Mountain Hawks meet Mids in semifinals Friday

4/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh (8-6 overall, 4-2 Patriot League) heads to Hamilton, New York this weekend for the 2006 Patriot League Tournament.  The Mountain Hawks have now made back-to-back tournament appearances, and are looking for their first Patriot League Championship since 1999.  Lehigh enters the tournament as the number-three seed, and will take on the second-seeded Navy Midshipmen (9-3 overall, 5-1 PL) in one semifinal matchup on Friday evening, with the top-seed and host Colgate Raiders going up against the No. 4 seed Army in the other semifinal.  The Mountain Hawks defeated Army earlier this season in Bethlehem (8-7), but fell to Navy (9-4) and Colgate (11-10 OT), with both of those contests taking place on the road. 

 

Both Lehigh and Navy feature very stingy defenses.  Lehigh’s 7.05 goals against average this season is its lowest since the inception of Patriot League play, and currently ranks seventh in the nation.  The lowest GAA the Mountain Hawks had under head coach Chris Wakely prior to this season was 8.35 in 2005.  The Mids meanwhile are first in America allowing just 5.5 goals per game with senior All-American goal keeper Matt Russell leading all net minders with a 5.45 GAA.

 

On offense, the Mountain Hawks will look to its junior trio of Blake Best, Stephen Marino and Alec Hooff as well as seniors Jeff Wiener and Mike Moran to lead the way.  Best is fourth in the Patriot League in goals and points, while Marino is second in points and third in assists.  Hooff has come on strong of late, netting five goals in his last three games, including a hat trick in Lehigh’s game versus No. 17 Notre Dame, and Wiener has had an outstanding senior season, having scored 17 goals, including the game-winner with seven ticks remaining versus No. 14 Army earlier this season.  Moran has been a pleasant surprise in the midfield for the Brown and White, netting 11 goals and handing out five assists this season.

 

Navy’s offense features the goal scoring prowess of Ian Dingman, who is second in the league with 25, and the play-making ability of Jon Birsner, who leads the league in assists with 29 and points with 43.  The Mids can also look to Nick Mirabito (19 goals, 10 assists) for help on the offensive end.

 

Friday’s game will also feature a nice matchup in the face-off X, as Lehigh’s Tom Weiss and Navy’s William Wallace are two of the best in the league at their respective trades.  Weiss is ranked 23rd in America and third in the league in face-off win percentage at .530 (132-249), while Wallace checks in at number-two in the league and 19th in the country with a .567 win percentage (102-180).

 

The Mountain Hawks have won 17 games over the past two seasons.  Those are the most victories in a two-year span since winning 17 combined contests in 1997 (11) and 1998 (6).

 

Navy enters the tournament for the first time as the number-two seed after hosting each of the first two Patriot League Tournaments in Annapolis.  The Midshipmen have won both of the previous two tournaments, downing the Mountain Hawks 10-6 in a semifinal showdown last season.  The Mids, who shared the 2006 Patriot League regular season crown with Colgate, have beaten Lehigh 20 straight times, and have lost only once to the Brown and White in 24 all-time meetings.

 

Lehigh’s semifinal contest with Navy is scheduled to get underway at 7:00 from Tyler’s Field.  All of the action will be broadcast live on lehighsports.com with streaming powered by Yahoo! Sports.  Steve Lomangino will provide the commentary.  Colgate and Army will get the day started with the first semifinal, beginning at 4:00.

 

Photos Copyright (2006), Walt Young.

Related Links

Skip Ad

Related Videos

Skip Ad
All Videos
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Lacrosse
Thursday, April 24
2025 Season Preview: Men's Lacrosse
Friday, January 31
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Lacrosse
Wednesday, April 10
All Videos