Friday, April 22
Lewisburg, Pa.
7:00 pm
Lehigh University
at
Bucknell
Photo by: Alex Sangiuliano '16
Mountain Hawks close regular season with big game at Bucknell Friday night
4/21/2016 12:37:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Game Notes | Watch Live (Free) | Live Stats
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - In the midst of a tough stretch which has featured a pair of one-goal losses against quality opponents, the Lehigh men's lacrosse team looks to end the regular season on a high note when it travels to Bucknell on Friday evening. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. With a win on Friday, the Mountain Hawks would clinch the No. 4 seed and a home game in the league quarterfinals.
A Lehigh win would push Bucknell to the No. 5 seed and set up a rematch with the Bison in the quarterfinals. If Bucknell wins, the Mountain Hawks would be the No. 5 seed. In that case, Lehigh would either travel to No. 4 Bucknell (if Army West Point beats Loyola in Friday's regular season finale) or travel to No. 4 Army West Point (if the Black Knights fall to the Greyhounds).
The Mountain Hawks look to get back on track following a one-goal loss for a second straight Saturday. Overall, three of Lehigh's last four games have finished with a one-goal margin; the Mountain Hawks defeated Boston University 8-7 on Apr. 2, fell to Loyola 11-10 on Apr. 9 and most recently, lost to Cornell 12-11 this past Saturday (Apr. 16). Lehigh used an impressive six-goal second quarter to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 7-6 lead at the half. The Mountain Hawks outscored the Big Red 4-3 in the third quarter to extend their lead to 11-9 after 45 minutes of play. Lehigh continued to lead 12-10 late in regulation, but Cornell scored three goals over the final 1:19, including the game-winner with 0.1 seconds remaining, to pull out the 13-12 win and hand the Mountain Hawks a heartbreaking defeat.
Senior Reid Weber enjoyed a career game on his Senior Day, tying career highs in goals (5) and points (6). He scored a natural hat trick in the second quarter, which included his 100th career goal with 8:45 remaining in the second quarter. Weber also increased his goal streak to 17 straight games dating back to last season. Freshman Tristan Rai chipped in with his sixth hat trick of the season, scoring twice in a 42-second span to begin the second quarter to help jumpstart the Mountain Hawks' six-goal quarter. Freshman Andrew Pettit marked his return to the lineup with a career-high two goals while senior Ray Mastroianni and junior Matt Raposo each dished a pair of assists. Junior Ian Strain also had a goal and assist for a second straight game.
Lehigh struggled on faceoffs Saturday as Cornell won 25-of-27 draws, but the Mountain Hawks helped negate that difference by causing 20 of the 23 Big Red turnovers. The 20 caused turnovers were Lehigh's most since Feb. 14, 2009 when the squad had 26 against Saint Joseph's. The Mountain Hawks now lead the nation in caused turnovers (10.08) per game. Individually, freshman long-stick midfielder Craig Chick leads the nation in caused turnovers per game while senior Tripp Telesco is sixth. Chick enjoyed his second straight stellar game against Cornell Saturday. After posting a career-high 10 groundballs and eight caused turnovers at Princeton, he followed with seven groundballs and seven caused turnovers against Cornell Saturday to help him earn Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors. Classmate Eddie Bouhall added a career-high four caused turnovers while Strain, Pettit and freshman Matt Rimol posted two apiece, marking a career high for Pettit and Rimol.
The Mountain Hawks and Bison have played several classic games over the recent years. In 2013, Lehigh won at Bucknell to clinch the Patriot League Regular Season Championship. Last season, the Bison beat the Mountain Hawks 13-8 in the Patriot League Quarterfinals, the third time in five seasons that the teams met in the postseason (2011, 2013 and 2015).
Bucknell is 8-4 on the season and 4-3 in Patriot League play. The team's biggest wins have come over Bryant and Army West Point while falling to Colgate, Navy and Loyola in the league. Bucknell is riding a three-game winning streak with wins over Army West Point, Mount St. Mary's and Lafayette. Will Sands leads the team with 45 points behind 29 goals and 16 assists. He's followed by Tommy O'Connor with 34 points (20 goals, 14 assists) and Sean Doyle with 33 points (16 goals, 17 assists). Alex Spring leads the Bison defense with 64 groundballs and 11 caused turnovers while Jarrett Witzal has enjoyed a strong freshman season at the faceoff X, winning 60.7 percent of his draws (133-of-219). Freshman Christian Klipstein has impressed in goal, owning an 8.95 GAA and .560 save percentage.
A back-and-forth all-time series has seen Bucknell win the last two meetings. Prior to last season, the Mountain Hawks had won four straight against the Bison, coming after Bucknell had won six in a row. Lehigh's four-game streak began with a hard-fought 9-8 win during Lehigh's 2012 Patriot League Championship season and included an 11-7 road win to clinch the No. 1 overall seed in 2013. The Mountain Hawks defeated Bucknell 11-4 in the 2013 championship game then followed with a 9-3 road victory in 2014. Last season, the Bison won 9-8 in overtime then defeated Lehigh in the Patriot League Quarterfinals, 13-8 to give Bucknell a 35-14 lead in the all-time series.
Following Friday's game, the Mountain Hawks look ahead to next Tuesday's Patriot League Quarterfinal game as Lehigh will host Bucknell or travel to either Bucknell or Army West Point.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - In the midst of a tough stretch which has featured a pair of one-goal losses against quality opponents, the Lehigh men's lacrosse team looks to end the regular season on a high note when it travels to Bucknell on Friday evening. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. With a win on Friday, the Mountain Hawks would clinch the No. 4 seed and a home game in the league quarterfinals.
A Lehigh win would push Bucknell to the No. 5 seed and set up a rematch with the Bison in the quarterfinals. If Bucknell wins, the Mountain Hawks would be the No. 5 seed. In that case, Lehigh would either travel to No. 4 Bucknell (if Army West Point beats Loyola in Friday's regular season finale) or travel to No. 4 Army West Point (if the Black Knights fall to the Greyhounds).
The Mountain Hawks look to get back on track following a one-goal loss for a second straight Saturday. Overall, three of Lehigh's last four games have finished with a one-goal margin; the Mountain Hawks defeated Boston University 8-7 on Apr. 2, fell to Loyola 11-10 on Apr. 9 and most recently, lost to Cornell 12-11 this past Saturday (Apr. 16). Lehigh used an impressive six-goal second quarter to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 7-6 lead at the half. The Mountain Hawks outscored the Big Red 4-3 in the third quarter to extend their lead to 11-9 after 45 minutes of play. Lehigh continued to lead 12-10 late in regulation, but Cornell scored three goals over the final 1:19, including the game-winner with 0.1 seconds remaining, to pull out the 13-12 win and hand the Mountain Hawks a heartbreaking defeat.
Senior Reid Weber enjoyed a career game on his Senior Day, tying career highs in goals (5) and points (6). He scored a natural hat trick in the second quarter, which included his 100th career goal with 8:45 remaining in the second quarter. Weber also increased his goal streak to 17 straight games dating back to last season. Freshman Tristan Rai chipped in with his sixth hat trick of the season, scoring twice in a 42-second span to begin the second quarter to help jumpstart the Mountain Hawks' six-goal quarter. Freshman Andrew Pettit marked his return to the lineup with a career-high two goals while senior Ray Mastroianni and junior Matt Raposo each dished a pair of assists. Junior Ian Strain also had a goal and assist for a second straight game.
Lehigh struggled on faceoffs Saturday as Cornell won 25-of-27 draws, but the Mountain Hawks helped negate that difference by causing 20 of the 23 Big Red turnovers. The 20 caused turnovers were Lehigh's most since Feb. 14, 2009 when the squad had 26 against Saint Joseph's. The Mountain Hawks now lead the nation in caused turnovers (10.08) per game. Individually, freshman long-stick midfielder Craig Chick leads the nation in caused turnovers per game while senior Tripp Telesco is sixth. Chick enjoyed his second straight stellar game against Cornell Saturday. After posting a career-high 10 groundballs and eight caused turnovers at Princeton, he followed with seven groundballs and seven caused turnovers against Cornell Saturday to help him earn Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors. Classmate Eddie Bouhall added a career-high four caused turnovers while Strain, Pettit and freshman Matt Rimol posted two apiece, marking a career high for Pettit and Rimol.
The Mountain Hawks and Bison have played several classic games over the recent years. In 2013, Lehigh won at Bucknell to clinch the Patriot League Regular Season Championship. Last season, the Bison beat the Mountain Hawks 13-8 in the Patriot League Quarterfinals, the third time in five seasons that the teams met in the postseason (2011, 2013 and 2015).
Bucknell is 8-4 on the season and 4-3 in Patriot League play. The team's biggest wins have come over Bryant and Army West Point while falling to Colgate, Navy and Loyola in the league. Bucknell is riding a three-game winning streak with wins over Army West Point, Mount St. Mary's and Lafayette. Will Sands leads the team with 45 points behind 29 goals and 16 assists. He's followed by Tommy O'Connor with 34 points (20 goals, 14 assists) and Sean Doyle with 33 points (16 goals, 17 assists). Alex Spring leads the Bison defense with 64 groundballs and 11 caused turnovers while Jarrett Witzal has enjoyed a strong freshman season at the faceoff X, winning 60.7 percent of his draws (133-of-219). Freshman Christian Klipstein has impressed in goal, owning an 8.95 GAA and .560 save percentage.
A back-and-forth all-time series has seen Bucknell win the last two meetings. Prior to last season, the Mountain Hawks had won four straight against the Bison, coming after Bucknell had won six in a row. Lehigh's four-game streak began with a hard-fought 9-8 win during Lehigh's 2012 Patriot League Championship season and included an 11-7 road win to clinch the No. 1 overall seed in 2013. The Mountain Hawks defeated Bucknell 11-4 in the 2013 championship game then followed with a 9-3 road victory in 2014. Last season, the Bison won 9-8 in overtime then defeated Lehigh in the Patriot League Quarterfinals, 13-8 to give Bucknell a 35-14 lead in the all-time series.
Following Friday's game, the Mountain Hawks look ahead to next Tuesday's Patriot League Quarterfinal game as Lehigh will host Bucknell or travel to either Bucknell or Army West Point.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
A/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's LacrosseLehigh 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
