Lehigh University
Delaware
Delaware rallies past Lehigh in season opener
2/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Bethlehem, PA – Lehigh built a 3-1 advantage halfway through the second quarter, but the Mountain Hawks could not hold on as Delaware spoiled Lehigh’s 2004 debut with a 5-3 victory at the Ulrich Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon.
The Mountain Hawks’ leading returning scorer from a season ago – Andrew Lucas – got the scoring started less than five minutes into the contest, scoring an unassisted goal to give Lehigh a 1-0 lead. The Mountain Hawks built a two-goal advantage less than 90 seconds later when Greg Morin scored off a feed from Stephen Marino.
Leading 2-1 in the second, Morin scored for the second time on the afternoon, this time thanks to an assist from Blake Best. Two late Blue Hens goals in the second quarter sent the game into halftime tied at 3-3.
In the second half, Delaware continued to pound the ball on the Lehigh net, and the end result was two more Delaware goals. Matt Alrich, who assisted on two of Delaware’s first three goals, scored twice in the second half to propel the Blue Hens to the victory.
“Midway through the third period, that’s where things started to slip away,” said Lehigh head coach Chris Wakely. “Turnovers, penalties, and things we didn’t do well started to hurt us. Ultimately, that’s what cost us the game.”
On the afternoon, Delaware racked up 49 shots, compared to 16 for the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh goalie Tom Ellis made 20 saves on the afternoon. For Delaware, Chris Collins recorded seven saves in the victory.
“Our young guys played pretty well, especially early” Wakely added. “We just need to carry that intensity over for the entire 60 minutes.”
The Mountain Hawks return to action on Sunday, February 29, when Lehigh visits Villanova. Game time is set for 1:00 from Villanova, Pa.
