Lehigh University
Hobart
Lehigh falls in Patriot League opener
3/13/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Bethlehem, PA – Lehigh fell in its Patriot League opener on Saturday afternoon 11-4 versus Hobart at the Ulrich Sports Complex. The Mountain Hawks fell behind early and were down 9-0 at one point, and just could not overcome the rough start. With the loss, Lehigh falls to 0-5 on the season, 0-1 in the Patriot League, while Hobart improves to 2-1 on the year and 2-0 in league action.
Chris Scanlon got the day started for Hobart with a goal just 1:30 into the game off of an assist from Nate Molinari, and the Statesmen were ahead 1-0. From there, Lehigh played tough defense and kept Hobart out of the goal until just under five minutes remained in the first quarter, when Nate Hill scored to make it a 2-0 affair. The Mountain Hawks continued to play tough defense and had several scoring opportunities, but just could not find the back of the net.
The Mountain Hawks eventually got on the board in the third quarter when David Walsh scored his second goal of the season from a feed by Mike Osborne at the 5:52 mark. The Brown and White followed that up with two more scores, one by Blake Best (1:29) and another by David Gaunt (11:39 of the fourth). Stephen Marino assisted both Lehigh goals.
For the game, Hobart outshot Lehigh 40-36, but the Mountain Hawks scooped up 16 groundballs to Hobart’s 12, led by Jeff King’s game-high nine. In goal for Lehigh, Tom Ellis stopped 18 shots on the afternoon, while Statesmen goalie Dan Valente stopped 12 shots and Mike DeSantis sent back two.
Head Coach Chris Wakely did see some things that he liked out there and is pleased with how his team continues to improve each game. “We had a lot of good things happen out there today,” Wakely said, “Jeff King played a heck of a game for us in just his fifth game on defense. Their goalie came out and made some really great saves, and that could have changed a few things if we had been able to slip one of those in there at the beginning.” Wakely concludes, “Hobart plays a real up tempo style and they continue to put pressure on the opponent. They created many opportunities for themselves and were able to take advantage.”
Lehigh returns to action next Saturday when the Mountain Hawks travel to New York to take on Stony Brook. That game is scheduled to begin at 1:00.
