Lehigh University
Denver
Fourth quarter comeback falls one goal short
3/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
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DENVER, Colo. – Down four goals entering the fourth quarter Lehigh scored three unanswered goals to pull within one, but that was as close as the Mountain Hawks would get as they fell to Denver 8-7 on Sunday afternoon at the DU Face-Off Classic. Senior Brian Bienemann netted two scores for the Brown and White who falls to 2-3 following the loss, while Cameron Flint scored three times for the Pioneers who improve to 2-3 after the win.
“I thought we competed very well all weekend long,” Mountain Hawks head coach Kevin Cassese said afterwards. “In our eighth quarter of the weekend, in the fourth quarter today against Denver, we outscored them 3-0 and out shot them 8-1 so I was pleased that our guys competed until the end. We came out here to find an identity and I’m very happy with where we are right now.”
Lehigh unleashed 30 shots on the afternoon, led by Bienemann with six, while Jonathan Stumpf was credited with five. Ryan Snyder had another strong day in the X for Lehigh as he won 7-of-14 face-offs and scooped up four ground balls. Evan Guerrero and Kyle Gentile scooped up three ground balls apiece and Guerrero caused a team-high three turnovers. Freshman Dan Carr made nine saves in net for the Mountain Hawks, playing the entire 60 minutes. “The emergence of Ryan Snyder this weekend should pay huge dividends for us as we get ready for these upcoming games,” Cassese explained. “Will Scudder has been such a tremendous leader and great for us in the X, and now to add Ryan into the mix is just one more strong option we can turn to.”
The Pioneers were credited with 22 shots, led by Flint and Alex Demopoulos with six apiece. Chase Carraro won 10-of-19 in the X and also scooped up eight ground balls, while Dillon Roy registered five ground balls on the day. Zander Buteux stopped nine shots in goal for the Pioneers and four different Denver players registered an assist.
Denver scored the game’s first goal when Demopoulos beat Carr with a goal at the 11:30 mark of the first, but the Mountain Hawks quickly tied things at one with Bienemann scored a goal of his own Lehigh took its first lead of the day when Jonathan Stumpf found the back of the net off a feed from Hess and the Mountain Hawks were in front 2-1 with 6:31 to go in the opening quarter. That proved to be the final goal of the opening 15 minutes.
After nearly nine minutes of scoreless lacrosse in the second quarter, Denver’s offense came to life and scored four straight goals to take a 5-2 lead at halftime. The Pioneers’ final goal of the quarter came with 2:06 to play and was scored by Cameron Flint.
Demopoulos added to Denver’s lead with a goal just over a minute into the third but Cameron Lao-Gosney brough the Mountain Hawks within three with a score at the 11:34 mark. Cameron Kerr quickly answered for the Pioneers, however and Lehigh found itself down 7-3 with 10:31 remaining in the third. Bienemann made it a three-goal game with his second score of the day; this one came with 6:44 on the quarter clock and came on the man-up for Lehigh. Hayden Schuette’s goal with 3:49 to play in the quarter gave the Pioneers an 8-4 lead, which is how the game remained heading into the fourth quarter.
Alex Drake pulled Lehigh within three with a score three minutes into the fourth, and Roman Lao-Gosney made it a two-goal game with his fifth score of the season with 9:24 to play. Adam Johnston then made things very interesting when he scored with 2:57 to play and Lehigh was down just one. The Mountain Hawks were unable to get any closer however and had to settle for a split on their trip to Denver.
Following the Face-Off Classic, Cameron Lao-Gosney and Guerrero were named to the All-Tournament Team. “I thought both of those guys played very well for us all weekend,” Cassese said. “I thought Brian Bienemann had two strong games for us with five goals and an assist throughout the weekend and Roman Lao-Gosney also had a good performance for us.”
The Mountain Hawks will remain in Denver on Sunday evening and head back to Bethlehem on Monday. Then it’s right back to work on Tuesday as the Brown and White prepares for its next game, which will take place on Saturday.
Lehigh will be back in action on Saturday, March 13 when the Mountain Hawks return home to face the Yale Bulldogs at the Ulrich Sports Complex. The opening face-off is set for 1:00 and all of the action will be broadcast live on Lehighsports.com.
