Mountain Hawks set to meet No. 6 Navy on Friday
3/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Lehigh is led on offense by senior captain Andrew Lucas, who has already scored 23 goals this season, and needs just two more to bring his career total to 100. Lucas scored six goals in the Brown and White’s victory over Penn last week and also scored six goals in a win over Marist in late February, which earned Lucas Patriot League Player of the Week honors. Lucas is currently second in the nation in goals per game (3.29), behind Duke’s Zack Greer.
Fellow senior captain Greg Morin has also had a solid start to the season, totaling 16 goals, four assists and 14 ground balls. Junior Tom Weiss leads Lehigh in face-off percentage and is among the leaders in the Patriot League, as he has won 42 of 67, good for a percentage of .627.
In goal for the Brown and White, freshman Eric Spirko has seen over 345 minutes of action, and he has sent back 64 shots. His save percentage is currently .577 and the
Lehigh head coach Chris Wakely is excited for the chance to play against a powerhouse like Navy. “They (Navy) are the defending National Runner-up. They were one goal away from winning the title a year ago (against
Asked if the eight-day layoff between games is a good thing for Lehigh, Wakely responded: “Yes and no. The kids will obviously be rested, but it’s tough to mimic game time competition in practice, so we’ll see once the first quarter gets underway. We’ll be ready though, the kids are excited and we’re looking forward to it.”
Navy, who played in the National Championship game last season, has relied on its defense all season long, as the Midshipmen are allowing just 4.67 goals this season, which leads both the Patriot League and the country. The Mids also lead the league in shots per game (41.17), face-off percentage (.676), and save percentage (.632). On offense, junior Jon Birsner is coming off an eight assist performance against Colgate in Navy’s last game on March 19, and currently leads the team with 18 points and 15 assists. Steve Looney has scored 13 goals thus far, and was named the Inside Lacrosse National Player of the Week on March 7.
In goal for the Mids, junior Matt Russell was the recipient of the Kelly Award last season, given to the nation’s top goaltender. Russell was also a First-Team All-American and is allowing just 4.76 goals per contest this season, which is first in
Friday’s game gets underway at
