Mountain Hawks join the fight in fall finale
10/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh closes out its 2008 fall season on October 11 as the Mountain Hawks travel to Folsom, Pennsylvania along with 12 other schools for a great day of lacrosse, but more importantly a day to come together in the fight against Blood Cancer. Lehigh will be competing in the Second Annual Nick Colleluori Classic Tournament on the campus of Ridley High School to help raise money for the HEADstrong Foundation, which is dedicated to the memory of Nick Colleluori, who lost his fight with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on November 28, 2006. Colleluori is a graduate of Ridley High School and played his collegiate lacrosse at Hofstra University.
"I speak on behalf of the entire Lehigh Lacrosse Program when I say we are extremely proud to take part in the Second Annual Nick Colleluori Classic” Mountain Hawks head coach Kevin Cassese explained. “This tournament makes perfect sense for our program for a variety of reasons... First of all, the cause is a great one, as all tournament proceeds will go to the HEADstrong Foundation to help the fight against Blood Cancer. Second, it will be great to play in the Philadelphia area as many of our current players and recruits are Philly area natives. Lastly, the tournament field is an extremely competitive one and our three games on the day will provide a nice challenge in our final day of the 2008 fall lacrosse season."
The HEADstrong Foundation is dedicated to Nick Colleluori’s life. He battled cancer for 14 months, which included chemotherapy, a stem-cell transplant and extensive radiation treatment. It was Nick’s vision to establish this foundation to raise awareness and help others affected by this disease. The mission of the Foundation is to support and raise funds for Blood Cancer cure, treatment and research, and also to raise public awareness about Blood Cancers and to educate and encourage others to do the same.
Lehigh will join in the fight on Saturday afternoon and take to the field for a trio of games, beginning at noon versus Haverford. At 1:00, the Mountain Hawks will take on Bellarmine, while at 2:30, the Brown and White closes out the day versus in-state foe Penn State. Other schools participating in the event include Cabrini College, Drexel, Hofstra, Loyola College, Maryland, Penn, Princeton, St. Joseph’s and Widener.
This weekend will wrap up a fall season for Cassese and the Mountain Hawks that included the highly successful Community Night on October 3, as well as the annual alumni game that same night. Lehigh has been hard at work in preparation for the 2009 season since early September and following this weekend, will shift into its winter training mode, with the focus turning to weight lifting, speed training and skill development.
For more information on the HEADstrong Foundation, click on the link above.
