Lehigh opens league slate vs. No. 18 Navy
3/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - After a postponed game against Villanova that was supposed to take place this past weekend, the Lehigh men’s lacrosse team is now ready to open its 2010 home and Patriot League schedule against the No. 18 Navy Midshipmen on Tuesday evening. The Mountain Hawks are coming off of a long break, having not played in over a week. In their last game against North Carolina on February 20, sophomore Adam Johnston scored two goals, while Alex Drake, Dante Fantoni, and Roman Lao-Gosney all recorded one goal and one assist apiece. Through two games Lehigh’s offense has been led by its younger players, with 11 of the Mountain Hawks’ 12 goals scored by freshmen or sophomores.
“I would expect our team to be very excited to play tomorrow night,” head coach Kevin Cassese explained. “It has been a long week and a half lay-off for the guys, with the cancellation of the Villanova game, and I can tell they are chomping at the bit.”
He added, “During this lay-off, fundamentals have been at the forefront for this team. In general, stick work and foot work are lacking for most teams in the early season. Navy has struggled with this in their first few games, as have we. I believe that the team that can limit unforced errors and value the ball will have the upper hand in this one.”
While Lehigh’s offense has been led by its younger players, the Mountain Hawks defense continues to follow the lead of senior captain Evan Guerrero, who has totaled four caused turnovers and five ground balls through two games. Newcomers Baxter Lanius and Mike Noone have caused two turnovers apiece for Lehigh and Ben Kelley is the leader in ground balls among field players with six.
In the X for Lehigh, junior Will Scudder has won 22-of-34 face-offs, good for 65%, while freshman Dan Carr has started both games in goal and sent back 17 shots during that time.
Tuesday will be the fourth game for Navy, who is coming off of an 11-4 loss to North Carolina. Seniors Joe Lennon, Evan Sullivan, and Basil Daratsos each recorded one goal for Navy, along with sophomore Taylor Cook. The only two assists were produced by senior Patrick Moran.
Navy finished with an overall record of 11-5 and a Patriot League record of 4-2 in the 2009 season. After coming in third in the Patriot League during the regular season, Navy earned a spot in the playoffs. The Midshipmen won the Patriot League Tournament Title with an upset of number two seed, Colgate, 9-8 in triple overtime during the semifinals, and a 9-8 victory over the number one seed, Bucknell, in the championship game.
In the matchup between Lehigh and Navy last season, Navy walked away with a 10-8 victory over the Mountain Hawks. Four Lehigh players found the back of the net in that game, including Adam Johnston with three goals, and Richard Bradley and Brian Bienemann each with one. Navy now leads the all-time series 28-1 with Lehigh’s last and only win coming in 1913.
Tuesday’s game gets underway at 7:00 from Frank A. Banko ’41 Field at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Live coverage of the game will be shown on Lehighsports.com.
