Tuesday, March 10
Villanova, Pa.
7:00 pm
Lehigh University
at
Villanova
Photo by: Tom Sanczyk
Lehigh heads to #15/16 Villanova for Tuesday night showdown
3/9/2015 1:29:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Game Notes | Listen Live (Free: Lehigh Broadcast) | Watch Live (Villanova Broadcast) | Live Stats
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's lacrosse team will look to bounce back from a tough overtime loss to Bucknell when the Mountain Hawks travel to Villanova to face the #15/16 ranked Wildcats on Tuesday. Opening faceoff inside Villanova Stadium is set for 7 p.m. Lehigh will face a pair of nationally-ranked Big East squads on consecutive Tuesdays, also hosting #3 Denver next Tuesday.
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There will be a live audio broadcast of Tuesday's game on Lehighsports.com with Steve Lomangino and Chris Wakely on the call.
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The Mountain Hawks have played five close games to begin the 2015 season with each margin finishing at three goals or less. Lehigh has beaten Furman (14-11) and Boston University (10-9) while falling to Marquette (10-9), Loyola (11-8) and Bucknell (9-8). The Mountain Hawks are 2-0 when reaching double-figure goals, but 0-3 when scoring in the single digits. Two of the losses are to teams currently in the national rankings, including a Marquette squad that is 10th in the Cascade/Maverik Media Poll with its 7-0 record.
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Senior Dan Taylor has continued to lead the offense, tallying four or more points for the fifth time in as many games. He finished with three goals and one assist against Bucknell, eclipsing 100 goals in his career (currently owning 101). Freshman Nolan Apers scored a career-high two goals while junior Billy Oppenheimer had three points (one goal, two assists). Senior Alan Henderson filled up the stat sheet with two assists, four groundballs and two caused turnovers. All six of Lehigh's starting midfielders and attackmen tallied at least one point.
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Senior goalie Matt Poillon helped spark the defense, making a season-high 16 saves for a second straight game. He made two big saves in the final minute of regulation to help force overtime. Bucknell gained possession to begin the extra session, but junior Casey Eidenshink forced a big turnover to give the Lehigh offense a chance. Oppenheimer took a feed in front of the goal and fired a hard shot, but Bucknell goalie Sam Grinberg made a big save which led to the Bison's game-winning goal with nine seconds on the clock. Bucknell scored four late goals on the afternoon, with 1:07 left in the first quarter, 0:07 left in the second, 0:26 left in the third and 0:09 left in overtime.
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Eidenshink finished the afternoon with four groundballs and a caused turnover while junior long-stick midfielder Corey Eppley tallied a groundball and two caused turnovers. Senior short-stick defensive middie Sam Lawrence caused two turnovers while scoring his first goal of the season (and only second of his career). The loss snapped Lehigh's four-game winning streak against Bucknell.
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The Mountain Hawks and Wildcats played a classic game last season as Kurtis Kaunas scored to end a three-overtime marathon. Villanova has been a strong program as of late, making the Big East Championship Game each of the last two seasons. The Wildcats advanced to the 2011 NCAA Tournament where they played at Denver, a current member of the Big East. Villanova is Lehigh's second-of-three Big East opponents this season (also Marquette and Denver). The Mountain Hawks went 3-0 against the Big East last season (beating Marquette, Villanova and Georgetown), but are 0-1 this year.
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Villanova has enjoyed a strong start to the season, going 4-1 with its only loss coming to Johns Hopkins by three. The Wildcats are coming off an impressive 17-11 victory over cross-town rival and 20th ranked Penn while also beating Delaware, Drexel and Penn State. Jack Curran leads the team in scoring with 19 points via 12 goals and seven assists. Three others have reached double-figure points, including Danny Seibel with 15 points (team-high 15 goals), Sean Cerrone with 14 points (four goals, team-high 10 assists) and Eric Gartner with 10 points (eight goals, two assists). Jordan Cunningham has 13 groundballs and a team-leading seven caused turnovers while Luke Palmadesso has taken the majority of the Wildcats' faceoffs, winning 48.3 percent with a team-high 15 groundballs. A pair of goalies has split time between the pipes, each playing 150 minutes so far. Greg Stamatov has played the first half, owning a 7.60 GAA and .513 save percentage while Dan Willis has played the second, with a 10.80 GAA and .526 save percentage.
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Lehigh and Villanova have played a competitive all-time series with the Wildcats owning a 17-14 edge. The Mountain Hawks have won two straight and five of the last nine overall. Four of the last five meetings have finished with a one or two-goal margin. Lehigh won a 7-6 triple overtime thriller last season, one year after winning a hard-fought 11-9 final at Villanova in 2013. Lehigh and Villanova first met in 1977, a 5-4 Villanova victory. Lehigh responded with four straight wins from 1978 through 1981.
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The Mountain Hawks return to Patriot League play when they travel to Navy on Saturday. Opening faceoff is set for 2:30 p.m.
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Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook and follow on Twitter for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's lacrosse team will look to bounce back from a tough overtime loss to Bucknell when the Mountain Hawks travel to Villanova to face the #15/16 ranked Wildcats on Tuesday. Opening faceoff inside Villanova Stadium is set for 7 p.m. Lehigh will face a pair of nationally-ranked Big East squads on consecutive Tuesdays, also hosting #3 Denver next Tuesday.
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There will be a live audio broadcast of Tuesday's game on Lehighsports.com with Steve Lomangino and Chris Wakely on the call.
Â
The Mountain Hawks have played five close games to begin the 2015 season with each margin finishing at three goals or less. Lehigh has beaten Furman (14-11) and Boston University (10-9) while falling to Marquette (10-9), Loyola (11-8) and Bucknell (9-8). The Mountain Hawks are 2-0 when reaching double-figure goals, but 0-3 when scoring in the single digits. Two of the losses are to teams currently in the national rankings, including a Marquette squad that is 10th in the Cascade/Maverik Media Poll with its 7-0 record.
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Senior Dan Taylor has continued to lead the offense, tallying four or more points for the fifth time in as many games. He finished with three goals and one assist against Bucknell, eclipsing 100 goals in his career (currently owning 101). Freshman Nolan Apers scored a career-high two goals while junior Billy Oppenheimer had three points (one goal, two assists). Senior Alan Henderson filled up the stat sheet with two assists, four groundballs and two caused turnovers. All six of Lehigh's starting midfielders and attackmen tallied at least one point.
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Senior goalie Matt Poillon helped spark the defense, making a season-high 16 saves for a second straight game. He made two big saves in the final minute of regulation to help force overtime. Bucknell gained possession to begin the extra session, but junior Casey Eidenshink forced a big turnover to give the Lehigh offense a chance. Oppenheimer took a feed in front of the goal and fired a hard shot, but Bucknell goalie Sam Grinberg made a big save which led to the Bison's game-winning goal with nine seconds on the clock. Bucknell scored four late goals on the afternoon, with 1:07 left in the first quarter, 0:07 left in the second, 0:26 left in the third and 0:09 left in overtime.
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Eidenshink finished the afternoon with four groundballs and a caused turnover while junior long-stick midfielder Corey Eppley tallied a groundball and two caused turnovers. Senior short-stick defensive middie Sam Lawrence caused two turnovers while scoring his first goal of the season (and only second of his career). The loss snapped Lehigh's four-game winning streak against Bucknell.
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The Mountain Hawks and Wildcats played a classic game last season as Kurtis Kaunas scored to end a three-overtime marathon. Villanova has been a strong program as of late, making the Big East Championship Game each of the last two seasons. The Wildcats advanced to the 2011 NCAA Tournament where they played at Denver, a current member of the Big East. Villanova is Lehigh's second-of-three Big East opponents this season (also Marquette and Denver). The Mountain Hawks went 3-0 against the Big East last season (beating Marquette, Villanova and Georgetown), but are 0-1 this year.
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Villanova has enjoyed a strong start to the season, going 4-1 with its only loss coming to Johns Hopkins by three. The Wildcats are coming off an impressive 17-11 victory over cross-town rival and 20th ranked Penn while also beating Delaware, Drexel and Penn State. Jack Curran leads the team in scoring with 19 points via 12 goals and seven assists. Three others have reached double-figure points, including Danny Seibel with 15 points (team-high 15 goals), Sean Cerrone with 14 points (four goals, team-high 10 assists) and Eric Gartner with 10 points (eight goals, two assists). Jordan Cunningham has 13 groundballs and a team-leading seven caused turnovers while Luke Palmadesso has taken the majority of the Wildcats' faceoffs, winning 48.3 percent with a team-high 15 groundballs. A pair of goalies has split time between the pipes, each playing 150 minutes so far. Greg Stamatov has played the first half, owning a 7.60 GAA and .513 save percentage while Dan Willis has played the second, with a 10.80 GAA and .526 save percentage.
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Lehigh and Villanova have played a competitive all-time series with the Wildcats owning a 17-14 edge. The Mountain Hawks have won two straight and five of the last nine overall. Four of the last five meetings have finished with a one or two-goal margin. Lehigh won a 7-6 triple overtime thriller last season, one year after winning a hard-fought 11-9 final at Villanova in 2013. Lehigh and Villanova first met in 1977, a 5-4 Villanova victory. Lehigh responded with four straight wins from 1978 through 1981.
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The Mountain Hawks return to Patriot League play when they travel to Navy on Saturday. Opening faceoff is set for 2:30 p.m.
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Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook and follow on Twitter for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Players Mentioned
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