Mountain Hawks hungry and determined
1/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
The Lehigh men’s lacrosse team looks ahead to the 2004 season with high expectations of challenging for a Patriot League title and an appearance in the NCAA tournament. Returning are 15 letterwinners from last season’s campaign and nine of 11 starters, along with eight senior athletes. Last season the team went 5-9 for the second year in a row and finished fifth in the Patriot League. This year the Mountain Hawks will continue to rebuild the program to 1999 form, when they last captured the Patriot League title and earned an NCAA tournament appearance. The experienced team will also consist of a strong and versatile recruiting class, with 20 incoming freshman, who will provide relief to the upperclassmen and learn the Lehigh lacrosse system this season. Head coach Chris Wakely says, “I am very excited about the freshman class we are bringing in this year. The athletes bring athletic ability and depth to the bench.” Leading the offense will be junior Andrew Lucas who led all returning players in goals last season, netting 21. As a freshman, Lucas led the team and the Patriot League with 41 goals. Players who will contribute to the offense this season will be junior Greg Morin, who led the Mountain Hawks with 24 assists last season and chipped in nine goals, and sophomore Connor McCarthy, who was third on the squad with 13 goals last year. Junior midfielder Mike McConnell will also be a big part the offense, last season he ranked third on the team in points with 17, scoring 9 goals and adding 8 assists. Other key members of the offense returning this season will be senior Mike Titus and sophomore Jeff King who each scored eight goals and added two assists last season and sophomore Jeff Weiner who had five goals and eight assists. The defensive unit will be lead by senior Chip Freeman, who is a solid team leader on and off the field. Senior Evan Philcox will also be a major part of the defense this season, often defending the oppositions top player. Accompanying Chip and Evan on the defensive end of the field will be senior Jim Baran and sophomores Kevin Hartman, Stephen Nye and Eric Thelen. Standout junior goalie Tom Ellis, who notched 136 saves last season, will look to have another impressive year for the Mountain Hawks. Competing for playing time behind Ellis will be freshmen Paul Bottinelli and Dusty Granet.
