Saturday, February 24
Bethlehem, Pa.
1 p.m.
Lehigh University
3-1, 1-0PL
15
vs
4
Holy Cross
1-3, 0-1PL
1
2
3
4
F
Holy Cross
0
2
0
2
4
Lehigh
3
6
3
3
15
Lehigh dominates Holy Cross in Patriot League opener, 15-4
2/24/2018 4:19:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Junior Lucas Spence led the offense with a career-high six goals and seven points, while classmate Andrew Pettit added a career-high tying seven points as well to help lead the Lehigh men's lacrosse team to a convincing 15-4 Patriot League opening victory over Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon. The defense stood tall, allowing just two goals over the game's first 51:03 as a trio of Mountain Hawks' goaltenders made 11 saves. The 11-goal win marks Lehigh's largest margin of victory in a Patriot League opener since 1998.
"Our guys were really ready to play today," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "I thought the defense in particular was phenomenal. We had been really focused all week on trying to figure out our slow starts. We've given up a lot of goals in the first quarter, so that was a huge point of emphasis in practice this week and in film. For the guys to execute and give up zero in the first quarter was absolutely huge."
Spence's six goals and seven points shattered his previous career high of four in both categories. Pettit tied his career high with seven points behind two goals and a career-high five assists. Classmate Tristan Rai finished with two goals and an assist to reach exactly 100 career points. Five other Mountain Hawks scored a single goal, including the first-career tallies from freshman Teddy Leggett and sophomore Crew Cintron, and first goals of the season from juniors Craig Chick and Jackson Monnin. Sophomore Austin Clibanoff recorded his first-career point, an assist, in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, Chick had five groundballs and three caused turnovers while fellow junior Eddie Bouhall recorded five groundballs and two caused turnovers. Freshman Matt Douglas had two groundballs and two caused turnovers while Leggett recorded a groundball and four caused turnovers, to go with his goal. Sophomore Conor Gaffney won 10 of his first 11 faceoffs to finish 12-of-19 with eight groundballs.
"I'm really proud of our defense," said Cassese. "Offensively, we started a little bit slowly, but we certainly picked it up and were able to share the ball."
It took nearly 12 minutes for either team to get on the scoreboard, when Rai gave Lehigh a 1-0 lead with 3:29 remaining in the first quarter. Lucas Spence added two more goals before the first quarter was over, at 2:29 and 0:01 to give the Mountain Hawks a 3-0 advantage after a quarter of play.
Holy Cross scored off a faceoff just seven seconds into the second quarter, but the Mountain Hawks answered with the next six goals, beginning with Spence's third of the game. He added another goal while junior Alexander Tumminello rounded out the run, giving Lehigh a 9-2 lead with 2:52 remaining. The Crusaders pulled within 9-3 at the half.
The Mountain Hawks continued the momentum in the second, beginning with the first four goals, including two more from Spence. The Crusaders scored at 8:57 and 3:33 of the fourth quarter, but Cintron and Monnin rounded out the scoring, giving Lehigh the 15-4 win.
Final shots were 33-27 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 45-33 edge in groundballs. After freshman James Spence made seven saves through the first three quarters, sophomore Colin Kirst tallied three in the fourth before junior Chris Kiernan entered in the final minute and made a stop.
"I thought both Spence brothers were outstanding," said Cassese. "Lucas has been getting a ton of shots, but hasn't necessarily been finishing all his shots and he did that well today. I was really happy for him because he's been working hard in the film room and putting in the extra work. His brother James really stood tall on the defensive end. The defense played well in front of him but he was phenomenal behind him."
Following Saturday's game, the Mountain Hawks remain home next Saturday (Mar. 3) for another Patriot League matchup as they host Colgate at 1 p.m.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
2017-18 Men's Basketball All-Patriot League Team and Major Awards
Player of the Year: Zach Thomas, Bucknell (Sr., C)
Defensive Player of the Year: Jehyve Floyd, Holy Cross (Jr., F)
Rookie of the Year: Alex Petrie, Lafayette (Fr., G)
Coach of the Year: Matt Langel, Colgate
First-Team All-Patriot League
Nana Foulland, Bucknell (Sr., C)
Zach Thomas, Bucknell (Sr, F)
Stephen Brown, Bucknell (Sr., G)
Andre Walker, Loyola Maryland (Sr., G)
Shawn Anderson, Navy (Sr., G)
Second-Team All-Patriot League
Sa'eed Nelson, American (So., G)
Will Rayman, Colgate (So., F)
Matt Klinewski, Lafayette (Sr., F)
Kahron Ross, Lehigh, Sr., G)
Lance Tejada, Lehigh (Jr., G)
Third-Team All-Patriot League
Max Mahoney, Boston University (So., F)
Sean O'Brien, Colgate (Sr., G)
Jehyve Floyd, Holy Cross (Jr., F)
Jordan Swopshire, Colgate (Sr., F)
Alex Petrie, Lafayette (Fr., G)
All-Defensive Team
Nana Foulland, Bucknell (Sr, C)
Stephen Brown, Bucknell (Sr., G),
Jehyve Floyd, Holy Cross (Jr., F)
Andrew Kostecka, Loyola Maryland (So., G)
Bryce Dulin, Navy (Sr., G)
All-Rookie Team
Sam Iorio, American (Fr., F)
Walter Whyte, Boston University (Fr., F)
Jordan Burns, Colgate (Fr., G)
Austin Butler, Holy Cross (Fr., G)
Alex Petrie, Lafayette (Fr., G)
"Our guys were really ready to play today," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "I thought the defense in particular was phenomenal. We had been really focused all week on trying to figure out our slow starts. We've given up a lot of goals in the first quarter, so that was a huge point of emphasis in practice this week and in film. For the guys to execute and give up zero in the first quarter was absolutely huge."
Spence's six goals and seven points shattered his previous career high of four in both categories. Pettit tied his career high with seven points behind two goals and a career-high five assists. Classmate Tristan Rai finished with two goals and an assist to reach exactly 100 career points. Five other Mountain Hawks scored a single goal, including the first-career tallies from freshman Teddy Leggett and sophomore Crew Cintron, and first goals of the season from juniors Craig Chick and Jackson Monnin. Sophomore Austin Clibanoff recorded his first-career point, an assist, in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, Chick had five groundballs and three caused turnovers while fellow junior Eddie Bouhall recorded five groundballs and two caused turnovers. Freshman Matt Douglas had two groundballs and two caused turnovers while Leggett recorded a groundball and four caused turnovers, to go with his goal. Sophomore Conor Gaffney won 10 of his first 11 faceoffs to finish 12-of-19 with eight groundballs.
"I'm really proud of our defense," said Cassese. "Offensively, we started a little bit slowly, but we certainly picked it up and were able to share the ball."
It took nearly 12 minutes for either team to get on the scoreboard, when Rai gave Lehigh a 1-0 lead with 3:29 remaining in the first quarter. Lucas Spence added two more goals before the first quarter was over, at 2:29 and 0:01 to give the Mountain Hawks a 3-0 advantage after a quarter of play.
Holy Cross scored off a faceoff just seven seconds into the second quarter, but the Mountain Hawks answered with the next six goals, beginning with Spence's third of the game. He added another goal while junior Alexander Tumminello rounded out the run, giving Lehigh a 9-2 lead with 2:52 remaining. The Crusaders pulled within 9-3 at the half.
The Mountain Hawks continued the momentum in the second, beginning with the first four goals, including two more from Spence. The Crusaders scored at 8:57 and 3:33 of the fourth quarter, but Cintron and Monnin rounded out the scoring, giving Lehigh the 15-4 win.
Final shots were 33-27 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 45-33 edge in groundballs. After freshman James Spence made seven saves through the first three quarters, sophomore Colin Kirst tallied three in the fourth before junior Chris Kiernan entered in the final minute and made a stop.
"I thought both Spence brothers were outstanding," said Cassese. "Lucas has been getting a ton of shots, but hasn't necessarily been finishing all his shots and he did that well today. I was really happy for him because he's been working hard in the film room and putting in the extra work. His brother James really stood tall on the defensive end. The defense played well in front of him but he was phenomenal behind him."
Following Saturday's game, the Mountain Hawks remain home next Saturday (Mar. 3) for another Patriot League matchup as they host Colgate at 1 p.m.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
2017-18 Men's Basketball All-Patriot League Team and Major Awards
Player of the Year: Zach Thomas, Bucknell (Sr., C)
Defensive Player of the Year: Jehyve Floyd, Holy Cross (Jr., F)
Rookie of the Year: Alex Petrie, Lafayette (Fr., G)
Coach of the Year: Matt Langel, Colgate
First-Team All-Patriot League
Nana Foulland, Bucknell (Sr., C)
Zach Thomas, Bucknell (Sr, F)
Stephen Brown, Bucknell (Sr., G)
Andre Walker, Loyola Maryland (Sr., G)
Shawn Anderson, Navy (Sr., G)
Second-Team All-Patriot League
Sa'eed Nelson, American (So., G)
Will Rayman, Colgate (So., F)
Matt Klinewski, Lafayette (Sr., F)
Kahron Ross, Lehigh, Sr., G)
Lance Tejada, Lehigh (Jr., G)
Third-Team All-Patriot League
Max Mahoney, Boston University (So., F)
Sean O'Brien, Colgate (Sr., G)
Jehyve Floyd, Holy Cross (Jr., F)
Jordan Swopshire, Colgate (Sr., F)
Alex Petrie, Lafayette (Fr., G)
All-Defensive Team
Nana Foulland, Bucknell (Sr, C)
Stephen Brown, Bucknell (Sr., G),
Jehyve Floyd, Holy Cross (Jr., F)
Andrew Kostecka, Loyola Maryland (So., G)
Bryce Dulin, Navy (Sr., G)
All-Rookie Team
Sam Iorio, American (Fr., F)
Walter Whyte, Boston University (Fr., F)
Jordan Burns, Colgate (Fr., G)
Austin Butler, Holy Cross (Fr., G)
Alex Petrie, Lafayette (Fr., G)
Team Stats
HC
LEHIGH
Shots
27
33
Turnovers
20
20
Caused Turnovers
11
14
Faceoffs Won
9
13
Extra-Man Opps
3
1
Ground Balls
33
45
Game Leaders
G
6
A
1
FO
-
Pen
1-60
GB
4
CT
1
G
2
A
5
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
3
CT
0
G
2
A
1
FO
-
Pen
1-60
GB
2
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
D/LSM
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
M/FO
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM/D
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's LacrosseA/M
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
/ Men's LacrosseA/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ 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
