Men's Lacrosse
Cassese, Kevin
Kevin Cassese
- Title:
- Smith Family Head Lacrosse Coach
- Email:
- kac407@lehigh.edu
Most Wins in Lehigh Lacrosse History (136)
Best Win Percentage in Lehigh Lacrosse History - 56.7%Â
2-Time Patriot League Coach of the Year
24 All-Americans
18 Scholar All-Americans
24 All-Americans
18 Scholar All-Americans
70 All-Patriot League Players
4 Patriot League Scholar-Athletes of the Year
4 Patriot League Faceoff Specialists of the Year
4 Patriot League Scholar-Athletes of the Year
4 Patriot League Faceoff Specialists of the Year
2 Patriot League Goalkeepers of the YearÂ
2 Patriot League Offensive Players of the Year
25Â Professional Players Coached (PLL, MLL, NLL)
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Patriot League Tournament Championships – 3 (2012, 2013, 2021)
Patriot League Regular Season Championships – 3 (2012, 2013, 2021)
Patriot League Championship Game Appearances – 6 (2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021)
Patriot League Tournament Appearances – 12 (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023)
A U.S. Lacrosse National Hall of Fame inductee and Lehigh men's lacrosse's all-time wins leader, Kevin Cassese enters his 16th season as head men’s lacrosse coach in 2022. In Cassese’s time, he has led the Mountain Hawks to back-to-back Patriot League Championships – in 2012 and 2013 – followed by a third straight appearance in the league title game in 2014. Lehigh has returned to three straight championship games in 2018, 2019 and 2021. After the 2020 season was cut short in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mountain Hawks were the Patriot League’s No. 1 seed in 2021 and earned the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
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Entering 2022, the Mountain Hawks are ranked in the national polls for a fourth straight season. This comes after a 2021 campaign which saw Lehigh rise as high as No. 5 in the rankings. The Mountain Hawks began the season 9-0, with wins over No. 10 Loyola, No. 7 Army West Point and No. 19 Navy. Lehigh was the second-to-last team in the nation to lose a game in 2021. The Mountain Hawks finished 8-0 in the Patriot League (regular season) before beating Colgate in the semifinals. The championship game was cancelled due to a positive COVID-19 test in Loyola’s tier 1 testing pool, but Lehigh earned the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament – the second time in three all-time NCAA berths that the Mountain Hawks were seeded.
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Individually, faceoff specialist Mike Sisselberger was a first team All-American, finishing the season with an all-time NCAA record win percentage of 79.5 (225-of-283) with a program and Patriot League record 160 groundballs (in 12 games). Sisselberger was named the league’s Faceoff Specialist of the Year, becoming Lehigh’s second straight winner of that award (along with teammate Conor Gaffney). Cassese also won a major award, garnering Patriot League Coach of the Year for the second time. Goaltender James Spence and defenseman Anthony Tangredi were also named honorable mention All-Americans by various organizations. Teddy Leggett was named a Senior CLASS Award first team All-American while Gaffney was named an Academic All-American for a fourth time. Seven Mountain Hawks received All-League honors, the most honorees since 2013. As a team, Lehigh finished second nationally in groundballs per game (41.92), second in winning percentage (83.3), seventh in scoring margin (3.92), ninth in scoring offense (14.08) and 18th in scoring defense (10.17).
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Lehigh was off to a 5-1 start in 2020 (2-0 in Patriot League play) when the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mountain Hawks’ offense was averaging 14.0 goals per game (15th nationally) while their defense was allowing just 9.67 per contest (14th). Lehigh was second in groundballs per game (42.33) and eighth in faceoff win percentage (63.8). The Mountain Hawks were ranked 19th in the final Maverick Media Poll. Sophomore Tommy Schelling enjoyed a breakout season with 22 goals and 11 assists in just six games, joining Andrew Pettit and Gaffney on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. Tangredi was named an honorable mention Media All-American after finishing the shortened season second nationally in caused turnovers per contest (2.67). Gaffney was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American for a third straight year (being named to the second team).
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In the summer of 2020, Lehigh continued to make a name for itself in professional lacrosse, with alum Craig Chick and assistant coach John Crawley both playing for Atlas LC of the Premiere Lacrosse League. Pettit and Eddie Bouhall played in Major League Lacrosse, for the New York Lizards and Philadelphia Barrage, respectively.
Cassese helped the Mountain Hawks to a 9-8 record in 2019 despite several injuries to important players. Lehigh’s leading returning scorer, Pettit, suffered a season-ending injury during the preseason, with eventual All-League performers Lucas Spence and Christian McHugh missing multiple games in February. The Mountain Hawks continued to battle and it paid off in March, going a perfect 6-0 which helped them earn the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. Lehigh earned three consecutive victories over ranked opponents in that span, topping No. 16 Colgate (10-8), No. 17 Army West Point (11-8) and No. 15 Rutgers (13-10) in the span of 11 days. Also that month, Cassese won his 100th career game with a 15-8 victory at Navy. The Mountain Hawks went on to pick up a hard-fought Patriot League semifinal victory for a second straight season, topping Boston University 10-9.
As a team, the Mountain Hawks’ defense finished sixth nationally in scoring defense (9.47), the fourth time in eight years finishing top 10 in the country. Individually, Gaffney was named Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year (for a second straight season) and an Academic All-American. Gaffney broke a number of program and league records, including faceoff wins (249) and groundballs (152). His 69.7 faceoff percentage was good for fourth nationally. Gaffney was one of six Mountain Hawks named All-Patriot League for a second straight season, which included fellow first team honoree, defenseman Craig Chick. Chick continued to re-write the record books, literally, breaking the school record for caused turnovers for a third consecutive season with 42. Most notably, he ended his career with an NCAA career record 160 caused turnovers, becoming the all-time leader in the championship game vs. Army. After the season, Chick was named a second team All-American by both the USILA and Inside Lacrosse/Media, Lehigh’s highest USILA All-American in 93 years, since Hugh Robinson was named to the second team in 1926.
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The 2018 season saw Lehigh jump back into the national spotlight, beginning with road wins at No. 12 Army West Point and No. 18/19 Hofstra in the span of 10 days. Earning the No. 4 seed in the league tournament, Lehigh dominated Colgate at home (11-6) then picked up a 10-9 overtime win against No. 11/13 Navy. Spence scored the game-winner less than one minute into overtime as Spence (58 points: 35 goals, 23 assists) and Pettit (66 points: 46 goals, 20 assists) combined for 124 points in 2018. Pettit, Chick and Gaffney were named first team All-Patriot League while Spence, defenseman Bouhall and Leggett earned second-team laurels. Leggett also won the Lehigh Athletics’ J. Daniel Nolan Award presented to the department’s top first-year male student-athlete.
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As a team, the Mountain Hawks led the nation in extra-man offense for the second time in seven years as Lehigh’s 63.4 percentage was good for second in NCAA history. At one point, Lehigh converted eight straight man-up opportunities and 16-of-19. The 2018 campaign marked the second time in seven seasons the Mountain Hawks led the nation in man-up offense. The other time was 2012, which featured the program’s breakthrough as Lehigh finished 14-3 and won its first-ever Patriot League Tournament Championship to advance to the program’s first NCAA Tournament. The 2012 campaign featured a school-record 14 wins, nine-game winning streak and the program’s highest-ever national ranking; Lehigh came in at No. 4 nationally in the final Coaches Poll following the regular season.
Following a home-opening loss to Villanova in 2012, Lehigh promptly won nine straight games and 13-of-14 to advance to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 7 overall seed. The Mountain Hawks hosted eventual National Finalist Maryland and gave the Terps their toughest fight on their road to the title game. Despite falling behind 6-1 in the first half, Lehigh responded with seven straight goals in front of a standing room only crowd of 2,278 at the Ulrich Sports Complex.
Lehigh posted an impressive 8-3 record against nationally-ranked foes, including a big 9-8 win at No. 4 North Carolina in March, propelling the Mountain Hawks into the national polls for the first time since 2000. Lehigh ended a number of long droughts, defeating UNC for the first time since 1951, Yale for the first time since 1918 and Penn State for the first time since 1971. A big part of the success came from the Mountain Hawks’ defense, which stood as the No. 2 scoring defense (only behind Notre Dame), holding opponents to only 6.81 goals per game. Lehigh picked up its first shutout in 40 years with a 13-0 triumph over Manhattan, allowed only two goals to VMI and five or fewer to Penn State, Navy, Holy Cross, Penn and Saint Joseph’s. Cassese was named Patriot League Coach of the Year while freshman Matt Poillon became Lehigh’s first-ever Goalkeeper of the Year. Eight cracked the All-Patriot League Team, tied for most in school history.
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In 2013, Lehigh won seven straight games, bridging the end of the regular season and Patriot League Tournament, to finish 12-5 overall, undefeated in Patriot League play and earn the right to host the league tournament. Lehigh went on to dominate Bucknell on its home turf (11-5) for its second straight league championship. The awards continued to roll in for the Mountain Hawks as Poillon was named Patriot League Goalie of the Year for a second straight season and a school-record four players were named USILA All-Americans, breaking the record of three set a season prior. In addition, the Mountain Hawks placed a league-best three players on the Academic All-Patriot League Team.
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The success continued into 2014 as the Mountain Hawks won 13 games, just one shy of tying the school record set just two years prior. Lehigh earned a thrilling 7-6 triple overtime victory over No. 20 Villanova in February and earned convincing league wins over Bucknell (9-3), Navy (13-2), Holy Cross (20-4) and Lafayette (17-6). The Mountain Hawks defeated Navy in the Patriot League Quarterfinals at home before earning a 12-11 semifinal victory over Army behind a Reid Weber goal with just three seconds remaining.
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Several Mountain Hawks enjoyed breakout seasons, led by attackman Dan Taylor who recorded 45 points over his last seven games to finish with 76 points, which far and away led the Patriot League and was most among Canadian players in all of Division I Lacrosse. Taylor was named a first team All-Patriot League honoree, as was defenseman Tripp Telesco. Three others were named All-League while Poillon, Taylor and Telesco were named honorable mention All-Americans as well.
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After struggling to begin 2015, the Mountain Hawks ended the season on a high note, winning five of their last six regular season games, defeating a pair of nationally-ranked opponents in a five-day span (No. 14 Princeton and No. 18 Stony Brook). Taylor enjoyed another sensational season, posting 77 points to earn Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year honors and honorable mention All-America recognition. Meanwhile, a young team in 2016 went on to advance to the program’s sixth straight Patriot League Tournament, finishing 4-4 in league play highlighted by a thrilling 8-7 win at No. 20 Boston University. Lehigh’s 2017 season was highlighted by two consecutive home wins over nationally-ranked foes, defeating No. 16/18 Boston University (10-6) and No. 13/14 Princeton (15-10) while earning a 9-6 home victory over rival Bucknell on Senior Night to earn the program’s seventh straight Patriot League Tournament berth.
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Setting the stage for the program’s breakthrough of 2012, the Mountain Hawks jumped squarely into the national lacrosse picture in 2011 by not only qualifying for the Patriot League postseason, but also proving they could compete with anyone in the country. Lehigh advanced to its first Patriot League Tournament since 2006. The Mountain Hawks got off to a quick 3-1 start, which included a 14-10 triumph over Navy, the program’s first victory over the Midshipmen in nearly 100 years. Lehigh posted the nation’s eighth biggest improvement in 2011, according to LaxPower.com’s computer rankings, which takes into account many of the factors used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
In his first four years at Lehigh, Cassese mentored a total of nine All-Patriot League honorees, including four in 2011. Faceoff specialist Ryan Snyder cracked the first team after winning 61.6 percent of his draws and scooping a then-Patriot League record 118 groundballs. Jonathan Stumpf was not only named to the second team, but also became Lehigh’s first-ever CoSIDA Academic All-American while being named a Senior CLASS Award first team All-American, USILA Scholar All-American and Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Stumpf (along with teammate and current Lehigh assistant coach Will Scudder) also played in the USILA North-South All-Star Game where he netted the eventual game-winning goal for the South.
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Under Cassese’s watch, Lehigh has sent several players to professional lacrosse. Nine have been selected in the Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft since 2013 while multiple others have been picked in the player pool. Roman Lao-Gosney (Florida) played in more than 50 career games since while twin brother Cameron, Mike Noone and Noah Molnar were all veterans of the league. Molnar won an MLL Championship in 2016 and Noone in 2017. In addition, Taylor was the first selection of defending National Lacrosse League Champion Saskatchewan Rush in the 2015 NLL Collegiate Draft. He was picked 12th overall and went on to win NLL Championships with Saskatchewan in 2016 and Calgary in 2019.
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Cassese’s players have been involved in US Lacrosse as well as defenseman Ty Souders tried out for the U.S. Under-19 Team as part of a three-day training camp at UMBC. Cameron and Roman Lao-Gosney also participated in numerous scrimmages for Team USA, beginning with the Capital Lacrosse Classic on Oct. 7, 2012. In the summer and fall of 2019, Cole Kirst impressed at U.S. Under-19 Team tryout process as well.
On a personal level, Cassese made his coaching debut for US Lacrosse at the 2014 World Lacrosse Championships in Denver, serving as an assistant coach under Team USA head coach Richie Meade (Furman), alongside assistants Dave Pietramala (Johns Hopkins) and Jeff Tambroni (Penn State). Cassese’s responsibilities included faceoff coordinator and goalie coordinator while handling rides, clears and the sub game.
As a player, Cassese had an impressive career representing the USA. He was named to the 2010 United States Men’s National Lacrosse Team, traveling to Manchester, England. He was named co-captain of that gold medal winning team, alongside Ryan Powell (Syracuse). That marked the third time Cassese earned a spot on the National Team. Cassese also helped the United States to the gold medal at the 2002 International Lacrosse Federation World Championships, while still an undergraduate at Duke University. He was also a member of the United States team that placed second at the 2006 ILF World Championships in London, Ontario.
Cassese is one of the most decorated student-athletes in Duke history. He was a two-time captain and three-time All-ACC selection. Cassese helped lead the Blue Devils to three NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of ACC Championships during his collegiate career. Cassese earned All-America honors on three separate occasions, including first-team accolades in 2002 and 2003. Cassese, who scored 80 goals and handed out 38 assists in his career, was a two-time Tewaaraton Trophy finalist and garnered ACC Player of the Year honors in 2001. In 2002, Cassese was the recipient of the Lt. Donald MacLaughlin, Jr. Award as the nation’s top midfielder. He was also a standout in the classroom, graduating with a 3.59 GPA while earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Duke. He was selected as a USILA Scholar All-American, ACC Academic Honor Roll member, and was named the ACC’s Weaver-James-Corrigan Honorary Award recipient for outstanding athletic and academic achievement.
After his time at Duke, Cassese continued his playing career in Major League Lacrosse for seven years. He was the second overall selection in the 2003 MLL Draft by the Rochester Rattlers. Among his professional accomplishments is earning a spot in both the 2006 and 2010 MLL All-Star Games, winning MVP of the 2016 game. Cassese was traded to the Philadelphia Barrage during the summer of 2007 (which coincided with his hiring at Lehigh) and helped lead his new team to the MLL title that year, as well as a spot in Championship Weekend in 2008.
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Cassese’s coaching career before Lehigh included a stint as an assistant coach at his alma mater from 2005-07, helping lead the Blue Devils to the 2007 National Championship Game. He also served as Duke’s interim head coach for part of the summer of 2006. Prior to Duke, Cassese spent one season at Stony Brook as an assistant where he directed the nation’s top extra man offense and helped the Seawolves to a 10-6 record in the spring of 2005.
A native of Port Jefferson Station, New York and graduate of Comsewogue High School, Cassese and his wife, Katie Granson Cassese who attended nearby Freedom High School, were married in Bethlehem in December of 2006. They had their first child, Drew, in July of 2011, their second child, Anna, in August of 2013 and third child, Claire, in July of 2016.
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2 Patriot League Offensive Players of the Year
25Â Professional Players Coached (PLL, MLL, NLL)
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Patriot League Tournament Championships – 3 (2012, 2013, 2021)
Patriot League Regular Season Championships – 3 (2012, 2013, 2021)
Patriot League Championship Game Appearances – 6 (2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021)
Patriot League Tournament Appearances – 12 (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023)
A U.S. Lacrosse National Hall of Fame inductee and Lehigh men's lacrosse's all-time wins leader, Kevin Cassese enters his 16th season as head men’s lacrosse coach in 2022. In Cassese’s time, he has led the Mountain Hawks to back-to-back Patriot League Championships – in 2012 and 2013 – followed by a third straight appearance in the league title game in 2014. Lehigh has returned to three straight championship games in 2018, 2019 and 2021. After the 2020 season was cut short in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mountain Hawks were the Patriot League’s No. 1 seed in 2021 and earned the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
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Lehigh is also the only men’s lacrosse program in the Patriot League to each of the last 10 Patriot League Tournaments.
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Entering 2022, the Mountain Hawks are ranked in the national polls for a fourth straight season. This comes after a 2021 campaign which saw Lehigh rise as high as No. 5 in the rankings. The Mountain Hawks began the season 9-0, with wins over No. 10 Loyola, No. 7 Army West Point and No. 19 Navy. Lehigh was the second-to-last team in the nation to lose a game in 2021. The Mountain Hawks finished 8-0 in the Patriot League (regular season) before beating Colgate in the semifinals. The championship game was cancelled due to a positive COVID-19 test in Loyola’s tier 1 testing pool, but Lehigh earned the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament – the second time in three all-time NCAA berths that the Mountain Hawks were seeded.
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Individually, faceoff specialist Mike Sisselberger was a first team All-American, finishing the season with an all-time NCAA record win percentage of 79.5 (225-of-283) with a program and Patriot League record 160 groundballs (in 12 games). Sisselberger was named the league’s Faceoff Specialist of the Year, becoming Lehigh’s second straight winner of that award (along with teammate Conor Gaffney). Cassese also won a major award, garnering Patriot League Coach of the Year for the second time. Goaltender James Spence and defenseman Anthony Tangredi were also named honorable mention All-Americans by various organizations. Teddy Leggett was named a Senior CLASS Award first team All-American while Gaffney was named an Academic All-American for a fourth time. Seven Mountain Hawks received All-League honors, the most honorees since 2013. As a team, Lehigh finished second nationally in groundballs per game (41.92), second in winning percentage (83.3), seventh in scoring margin (3.92), ninth in scoring offense (14.08) and 18th in scoring defense (10.17).
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Lehigh was off to a 5-1 start in 2020 (2-0 in Patriot League play) when the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mountain Hawks’ offense was averaging 14.0 goals per game (15th nationally) while their defense was allowing just 9.67 per contest (14th). Lehigh was second in groundballs per game (42.33) and eighth in faceoff win percentage (63.8). The Mountain Hawks were ranked 19th in the final Maverick Media Poll. Sophomore Tommy Schelling enjoyed a breakout season with 22 goals and 11 assists in just six games, joining Andrew Pettit and Gaffney on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. Tangredi was named an honorable mention Media All-American after finishing the shortened season second nationally in caused turnovers per contest (2.67). Gaffney was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American for a third straight year (being named to the second team).
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In the summer of 2020, Lehigh continued to make a name for itself in professional lacrosse, with alum Craig Chick and assistant coach John Crawley both playing for Atlas LC of the Premiere Lacrosse League. Pettit and Eddie Bouhall played in Major League Lacrosse, for the New York Lizards and Philadelphia Barrage, respectively.
Cassese helped the Mountain Hawks to a 9-8 record in 2019 despite several injuries to important players. Lehigh’s leading returning scorer, Pettit, suffered a season-ending injury during the preseason, with eventual All-League performers Lucas Spence and Christian McHugh missing multiple games in February. The Mountain Hawks continued to battle and it paid off in March, going a perfect 6-0 which helped them earn the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. Lehigh earned three consecutive victories over ranked opponents in that span, topping No. 16 Colgate (10-8), No. 17 Army West Point (11-8) and No. 15 Rutgers (13-10) in the span of 11 days. Also that month, Cassese won his 100th career game with a 15-8 victory at Navy. The Mountain Hawks went on to pick up a hard-fought Patriot League semifinal victory for a second straight season, topping Boston University 10-9.
As a team, the Mountain Hawks’ defense finished sixth nationally in scoring defense (9.47), the fourth time in eight years finishing top 10 in the country. Individually, Gaffney was named Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year (for a second straight season) and an Academic All-American. Gaffney broke a number of program and league records, including faceoff wins (249) and groundballs (152). His 69.7 faceoff percentage was good for fourth nationally. Gaffney was one of six Mountain Hawks named All-Patriot League for a second straight season, which included fellow first team honoree, defenseman Craig Chick. Chick continued to re-write the record books, literally, breaking the school record for caused turnovers for a third consecutive season with 42. Most notably, he ended his career with an NCAA career record 160 caused turnovers, becoming the all-time leader in the championship game vs. Army. After the season, Chick was named a second team All-American by both the USILA and Inside Lacrosse/Media, Lehigh’s highest USILA All-American in 93 years, since Hugh Robinson was named to the second team in 1926.
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Less than a month after the 2018 season, Cassese was named an inductee in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame Class following a stellar playing career at Duke, in Major League Lacrosse and for Team USA.
The 2018 season saw Lehigh jump back into the national spotlight, beginning with road wins at No. 12 Army West Point and No. 18/19 Hofstra in the span of 10 days. Earning the No. 4 seed in the league tournament, Lehigh dominated Colgate at home (11-6) then picked up a 10-9 overtime win against No. 11/13 Navy. Spence scored the game-winner less than one minute into overtime as Spence (58 points: 35 goals, 23 assists) and Pettit (66 points: 46 goals, 20 assists) combined for 124 points in 2018. Pettit, Chick and Gaffney were named first team All-Patriot League while Spence, defenseman Bouhall and Leggett earned second-team laurels. Leggett also won the Lehigh Athletics’ J. Daniel Nolan Award presented to the department’s top first-year male student-athlete.
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As a team, the Mountain Hawks led the nation in extra-man offense for the second time in seven years as Lehigh’s 63.4 percentage was good for second in NCAA history. At one point, Lehigh converted eight straight man-up opportunities and 16-of-19. The 2018 campaign marked the second time in seven seasons the Mountain Hawks led the nation in man-up offense. The other time was 2012, which featured the program’s breakthrough as Lehigh finished 14-3 and won its first-ever Patriot League Tournament Championship to advance to the program’s first NCAA Tournament. The 2012 campaign featured a school-record 14 wins, nine-game winning streak and the program’s highest-ever national ranking; Lehigh came in at No. 4 nationally in the final Coaches Poll following the regular season.
Following a home-opening loss to Villanova in 2012, Lehigh promptly won nine straight games and 13-of-14 to advance to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 7 overall seed. The Mountain Hawks hosted eventual National Finalist Maryland and gave the Terps their toughest fight on their road to the title game. Despite falling behind 6-1 in the first half, Lehigh responded with seven straight goals in front of a standing room only crowd of 2,278 at the Ulrich Sports Complex.
Lehigh posted an impressive 8-3 record against nationally-ranked foes, including a big 9-8 win at No. 4 North Carolina in March, propelling the Mountain Hawks into the national polls for the first time since 2000. Lehigh ended a number of long droughts, defeating UNC for the first time since 1951, Yale for the first time since 1918 and Penn State for the first time since 1971. A big part of the success came from the Mountain Hawks’ defense, which stood as the No. 2 scoring defense (only behind Notre Dame), holding opponents to only 6.81 goals per game. Lehigh picked up its first shutout in 40 years with a 13-0 triumph over Manhattan, allowed only two goals to VMI and five or fewer to Penn State, Navy, Holy Cross, Penn and Saint Joseph’s. Cassese was named Patriot League Coach of the Year while freshman Matt Poillon became Lehigh’s first-ever Goalkeeper of the Year. Eight cracked the All-Patriot League Team, tied for most in school history.
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In 2013, Lehigh won seven straight games, bridging the end of the regular season and Patriot League Tournament, to finish 12-5 overall, undefeated in Patriot League play and earn the right to host the league tournament. Lehigh went on to dominate Bucknell on its home turf (11-5) for its second straight league championship. The awards continued to roll in for the Mountain Hawks as Poillon was named Patriot League Goalie of the Year for a second straight season and a school-record four players were named USILA All-Americans, breaking the record of three set a season prior. In addition, the Mountain Hawks placed a league-best three players on the Academic All-Patriot League Team.
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The success continued into 2014 as the Mountain Hawks won 13 games, just one shy of tying the school record set just two years prior. Lehigh earned a thrilling 7-6 triple overtime victory over No. 20 Villanova in February and earned convincing league wins over Bucknell (9-3), Navy (13-2), Holy Cross (20-4) and Lafayette (17-6). The Mountain Hawks defeated Navy in the Patriot League Quarterfinals at home before earning a 12-11 semifinal victory over Army behind a Reid Weber goal with just three seconds remaining.
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Several Mountain Hawks enjoyed breakout seasons, led by attackman Dan Taylor who recorded 45 points over his last seven games to finish with 76 points, which far and away led the Patriot League and was most among Canadian players in all of Division I Lacrosse. Taylor was named a first team All-Patriot League honoree, as was defenseman Tripp Telesco. Three others were named All-League while Poillon, Taylor and Telesco were named honorable mention All-Americans as well.
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After struggling to begin 2015, the Mountain Hawks ended the season on a high note, winning five of their last six regular season games, defeating a pair of nationally-ranked opponents in a five-day span (No. 14 Princeton and No. 18 Stony Brook). Taylor enjoyed another sensational season, posting 77 points to earn Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year honors and honorable mention All-America recognition. Meanwhile, a young team in 2016 went on to advance to the program’s sixth straight Patriot League Tournament, finishing 4-4 in league play highlighted by a thrilling 8-7 win at No. 20 Boston University. Lehigh’s 2017 season was highlighted by two consecutive home wins over nationally-ranked foes, defeating No. 16/18 Boston University (10-6) and No. 13/14 Princeton (15-10) while earning a 9-6 home victory over rival Bucknell on Senior Night to earn the program’s seventh straight Patriot League Tournament berth.
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Setting the stage for the program’s breakthrough of 2012, the Mountain Hawks jumped squarely into the national lacrosse picture in 2011 by not only qualifying for the Patriot League postseason, but also proving they could compete with anyone in the country. Lehigh advanced to its first Patriot League Tournament since 2006. The Mountain Hawks got off to a quick 3-1 start, which included a 14-10 triumph over Navy, the program’s first victory over the Midshipmen in nearly 100 years. Lehigh posted the nation’s eighth biggest improvement in 2011, according to LaxPower.com’s computer rankings, which takes into account many of the factors used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
In his first four years at Lehigh, Cassese mentored a total of nine All-Patriot League honorees, including four in 2011. Faceoff specialist Ryan Snyder cracked the first team after winning 61.6 percent of his draws and scooping a then-Patriot League record 118 groundballs. Jonathan Stumpf was not only named to the second team, but also became Lehigh’s first-ever CoSIDA Academic All-American while being named a Senior CLASS Award first team All-American, USILA Scholar All-American and Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Stumpf (along with teammate and current Lehigh assistant coach Will Scudder) also played in the USILA North-South All-Star Game where he netted the eventual game-winning goal for the South.
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Under Cassese’s watch, Lehigh has sent several players to professional lacrosse. Nine have been selected in the Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft since 2013 while multiple others have been picked in the player pool. Roman Lao-Gosney (Florida) played in more than 50 career games since while twin brother Cameron, Mike Noone and Noah Molnar were all veterans of the league. Molnar won an MLL Championship in 2016 and Noone in 2017. In addition, Taylor was the first selection of defending National Lacrosse League Champion Saskatchewan Rush in the 2015 NLL Collegiate Draft. He was picked 12th overall and went on to win NLL Championships with Saskatchewan in 2016 and Calgary in 2019.
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Cassese’s players have been involved in US Lacrosse as well as defenseman Ty Souders tried out for the U.S. Under-19 Team as part of a three-day training camp at UMBC. Cameron and Roman Lao-Gosney also participated in numerous scrimmages for Team USA, beginning with the Capital Lacrosse Classic on Oct. 7, 2012. In the summer and fall of 2019, Cole Kirst impressed at U.S. Under-19 Team tryout process as well.
On a personal level, Cassese made his coaching debut for US Lacrosse at the 2014 World Lacrosse Championships in Denver, serving as an assistant coach under Team USA head coach Richie Meade (Furman), alongside assistants Dave Pietramala (Johns Hopkins) and Jeff Tambroni (Penn State). Cassese’s responsibilities included faceoff coordinator and goalie coordinator while handling rides, clears and the sub game.
As a player, Cassese had an impressive career representing the USA. He was named to the 2010 United States Men’s National Lacrosse Team, traveling to Manchester, England. He was named co-captain of that gold medal winning team, alongside Ryan Powell (Syracuse). That marked the third time Cassese earned a spot on the National Team. Cassese also helped the United States to the gold medal at the 2002 International Lacrosse Federation World Championships, while still an undergraduate at Duke University. He was also a member of the United States team that placed second at the 2006 ILF World Championships in London, Ontario.
Cassese is one of the most decorated student-athletes in Duke history. He was a two-time captain and three-time All-ACC selection. Cassese helped lead the Blue Devils to three NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of ACC Championships during his collegiate career. Cassese earned All-America honors on three separate occasions, including first-team accolades in 2002 and 2003. Cassese, who scored 80 goals and handed out 38 assists in his career, was a two-time Tewaaraton Trophy finalist and garnered ACC Player of the Year honors in 2001. In 2002, Cassese was the recipient of the Lt. Donald MacLaughlin, Jr. Award as the nation’s top midfielder. He was also a standout in the classroom, graduating with a 3.59 GPA while earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Duke. He was selected as a USILA Scholar All-American, ACC Academic Honor Roll member, and was named the ACC’s Weaver-James-Corrigan Honorary Award recipient for outstanding athletic and academic achievement.
After his time at Duke, Cassese continued his playing career in Major League Lacrosse for seven years. He was the second overall selection in the 2003 MLL Draft by the Rochester Rattlers. Among his professional accomplishments is earning a spot in both the 2006 and 2010 MLL All-Star Games, winning MVP of the 2016 game. Cassese was traded to the Philadelphia Barrage during the summer of 2007 (which coincided with his hiring at Lehigh) and helped lead his new team to the MLL title that year, as well as a spot in Championship Weekend in 2008.
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Cassese’s coaching career before Lehigh included a stint as an assistant coach at his alma mater from 2005-07, helping lead the Blue Devils to the 2007 National Championship Game. He also served as Duke’s interim head coach for part of the summer of 2006. Prior to Duke, Cassese spent one season at Stony Brook as an assistant where he directed the nation’s top extra man offense and helped the Seawolves to a 10-6 record in the spring of 2005.
A native of Port Jefferson Station, New York and graduate of Comsewogue High School, Cassese and his wife, Katie Granson Cassese who attended nearby Freedom High School, were married in Bethlehem in December of 2006. They had their first child, Drew, in July of 2011, their second child, Anna, in August of 2013 and third child, Claire, in July of 2016.
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