Lehigh closes out league play vs. No. 10 Bucknell
4/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
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Lehigh was last in action on April 5 when the Mountain Hawks lost a hard-fought 5-3 affair versus Colgate in
Cornetta leads Lehigh with 22 points, while Max Dahlem has scored a team-best 15 goals. Senior Fred Cassilly is the third Mountain Hawk with double digit goals (10) and he has also handed out seven assists.
The Mountain Hawks defense has gotten stronger and stingier as the season has moved along. In its last six games, Lehigh has allowed an average of just six goals per contest, holding three opponents to five goals or less in that time.
Seniors Tom Allen and Dan Honeywell anchor the Lehigh “D” with 75 ground balls and 23 caused turnovers between them, while sophomore Evan Guerrero has added 15 ground balls and two caused turnovers. Lehigh’s man-down defense continues to be among the strongest in
In the X, senior Stuart Baxter has won 81-of-162 face-offs and scooped up a team-best 54 ground balls, while Spirko has totaled 108 saves in 724 minutes of action in goal, posting a save percentage of .529 in that time.
Bucknell enters Friday’s game having won its last three games, including two straight league victories against Holy Cross and Army. The Bison have lost just twice this season, to nationally ranked Duke and Navy, both coming on the road.
Bucknell is led on offense by Austin Winter with 11 goals and 20 assists, while Tim Brandau has added 20 goals and Joe Mele has found the back of the net 17 times. Mele leads the Bison with three game-winning goals and six man-up scores.
Billy Haire leads the team in ground balls with 35, while Michael Cooke has scooped up 27 of his own. In goal, Nick Sciubba has stopped 89 shots in 530 minutes of work, having faced 248 shots in that time. His 7.01 goals against average ranks 11th nationally, while as a team the Bison are 14th in the country allowing just 7.3 goals per game.
Friday marks the 39th meeting all-time between these league foes with Bucknell enjoying a 28-10 advantage. The Bison won last year’s meeting 11-5 in Lewisburg, but the Mountain Hawks came away victorious in the last meeting in Bethlehem by a 7-5 count in 2006.
Friday’s game is slated to begin at 7:30 from the Ulrich Sports Complex. Complete audio and video coverage of the match will be available on Lehighsports.com with Steve Lomangino and former Lehigh head coach Chris Wakely providing the commentary.
