Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh welcomes No. 20 Colgate for Saturday night showdown
4/8/2011 2:22:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's lacrosse team looks to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss to Penn State when it hosts another nationally-ranked squad in No. 20 Colgate. Saturday's faceoff is set for 7 p.m. under the lights at the Ulrich Sports Complex. The Mountain Hawks (6-5, 2-1 PL), who play their first league game in two weeks, look to inch closer to their first Patriot League Tournament berth since 2006.
Saturday marks game three of Lehigh's season-high six-game homestand to end the regular season. The squad is 1-1 so far, defeating Binghamton (13-7) while falling to Penn State in overtime. In total, the Mountain Hawks will face four straight ranked squads. The Nittany Lions were 20th in last week's USILA Coaches Poll while ironically, Colgate is also 20th this week. Next weekend's opponents (Bucknell and North Carolina) are currently fifth and 15th, respectively.
Lehigh will continue to search for an elusive top-20 win after coming close on numerous occasions. The Mountain Hawks lost a pair of one-goal decisions against current No. 11 Villanova and No. 19 Penn State while staying within three of No. 13 Army and four of Ohio State and No. 17 Yale. The Buckeyes, who are now first in “also receiving votes,” were ranked 13th when the Mountain Hawks faced them on Mar. 8.
Last Saturday was a game of runs. Lehigh scored the game's first two goals before the Nittany Lions responded with five in a row to go up by three at the half. The Mountain Hawks came back with five unanswered to retake a 7-5 advantage before Penn State responded with the final three goals to steal the victory. While sophomore Dante Fantoni led the offense with three goals, fellow sophomore Dan Carr was stellar with a season-high 16 saves between the pipes. He was especially strong during Lehigh's run of 30:14 when it didn't allow a Penn State score.
Overall, it marked the sixth straight game that the Mountain Hawks held their opponent scoreless for a stretch of at least 15 minutes (and fifth straight of at least 20). Senior Richard Bradley continued to shine with four caused turnovers and three groundballs. He later earned his first-career Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honor.
Following an 0-2 start to the season, Colgate has been on fire, winning seven of its last eight games, which includes three straight heading into Saturday. That has propelled the Raiders to their first national ranking of the season as they come in at No. 20 in the USILA Coaches Poll and 19 in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Colgate's losses have come to Hofstra, Vermont and Binghamton, a team the Mountain Hawks defeated last week. The Raiders are currently tied for first in the Patriot League standings (with Bucknell) at 3-0.
Leading the offense is Tewaaraton Award Candidate Peter Baum with 37 points via 29 goals and eight assists. Four others are also in double figures, including Andrew Mould with 16 (14 goals, two assists) and Ben McCabe with 14 (11 goals, three assists). Dave Tucciarone leads the team with 15 caused turnovers and is second with 38 groundballs, while freshman Bobby Lawrence has helped anchor the defense with 11 caused turnovers and 18 groundballs. Jim Carroll has impressed at the faceoff X, winning 93-of-168 (55.4 percent) while scooping 51 groundballs. Meanwhile, Jared Madison has enjoyed a strong season in goal, posting a 7.61 GAA and .561 save percentage.
Colgate leads the all-time series, 25-10, which includes five straight wins dating back to Lehigh's last victory in 2005. The games have been extremely close, however, with four of the five defeats coming within two goals. The Mountain Hawks last defeated the Raiders in 2005, a thrilling 12-11 overtime victory at home. Colgate then returned the favor a year later, topping Lehigh, 11-10 in overtime for the first of five straight wins in the all-time series. The teams first met back in 1956, a Colgate victory as the squad went on to win 10 of the first 11 meetings. Lehigh's best stretch came from 1992-95 when it took four straight.
The Mountain Hawks continue their long homestand with two more games against ranked foes. Lehigh welcomes No. 15 Bucknell to the Ulrich Sports Complex next Friday (Apr. 15) for a 7:30 p.m. faceoff. The squad then hosts No. 5 North Carolina on Sunday (Apr. 17) for a special 12 p.m. faceoff inside Goodman Stadium. That game will also air nationally on the CBS Sports Network.
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