Lehigh University Athletics
Saturday, February 25
Worcester, Mass.
12 PM
Lehigh University
at
Holy Cross
Lehigh opens Patriot League play at Holy Cross Saturday
2/24/2017 11:16:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Game Notes | Watch Live
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's lacrosse team opens Patriot League play on Saturday when the 2-1 Mountain Hawks head to Worcester, Massachusetts to face Holy Cross. Opening faceoff is set for 12 p.m. on the Patriot League Network. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 15-8 loss at No. 2/3 North Carolina last Saturday, but it was a game that saw several bright spots. Lehigh will be searching for its seventh straight Patriot League opening victory.
In last week's game, the Mountain Hawks scored the first two goals, UNC scored the next five to take a 5-2 advantage, but Lehigh wouldn't go away quietly. The team scored three-of-five goals in one stretch to pull within 7-5. The Tar Heels went up 11-5, but Lehigh scored the final two goals of the first half, including one by senior Ian Strain as the first half expired, to pull back within striking distance (11-7) after 30 minutes of play.
The second half was much more defensive as the teams combined for just five goals, only one by Lehigh, as UNC pulled away, 11-7. Sophomore Andrew Pettit led the offense with his second straight three-goal, one assist effort. Freshman Andrew Eichelberger enjoyed a stellar afternoon on multiple fronts, which included two goals, his first-career multi-goal game. Sophomore Tristan Rai tallied four points (one goal, three assists) to up his season total to a team-leading 12 (four goals, eight assists). He enters Saturday's game at Colgate with 49 career points.
Defensively, sophomore Eddie Bouhall tied a career high with five groundballs, while adding two caused turnovers. Classmate Craig Chick had three groundballs and three caused turnovers as well to up his season total to 11 GBs (second on the team) and seven caused turnovers (tops on the Mountain Hawks), respectively. Sophomore goaltender Chris Kiernan set a new career high with five groundballs. After allowing 11 first-half goals, Lehigh's defense buckled down to hold UNC scoreless for a stretch of 12:55 from the end of the second quarter until the end of the third, then again for a stretch of 10:27 from the end of the third until the end of the fourth.
Freshman faceoff specialist Conor Gaffney enjoyed an especially strong game. After winning just 2-of-7 in the first quarter, he won nine of his last 15 against North Carolina All-American Stephen Kelly to finish the day 11-of-23. Through three games, Gaffney has won 60.9 percent of his faceoffs (42-of-69) with a team-leading 29 groundballs. He currently stands third nationally in groundballs per game (9.67).
The Mountain Hawks finished with a 30-29 edge in groundballs while they held North Carolina 0-of-4 on the extra man. Lehigh's defense currently stands No. 10 in the nation (80 percent).
Lehigh will look to continue its success against Holy Cross. Last season, the Mountain Hawks earned a hard-fought 12-11 win to improve to 26-0 all-time against the Crusaders. Lehigh ended the game on a 3-0 run as Rai evened the score with 6:20 remaining before Billy Oppenheimer scored the game-winner with 4:42 on the clock.
Coming off a Patriot League Tournament berth last season, Holy Cross is 0-3 this year with losses to Providence (10-4), Vermont (14-8) and Harvard (12-9). Kevin Lux leads the team in scoring with seven points (six goals, one assist) while Jack Ortlieb (four goals, two assists) and Sean Kirkpatrick (two goals, four assists) each own six. Holy Cross has 35 caused turnovers through three games, led by Matt Farrell with five. Mike Martens has taken the majority of faceoffs, winning 45.5 percent (30-of-66) with a team-leading 18 groundballs. Freshman Jonathan Tesero has started all three games in goal, tallying an 11.94 goals against average and 38.6 save percentage.
Lehigh pulled out a 12-11 win last season to improve to 26-0 in the all-time series. The last time the Mountain Hawks played at Holy Cross, Lehigh earned an impressive 19-7 win, also winning 8-5 in 2013. The teams first met in 1991, a 14-7 Lehigh victory.
The Mountain Hawks will wrap up their long four-game road trip when they head to Colgate next Saturday (Mar. 4) to face the Raiders. Opening faceoff is set for 1 p.m.
Like Lehigh Men's Lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's lacrosse team opens Patriot League play on Saturday when the 2-1 Mountain Hawks head to Worcester, Massachusetts to face Holy Cross. Opening faceoff is set for 12 p.m. on the Patriot League Network. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 15-8 loss at No. 2/3 North Carolina last Saturday, but it was a game that saw several bright spots. Lehigh will be searching for its seventh straight Patriot League opening victory.
In last week's game, the Mountain Hawks scored the first two goals, UNC scored the next five to take a 5-2 advantage, but Lehigh wouldn't go away quietly. The team scored three-of-five goals in one stretch to pull within 7-5. The Tar Heels went up 11-5, but Lehigh scored the final two goals of the first half, including one by senior Ian Strain as the first half expired, to pull back within striking distance (11-7) after 30 minutes of play.
The second half was much more defensive as the teams combined for just five goals, only one by Lehigh, as UNC pulled away, 11-7. Sophomore Andrew Pettit led the offense with his second straight three-goal, one assist effort. Freshman Andrew Eichelberger enjoyed a stellar afternoon on multiple fronts, which included two goals, his first-career multi-goal game. Sophomore Tristan Rai tallied four points (one goal, three assists) to up his season total to a team-leading 12 (four goals, eight assists). He enters Saturday's game at Colgate with 49 career points.
Defensively, sophomore Eddie Bouhall tied a career high with five groundballs, while adding two caused turnovers. Classmate Craig Chick had three groundballs and three caused turnovers as well to up his season total to 11 GBs (second on the team) and seven caused turnovers (tops on the Mountain Hawks), respectively. Sophomore goaltender Chris Kiernan set a new career high with five groundballs. After allowing 11 first-half goals, Lehigh's defense buckled down to hold UNC scoreless for a stretch of 12:55 from the end of the second quarter until the end of the third, then again for a stretch of 10:27 from the end of the third until the end of the fourth.
Freshman faceoff specialist Conor Gaffney enjoyed an especially strong game. After winning just 2-of-7 in the first quarter, he won nine of his last 15 against North Carolina All-American Stephen Kelly to finish the day 11-of-23. Through three games, Gaffney has won 60.9 percent of his faceoffs (42-of-69) with a team-leading 29 groundballs. He currently stands third nationally in groundballs per game (9.67).
The Mountain Hawks finished with a 30-29 edge in groundballs while they held North Carolina 0-of-4 on the extra man. Lehigh's defense currently stands No. 10 in the nation (80 percent).
Lehigh will look to continue its success against Holy Cross. Last season, the Mountain Hawks earned a hard-fought 12-11 win to improve to 26-0 all-time against the Crusaders. Lehigh ended the game on a 3-0 run as Rai evened the score with 6:20 remaining before Billy Oppenheimer scored the game-winner with 4:42 on the clock.
Coming off a Patriot League Tournament berth last season, Holy Cross is 0-3 this year with losses to Providence (10-4), Vermont (14-8) and Harvard (12-9). Kevin Lux leads the team in scoring with seven points (six goals, one assist) while Jack Ortlieb (four goals, two assists) and Sean Kirkpatrick (two goals, four assists) each own six. Holy Cross has 35 caused turnovers through three games, led by Matt Farrell with five. Mike Martens has taken the majority of faceoffs, winning 45.5 percent (30-of-66) with a team-leading 18 groundballs. Freshman Jonathan Tesero has started all three games in goal, tallying an 11.94 goals against average and 38.6 save percentage.
Lehigh pulled out a 12-11 win last season to improve to 26-0 in the all-time series. The last time the Mountain Hawks played at Holy Cross, Lehigh earned an impressive 19-7 win, also winning 8-5 in 2013. The teams first met in 1991, a 14-7 Lehigh victory.
The Mountain Hawks will wrap up their long four-game road trip when they head to Colgate next Saturday (Mar. 4) to face the Raiders. Opening faceoff is set for 1 p.m.
Like Lehigh Men's Lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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