Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh welcomes No. 9 North Carolina for nationally televised showdown
4/16/2011 10:45:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's lacrosse team looks to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss to No. 12 Bucknell when it hosts No. 9 North Carolina on Sunday afternoon in Goodman Stadium. Opening faceoff is set for 12 p.m. and will air live nation-wide on CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan and Matt Danowski calling the action.
Tickets are only $5 for the general public, faculty and staff while students, groups and senior citizens are $3. It will also be Community Day as the local youth and high school teams are encouraged to utilize the special group rate of $3. STX will also be in attendance. Sunday will mark Lehigh's first game in Goodman Stadium since the 1990s. The last confirmed game in the stadium came in 1997. The squad did play the entire 1995 and '96 seasons there as well.
The ninth-ranked Tar Heels (8-4) mark the Mountain Hawks' first top-10 opponent since Mar. 22 at No. 8 Army. Lehigh's last win over a top-10 foe came last April when it defeated No. 9 Villanova in thrilling fashion. Sophomore Dante Fantoni scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime to give the Mountain Hawks a 15-14 victory and hand the Wildcats a crushing blow to their NCAA Tournament aspirations.
Lehigh enters on a tough three-game losing streak, dropping a trio of close games against ranked foes. Last time out, Lehigh fell victim to a furious Bucknell rally as the Bison scored the game's final five goals to steal a 12-11 victory. Sophomore David DiMaria paced the offense with a career-high tying five points (two goals, three assists) while sophomore Griffin Farha made his first-career start in goal, making 13 saves. Sophomore Ryan Snyder also posted six groundballs to eclipse 100 for the season. He now stands at 102, a full 69 ahead of junior Cameron Lao-Gosney, who is second with 33.
The Mountain Hawk defense has continued to impress, including Friday when it allowed only one Bucknell goal in the game's first 22:37. That included two scoreless streaks of 12:41 and 9:56, respectively. In addition, Lehigh kept the Bison off the scoreboard for a 9:02 stretch bridging the third and fourth quarters.
North Carolina has enjoyed its ups and downs this season, coming in with an 8-4 record and a No. 9 national ranking in the USILA Coaches Poll (and 10th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll). The Tar Heels started the season with a slim three-goal win over Robert Morris before dropping a 13-8 final at Ohio State. The squad responded with a four-game winning streak, which included victories over Navy (10-8), UMBC (13-9), Penn (12-6) and Princeton (9-5). UNC's other losses have come to Duke (14-9), Johns Hopkins (10-9) and Virginia (11-10) while its best win came against fourth-ranked Maryland. Lehigh and North Carolina have faced three common opponents this season, with each winning two-of-three. Both lost at Ohio State while defeating Navy and Presbyterian.
Leading the way offensively is Nicky Galasso with a team-high 44 points via 18 goals and 26 assists. Billy Bitter leads the way in goal-scoring with 21 while Marcus Holman is right behind him with 20. Ryan Flanagan leads the way on the defensive end with 33 groundballs and a team-high 22 caused turnovers. R.G. Kennan has been stellar at the faceoff X, winning 150-of-246 (61 percent); he also has 87 groundballs. Steven Rastivo has emerged as the starter in goal, recording an 8.12 GAA and .549 save percentage.
This marks the seventh all-time meeting between Lehigh and North Carolina with the Tar Heels holding a 3-2-1 advantage. Lehigh won the first two games in 1950 and '51 by 6-5 and 6-3 finals. The teams then tied, 8-8 in 1952 before a 48-year gap between meetings. UNC pulled out an 11-10 win in 2000 before topping the Mountain Hawks in each of the past two seasons, 14-6 and 17-5
The Mountain Hawks wrap up the regular season when they host archrival Lafayette next Saturday (Apr. 23) at 7 p.m. at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Tickets are only $5 for the general public while seniors, groups and Lehigh students are only $3. Tickets may be purchased on Lehighsports.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME.
2026 Men's Lacrosse Season Preview
Wednesday, February 04
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Lacrosse
Thursday, April 24
2025 Season Preview: Men's Lacrosse
Friday, January 31
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Lacrosse
Wednesday, April 10
