Lowe finishes season atop scoring charts
9/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
As can be expected of any team relying on so many young players, the 2003 season had its ups and downs for Lehigh’s men’s lacrosse team. In the end, the team finished with an identical record as in 2002, and again Tony Lowe put prolific scoring numbers on the board, this time topping the nation’s scoring charts. Lehigh started the season 3-1 after wins over Marist, Wagner and VMI wrapped around a loss to Villanova. Lehigh then hit the heart of its schedule playing six of the RPI’s top 25 in its final nine games. The Mountain Hawks showed their youth, winning only twice to finish at 5-9 overall and 2-4 in the Patriot League. Lehigh showed flashes in most of the contests, but the Mountain Hawks never seemed to be quite able to put an entire four quarters together against the top foes. Although the team had the same record as the previous season, Lowe, a senior attacker, did not end his career quietly. Starting with contest against Yale on April 5, Lowe scored at least four goals in all but one of the team’s final five games. In a 15-11 loss against Penn on April 15, Lowe nearly brought the Mountain Hawks’ back from behind by himself. He scored four goals and assisted on another in the last 10:28, as Lehigh scored the game’s final six in a late comeback run. At the end of the game, Lowe had scored seven goals, just one short of the Patriot League record. In all, he scored nine points and shot a perfect 7-for-7. He also tied the high for goals in a game in the entire country. In the next game, he became the only player to do it more than once in 2003. Up next was rival Lafayette. Lehigh was in the midst of a four game losing streak entering the game, and fell behind early 4-2. At halftime, the Mountain Hawks trailed 7-5, but the second half saw Lowe get hot once again and the Lehigh defense step up. Lowe scored four goals over the final two periods to turn in his second consecutive seven goal game. The Mountain Hawks also held the Leopards scoreless over the game’s final 24:43 on their way to a 12-8 victory. After the back-to-back seven goal games, Lowe was named the Patriot League’s Offensive Player of the Week. Entering the season finale against No. 20 Bucknell, Lowe had scored 39 goals, more goals than any other Division I player. Lehigh had trouble cracking the nation’s seventh ranked scoring defense, but Lowe scored four of Lehigh’s five goals in the 15-5 loss. Lowe finished the season with seven more goals than any player at the Division I level. He also is the only player to top 40 goals with 43 and the only one to average at least 3.0 per game, at 3.07. While head coach Chris Wakely will need to replace all of Lowe’s goals and the 79 ground balls by fellow senior Scott Carpenter, the cupboard is far from bare as every other scorer from 2003 returns. Sophomore Andrew Lucas scored more goals than Lowe in 2002 and added 21 more this season. Classmate Greg Morin had 24 assists on the season, third in the league, including four performances with at least three helpers. Athletic freshman Jeff King was among the team leaders several statistical categories from his midfield position. Classmates Connor McCarthy, Mike McConnell and Jeff Weiner all gained valuable experience and were near the top of the team scoring charts. On the defensive end, sophomore goalkeeper Tom Ellis has played the vast majority of time in cage during his two years on campus and figures to improve further in 2004. Freshman Tom Weiss held his own on face-offs and was second on the team in ground balls. Another freshman, Stephen Nye, and junior Chip Freeman also return to bolster the back line. For more information, please contact
