Tuesday, April 11
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 PM
Lehigh University
6-5
15
vs
10
Princeton
7-4
1
2
3
4
F
Princeton
1
0
6
3
10
Lehigh
5
4
2
4
15
Photo by: Austin Vitelli '17
Strong start leads Lehigh to big 15-10 win over No. 13/14 Princeton
4/11/2017 10:34:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's lacrosse team jumped out to a 10-1 lead early in the third quarter and held off a Princeton charge as the Mountain Hawks (6-5) defeated the No. 13/14 Tigers (7-4) 15-10 on Tuesday evening at the Ulrich Sports Complex. The game was presented by the U.S. Marine Corps. The win marks Lehigh's second straight home victory against a nationally-ranked foe. Every starting midfielder or attackman recorded multiple points while sophomore Craig Chick helped spearhead the defense with nine groundballs, three caused turnovers, four faceoff wins and an assist. In the end, Lehigh's defense held the nation's third highest-scoring offense to just 10 goals, tied for Princeton's second lowest total this season and five goals less than its average entering the game.
The win marked Lehigh's second win in the last three years against Princeton, both coming at home against a nationally-ranked Tigers' squad.
"It was a fun game," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "Hopefully, it's a big confidence booster for our team. To direct your attention on a nonleague game in the middle of the league season is tough and difficult for both teams. I think our guys had a little bit added motivation. We got crushed last year at Princeton and we felt like we needed to make up for that today. Our guys played hard, really executed the game plan well and had fun playing the game. They really played loose and relaxed and I was really excited for them to feel that, especially in the first half."
Senior Ian Strain had a career game, tallying a career-high five points behind two goals and a career-high three assists. He also grabbed four groundballs. Sophomore Tristan Rai had three goals and two assists for his 12th career hat trick, eclipsing 50 career goals in the process. Classmate Andrew Pettit had two goals and an assist, scoring multiple goals for the 11th time in the last 12 games dating back to last season. Senior Matt Raposo tallied a goal and assist, while senior Cody Triolo and sophomore Lucas Spence each had two goals and an assist.
With Chick's nine groundballs, he easily eclipsed 100 career GBs in the contest. Junior Danny Norris and sophomore Eddie Bouhall also had three groundballs and two caused turnovers apiece. Senior Casey McAdam won 7-of-17 faceoffs with five groundballs.
"I thought our senior leadership was excellent tonight, which you need when you're trying to get big wins," said Cassese. "From our senior midfielders, guys like Ian Strain, Cody Triolo and Anthony Ramaizel had big nights. Senior captain in the goal, Donny Stires, had a strong game. Another senior, Casey McAdam stepped in and took 18 draws for us tonight after he had only taken a few draws this year. I thought he was an absolute warrior going up against one of the best groundball guys in the country in Zach Currier. For a guy who hasn't been asked to do a lot of that this year, I thought he really rose to the occasion and I'm really proud of his effort."
Lehigh scored the game's first five goals as Rai's second of the game gave the Mountain Hawks a 5-0 advantage with 1:35 remaining in the first quarter. Princeton netted its first with 57 seconds left in the stanza, but the Mountain Hawks responded with the next five. Rai had a goal and assist in that stretch, finishing with five first-half points. Every goal in Lehigh's 5-0 run was assisted as Raposo from Spence gave the Mountain Hawks a 9-1 advantage at the half.
Freshman Ryan Klose opened the second-half scoring to increase Lehigh's run to 6-0. Princeton pulled within 10-2 at 11:59 of the third quarter, scoring for the first time in 18:58. The Tigers went on to score six of the next seven goals to extend its run to 7-1 as Gavin McBride pulled Princeton within 11-8 less than a minute into the fourth.
Triolo ended Princeton's momentum, scoring a big goal to give Lehigh a 12-8 advantage. The Tigers again pulled within three, but Lehigh scored three of the final four goals to win, 15-10.
Final shots were 40-37 in favor of Princeton while the Mountain Hawks held a 37-34 advantage in groundballs. Senior Donny Stires tied a career-high 13 saves across Tyler Blaisdell, who made 10.
The Mountain Hawks will now hit the road for the final time this regular season when they head to Cornell on Saturday. 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.
Team Stats
PRIN
LEHIGH
Shots
40
37
Turnovers
14
11
Caused Turnovers
7
10
Faceoffs Won
18
11
Extra-Man Opps
2
3
Ground Balls
34
37
Game Leaders
G
3
A
2
FO
-
Pen
1-60
GB
1
CT
0
G
2
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
G
2
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
2
A
3
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
4
CT
0
Players Mentioned
D
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