Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh takes on fourth ranked team, No. 20 'Nova
3/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh begins a tough four game road trip on Saturday as the Mountain Hawks head south to take on the No. 20 Villanova Wildcats, the fourth ranked opponent the Brown and White will have played this season. Lehigh will look to bounce back from a 10-8 setback versus No. 15 Navy on Tuesday at home, in a game that senior Ricky Cornetta scored a hat trick and dished out a pair of assists. Villanova meanwhile suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday dropping a 10-8 decision at home versus in-state foe Penn State. The Wildcats trailed from start to finish in that game, getting no closer than the final two goal margin.
Lehigh got off to a strong start on Tuesday, jumping out to a 5-1 lead over the Midshipmen midway through the second quarter. Cornetta scored twice during that run, while Rich Bradley netted his first score of the season in what was his first action in 2009. After Navy surged in front 8-5 the Mountain Hawks refused to go away quietly, closing to within 8-6 with just over one minute remaining in the third quarter. A pair of fourth quarter scores brought the Brown and White within two, but that was as close as the Mountain Hawks would get.
Cornetta is the Mountain Hawks leading point scorer through six games with 18, which includes ten goals and a team leading eight assists. Two other Mountain Hawks, Brian Bienemann and Chris Lubin have also tallied double digit goals with ten each. Evan Guerrero continues to lead Lehigh in ground balls (21) and caused turnovers (22), while Will Scudder is the team’s leading face-off man, having won 45-of-81 (.556%). Conor Murphy has assumed the starting goal keeper position and sent back 35 shots in 210 minutes of action, including a combined 21 in Lehigh’s last two contests.
Villanova began the year with four straight wins over Rutgers, Lafayette, Penn and Binghamton before falling to the Nittany Lions on Tuesday. The Wildcats have been getting the job done with their defense, holding opponents to six goals per game in the early going, including a combined four in the fourth quarter. Penn State was the first team to record double digit goals versus Villanova.
Tim Driscoll leads the Wildcats with 12 goals, while Matthew Fritts has scored eight times. Chris MacDonald (eight), Mike Brennan (eight) and Paul Webber (seven) lead the team in assists and T.J. O’Donnell has won 27-of-57 in the X (.474%). Brian Karalunas has scooped up a team best 19 ground balls and Chris Fricke and O’Donnell are next in line with 14. In goal for Villanova, Andrew DiLoreto has stopped 40 shots in 296 minutes of action, posting a save percentage of 57.1%. Saturday’s game is the second of three straight home contests for the Wildcats after playing three of their first four on the road.
Lehigh and Villanova have played 25 previous times with the Wildcats holding a 14-11 advantage. The teams have split the last four meetings with the Mountain Hawks earning a 9-8 win last season in Bethlehem.
Saturday’s game will get underway at 1:00 from Villanova, Pennsylvania.
