Saturday, March 24
Bethlehem, Pa.
3 p.m.
Lehigh University
7-3, 4-1PL
7
vs
10
Navy
5-4, 4-1PL
1
2
3
4
F
Navy
3
1
4
2
10
Lehigh
1
3
2
1
7
No. 12/14 Lehigh falls short to Navy, 10-7
3/24/2018 8:27:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The No. 12/14 Lehigh men's lacrosse team held the advantage in practically every statistical category, but Navy goaltender Ryan Kern made a career-high 18 saves to shut the door on every Mountain Hawks' comeback attempt as Lehigh dropped a 10-7 final on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,178 fans at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Two consecutive man-up goals from junior Andrew Pettit pulled Lehigh even at four at the half, but Navy began the second half on a 3-0 run and would never trail. The loss marks Lehigh's first Patriot League defeat of the season as the Mountain Hawks fall to 7-3 overall, 4-1 in league play.
"I thought Navy had a great game plan; they did a good job and deserved to win," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "The difference today was their goaltender. He was outstanding. He really played a full four-quarter game and made it tough for us to mount anything that would look like a comeback today."
Lehigh's starting attackmen each recorded three points as Pettit and junior Lucas Spence had two goals and an assist while classmate Tristan Rai recorded a goal and two assists. Senior Ian Strain finished with a goal and assist.
Defensively, junior Eddie Bouhall had six groundballs and four caused turnovers to eclipse 50 caused turnovers in his career, while Craig Chick scored his second goal of the season and added four groundballs and four caused turnovers. Sophomore Conor Gaffney was stellar facing off, winning 13-of-21 on the day against Navy's Joe Varello, who entered the day winning 63.2 percent of his draws on the day.
"Our guys battled hard," said Cassese. "They were resilient. This was our fifth game in 15 days and I thought they left it all out on the field. I'm proud of them for doing that."
Navy jumped out to a 2-0 lead just 5:03 into the game before Strain scored his first of the season at the 6:52 mark. The teams traded goals until late in the second quarter when Pettit and the Mountain Hawks scored twice on a nonreleasable Navy penalty, at the 2:50 and 2:04 marks, to pull Lehigh even at 4-4 at the half.
(3/24/2018) Men's Lacrosse vs. Navy, 3/24/18
The Midshipmen began the third quarter on a 3-0 run before Chick and Spence scored in the span of 1:08. Lehigh attempted to pull even in the final minute, but Bouhall's shot was saved by Kern, leading to a transition goal on the other end as Navy took an 8-6 lead into the fourth.
That advantage swelled to 10-6 with 3:59 remaining in the fourth quarter. Rai scored just 13 seconds later and Lehigh won the ensuing faceoff looking to pull even closer, but Kern made his 17th stop of the afternoon on sophomore Andrew Eichelberger, all but ending the Mountain Hawks' hopes of a comeback.
Final shots were 38-26 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 39-27 edge in groundballs. Lehigh caused 14 of Navy's 19 turnovers while the Mountain Hawks turned the ball over just 11 times themselves. Lehigh was 2-of-2 on the extra man and improved to 62.1 percent on the year. If the season ended today, that mark would be second in NCAA history for a single season.
The Mountain Hawks will now hit the road next Saturday (Mar. 31) to face Boston University at 3:30 p.m.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
"I thought Navy had a great game plan; they did a good job and deserved to win," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "The difference today was their goaltender. He was outstanding. He really played a full four-quarter game and made it tough for us to mount anything that would look like a comeback today."
Lehigh's starting attackmen each recorded three points as Pettit and junior Lucas Spence had two goals and an assist while classmate Tristan Rai recorded a goal and two assists. Senior Ian Strain finished with a goal and assist.
Defensively, junior Eddie Bouhall had six groundballs and four caused turnovers to eclipse 50 caused turnovers in his career, while Craig Chick scored his second goal of the season and added four groundballs and four caused turnovers. Sophomore Conor Gaffney was stellar facing off, winning 13-of-21 on the day against Navy's Joe Varello, who entered the day winning 63.2 percent of his draws on the day.
"Our guys battled hard," said Cassese. "They were resilient. This was our fifth game in 15 days and I thought they left it all out on the field. I'm proud of them for doing that."
Navy jumped out to a 2-0 lead just 5:03 into the game before Strain scored his first of the season at the 6:52 mark. The teams traded goals until late in the second quarter when Pettit and the Mountain Hawks scored twice on a nonreleasable Navy penalty, at the 2:50 and 2:04 marks, to pull Lehigh even at 4-4 at the half.
The Midshipmen began the third quarter on a 3-0 run before Chick and Spence scored in the span of 1:08. Lehigh attempted to pull even in the final minute, but Bouhall's shot was saved by Kern, leading to a transition goal on the other end as Navy took an 8-6 lead into the fourth.
That advantage swelled to 10-6 with 3:59 remaining in the fourth quarter. Rai scored just 13 seconds later and Lehigh won the ensuing faceoff looking to pull even closer, but Kern made his 17th stop of the afternoon on sophomore Andrew Eichelberger, all but ending the Mountain Hawks' hopes of a comeback.
Final shots were 38-26 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 39-27 edge in groundballs. Lehigh caused 14 of Navy's 19 turnovers while the Mountain Hawks turned the ball over just 11 times themselves. Lehigh was 2-of-2 on the extra man and improved to 62.1 percent on the year. If the season ended today, that mark would be second in NCAA history for a single season.
The Mountain Hawks will now hit the road next Saturday (Mar. 31) to face Boston University at 3:30 p.m.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
NAVY
LEHIGH
Shots
26
38
Turnovers
19
11
Caused Turnovers
4
14
Faceoffs Won
8
13
Extra-Man Opps
0
2
Ground Balls
27
39
Game Leaders
G
2
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
4
CT
0
G
2
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
4
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
4
CT
4
G
1
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's LacrosseD/LSM
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
M/FO
/ Men's LacrosseA/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's LacrosseA/M
/ Men's LacrosseM
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