the Pirates' attack found a new wave of pressure to send at Lafayette. With three forwards on the field, the Pirates launched an attacking salvo in the final ten minutes of the match that found the match clincher.

89' | Welcome to The Hall, Mikkel 🏴‍☠️🎊

Lejbowicz settles the chaos in the box to put home his first goal as a Pirates!#HALLin🔵⚪️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/yMyUkmuapW
— Seton Hall Men's Soccer (@SHUMSOC) August 22, 2025

In the 89th minute, off a turnover, Thomas Sellwood crossed a ball into the box for Kauschke, after dribbling through players and a deflection, Mikkel Lejbowicz collected the ball and rifled the shot inside the far post to put The Hall up 2-0 and out of reach in the dying moments of the match. With that lead and less than two minutes to play, the Pirates' defense played keep away to secure the season-opening win for the Pirates.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Kauschke logged his first goal and an assist on the season.
- It was also Kauschke's fifth career assist.
Lejbowicz recorded his first collegiate goal.
Sellwood collected his first career assist.
Matias Molina registered his first clean sheet of the season and eighth of his career.
The Pirates outshot Leopards 9-0 in the first half, 12-6 overall.
Lafayette tallied three yellow cards to Seton Hall's one.
Seton Hall logged six corner kicks to Lafayette's zero.

NEWS & NOTES

Seton Hall moves to 1-0-0, while Lafayette moves to 1-0-0.
The Hall now moves to 1-0-0 on non-conference play.
This was the 12th all-time matchup between the two programs, the first of which came in 1947.
Seton Hall moves to 8-2-2 all-time against Lafayette.
The Pirates extend their record in home openers under Lindberg's to 7-0-1 with a +17 goal differential.

UP NEXT
Seton Hall will return home to Owen T. Carroll Field on Sunday to take on in-state rivals Rutgers in a North Jersey derby. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.