Friday, April 18
Easton, Pa.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
at
Lafayette
#17/19 Mountain Hawks renew rivalry with Lafayette on Friday night
4/17/2014 3:51:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Following an off-week from Patriot League play, the #17/19 Lehigh men's lacrosse team heads to archrival Lafayette for its regular season finale on Friday night. Opening faceoff against the Leopards is set for 7 p.m. at Fisher Field. Regardless of Friday's outcome, the Mountain Hawks have clinched the #3 seed and will host #6 Navy in the Patriot League Quarterfinals on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Lehigh is eying its fifth win in six games heading into the postseason.
Lehigh is coming off an impressive 12-3 win over Georgetown on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks held a 51-23 edge in shots and 33-30 in groundballs. The last time Lehigh reached 50 shots was last March against VMI. The only thing that kept the Hoyas close was their goaltender Jake Haley who made 17 saves including 10 in the third quarter. Lehigh outshot Georgetown 21-4 in that stanza to turn a 4-1 halftime lead into a 7-2 edge after 45 minutes of play. The Mountain Hawks went on to score five goals on seven shots in the fourth quarter to erase any doubt.
Junior Dan Taylor led the offense with a career-high tying eight points behind four goals and four assists. Coupled with his five-goal performance at Princeton Tuesday, Taylor was named Patriot League Offensive Player for a second straight week and third time this season. He came alive in the second half, scoring four goals and adding three assists over the game's final 23:54. Taylor had a hand in seven of the Mountain Hawks' eight second-half goals and in the process, eclipsing 50 points on the season (52 points: 32 goals, 20 assists).
Sophomore Reid Weber and juniors Kurtis Kaunas and Patrick Corbett each scored two goals while sophomore Billy Oppenheimer had a goal and assist. Kaunas also dished two assists for a career-high four points. Junior long-pole Dylan O'Shaughnessy also scored a goal for a third straight game, opening the game with a man-up goal at 10:25 of the first quarter. In total, 10 of the team's 12 goals were assisted.
Lehigh's defense shined, allowing just 23 shots led by four groundballs and three caused turnovers from senior Lukas Mikelinich. Sophomore Casey Eidenshink tied a career-high three caused turnovers in his first-career start while the starting close defense combined for nine groundballs and eight caused turnovers. The backstop of the defense was junior Matt Poillon, who stopped eight-of-11 shots including six-of-seven in the first half. Along with his 13 saves at Princeton, Poillon was named Patriot League Goalie of the Week for the second time this season.
The Mountain Hawks improved to 3-0 against the Big East this season, also defeating Marquette and Villanova. Saturday's game was part of the Relentless Cup in support of HEADstrong Foundation's fight against blood cancers.
Lehigh is eying its fifth straight win over Lafayette and 13th win in its last 14 tries against the Leopards. Overall, the Mountain Hawks have beaten Patriot League foes for the 17th time in their last 19 games.
Lafayette got off to a strong start this season, beating Colgate in the second game of the season and Patriot League opener. However, the Leopards have lost nine of their last 10 with the lone win coming against Monmouth. Last time out, Lafayette dropped a 13-1 final at Bucknell. Brian Bock leads the offense with 20 points (15 goals, five assists) while Robert Orazietti owns 18 (14 goals, four assists) and Sonny Round has 19 (eight goals, 11 assists). Mac Ahsler leads the way with 13 caused turnovers (to go with 26 groundballs) while Matt Evans has 28 groundballs and 12 caused turnovers. The Leopards have struggled at the faceoff X, winning just 37.7 percent, while Jake Hyatt has seen the majority of time in goal, recording a 10.80 GAA and 50.9 save percentage.
Lehigh has enjoyed tremendous success against Lafayette, especially of late. The Mountain Hawks have beaten the Leopards four straight times, 12 times in their last 13 tries and 18 in the last 20 attempts. The Mountain Hawks have won the last three matchups by nine (in 2014), 10 (in 2012) and seven (in 2011). The sides first met in 1926, a 9-0 Lehigh victory. Lehigh won 10 straight before Lafayette's first win in 1935.
The third-seeded Mountain Hawks will begin the Patriot League Tournament on Tuesday when they host the #6 seed Navy in a quarterfinal matchup at 7 p.m. The winner advances to the semifinals to face #2 Army next Friday. The semifinals and championship game will take place at regular season champion Loyola.
Click here to vote Ty Souders for the Senior CLASS Award.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook and follow on Twitter for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Following an off-week from Patriot League play, the #17/19 Lehigh men's lacrosse team heads to archrival Lafayette for its regular season finale on Friday night. Opening faceoff against the Leopards is set for 7 p.m. at Fisher Field. Regardless of Friday's outcome, the Mountain Hawks have clinched the #3 seed and will host #6 Navy in the Patriot League Quarterfinals on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Lehigh is eying its fifth win in six games heading into the postseason.
Lehigh is coming off an impressive 12-3 win over Georgetown on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks held a 51-23 edge in shots and 33-30 in groundballs. The last time Lehigh reached 50 shots was last March against VMI. The only thing that kept the Hoyas close was their goaltender Jake Haley who made 17 saves including 10 in the third quarter. Lehigh outshot Georgetown 21-4 in that stanza to turn a 4-1 halftime lead into a 7-2 edge after 45 minutes of play. The Mountain Hawks went on to score five goals on seven shots in the fourth quarter to erase any doubt.
Junior Dan Taylor led the offense with a career-high tying eight points behind four goals and four assists. Coupled with his five-goal performance at Princeton Tuesday, Taylor was named Patriot League Offensive Player for a second straight week and third time this season. He came alive in the second half, scoring four goals and adding three assists over the game's final 23:54. Taylor had a hand in seven of the Mountain Hawks' eight second-half goals and in the process, eclipsing 50 points on the season (52 points: 32 goals, 20 assists).
Sophomore Reid Weber and juniors Kurtis Kaunas and Patrick Corbett each scored two goals while sophomore Billy Oppenheimer had a goal and assist. Kaunas also dished two assists for a career-high four points. Junior long-pole Dylan O'Shaughnessy also scored a goal for a third straight game, opening the game with a man-up goal at 10:25 of the first quarter. In total, 10 of the team's 12 goals were assisted.
Lehigh's defense shined, allowing just 23 shots led by four groundballs and three caused turnovers from senior Lukas Mikelinich. Sophomore Casey Eidenshink tied a career-high three caused turnovers in his first-career start while the starting close defense combined for nine groundballs and eight caused turnovers. The backstop of the defense was junior Matt Poillon, who stopped eight-of-11 shots including six-of-seven in the first half. Along with his 13 saves at Princeton, Poillon was named Patriot League Goalie of the Week for the second time this season.
The Mountain Hawks improved to 3-0 against the Big East this season, also defeating Marquette and Villanova. Saturday's game was part of the Relentless Cup in support of HEADstrong Foundation's fight against blood cancers.
Lehigh is eying its fifth straight win over Lafayette and 13th win in its last 14 tries against the Leopards. Overall, the Mountain Hawks have beaten Patriot League foes for the 17th time in their last 19 games.
Lafayette got off to a strong start this season, beating Colgate in the second game of the season and Patriot League opener. However, the Leopards have lost nine of their last 10 with the lone win coming against Monmouth. Last time out, Lafayette dropped a 13-1 final at Bucknell. Brian Bock leads the offense with 20 points (15 goals, five assists) while Robert Orazietti owns 18 (14 goals, four assists) and Sonny Round has 19 (eight goals, 11 assists). Mac Ahsler leads the way with 13 caused turnovers (to go with 26 groundballs) while Matt Evans has 28 groundballs and 12 caused turnovers. The Leopards have struggled at the faceoff X, winning just 37.7 percent, while Jake Hyatt has seen the majority of time in goal, recording a 10.80 GAA and 50.9 save percentage.
Lehigh has enjoyed tremendous success against Lafayette, especially of late. The Mountain Hawks have beaten the Leopards four straight times, 12 times in their last 13 tries and 18 in the last 20 attempts. The Mountain Hawks have won the last three matchups by nine (in 2014), 10 (in 2012) and seven (in 2011). The sides first met in 1926, a 9-0 Lehigh victory. Lehigh won 10 straight before Lafayette's first win in 1935.
The third-seeded Mountain Hawks will begin the Patriot League Tournament on Tuesday when they host the #6 seed Navy in a quarterfinal matchup at 7 p.m. The winner advances to the semifinals to face #2 Army next Friday. The semifinals and championship game will take place at regular season champion Loyola.
Click here to vote Ty Souders for the Senior CLASS Award.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook and follow on Twitter for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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