Friday, February 15
Charlottesville, Va.
5 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Virginia
Mountain Hawks travel to No. 11 Virginia, now set for Friday at 5 p.m.
2/14/2019 12:53:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following a hard-fought 4-3 defeat to Hofstra, the Lehigh men's lacrosse team will look to bounce back at No. 11 Virginia, now set for Friday at 5 p.m. due to impending weather on Saturday. The game can be viewed live on ACC Network Extra (WatchESPN). The Mountain Hawks stand 1-1 on the season, also defeating NJIT on Feb. 2. The Cavaliers are coming off a 17-9 loss to No. 4 ranked and Patriot League foe Loyola.
Friday will mark just the second-ever meeting between Lehigh and Virginia and first since 1906 - an 11-1 Lehigh victory. This will mark the fourth straight season the Mountain Hawks play a team from the ACC, facing No. 3 Duke in 2016 (13-11 defeat), No. 2/3 North Carolina in 2017 (15-8 loss) and No. 13/14 North Carolina in 2018 (12-11 defeat in overtime).
The Mountain Hawks' 4-3 loss to Hofstra marked the fewest combined goals in a Lehigh game since 2008 when it dropped a 4-3 final to Army on Mar. 19, 2008. Lehigh opened leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but the Pride outscored the Mountain Hawks 3-0 in the fourth quarter to come out victorious. Lehigh's defense didn't allow a goal for the game's first 24:07 and just one goal over the first 46:22. Sophomore James Spence was stellar in goal, making a career-high 16 saves, stopping 14-of-15 shots sent his way over the first three quarters.
Senior Craig Chick continued his strong play, posting five groundballs and two caused turnovers to reach 125 CTs in his career, moving past John LoCascio (Villanova) (123), Jamie Hebden (Detroit) (123) and Ryan O'Donoghue (Sacred Heart) (124) into sole possession of third place in NCAA history. Sophomore Teddy Leggett had six groundballs and a career-high tying four caused turnovers. Senior attackman Tristan Rai caused two turnovers as well.
Offensively, senior Mickey Fitzpatrick led the way with two goals, while junior Ryan Klose opened the scoring at the 2:42 mark of the first quarter. Hofstra goaltender Robert Casey had 14 saves, including seven in the first quarter to help limit the Mountain Hawks' attack. Junior Conor Gaffney finished 6-of-10 facing off, including a perfect 4-of-4 in the fourth quarter. Through two games, Gaffney has won 66.7 percent of his draws (20-of-30) with 12 groundballs.
Lehigh will be searching for its first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since defeating No. 11/13 Navy in the 2018 Patriot League Semifinals. The Mountain Hawks then played Loyola in the title game, who went on to face UVA in the NCAA Tournament and open up its season against the Cavaliers this season. Last season, Lehigh picked up three wins over ranked foes - also beating No. 12 Army (9-7) and No. 18/19 Hofstra (13-8). Following Friday's game, Lehigh will head to another top-ranked opponent, traveling to No. 5/6 Cornell next Sunday (Feb. 24). The Mountain Hawks will be on the road for three straight, also traveling to No. 18/20 Colgate on Mar. 2 before hosting Army West Point on Mar. 9.
Last season, Virginia advanced to the NCAA Tournament where it lost to Loyola; the Cavaliers finished 12-6, including 1-3 in the ACC. This year, in Lars Tiffany's third season at UVA, the Cavaliers are 0-1 following a 17-9 defeat at Loyola. Matt Moore and Dox Allex each tallied a hat trick, as Moore finished with three goals and two assists. UVA held a 45-40 edge in shots, but Loyola goaltender Jacob Stover made 17 saves. The team's top two scorers from last season return in Michael Kraus (44 goals, 39 assists) and Allex (39 goals, 12 assists), who each eclipsed 50 points in 2018. Alex Rode returns as the starting goaltender after tallying an 11.58 GAA and 0.493 save percentage a season ago.
Lehigh leads the all-time series with Virginia, 1-0, with the only other meeting coming in 1906 - an 11-1 victory.
Following Friday's contest, the Mountain Hawks travel to Cornell on Sunday, Feb. 24 to face Cornell at 1 p.m.
Friday will mark just the second-ever meeting between Lehigh and Virginia and first since 1906 - an 11-1 Lehigh victory. This will mark the fourth straight season the Mountain Hawks play a team from the ACC, facing No. 3 Duke in 2016 (13-11 defeat), No. 2/3 North Carolina in 2017 (15-8 loss) and No. 13/14 North Carolina in 2018 (12-11 defeat in overtime).
The Mountain Hawks' 4-3 loss to Hofstra marked the fewest combined goals in a Lehigh game since 2008 when it dropped a 4-3 final to Army on Mar. 19, 2008. Lehigh opened leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but the Pride outscored the Mountain Hawks 3-0 in the fourth quarter to come out victorious. Lehigh's defense didn't allow a goal for the game's first 24:07 and just one goal over the first 46:22. Sophomore James Spence was stellar in goal, making a career-high 16 saves, stopping 14-of-15 shots sent his way over the first three quarters.
Senior Craig Chick continued his strong play, posting five groundballs and two caused turnovers to reach 125 CTs in his career, moving past John LoCascio (Villanova) (123), Jamie Hebden (Detroit) (123) and Ryan O'Donoghue (Sacred Heart) (124) into sole possession of third place in NCAA history. Sophomore Teddy Leggett had six groundballs and a career-high tying four caused turnovers. Senior attackman Tristan Rai caused two turnovers as well.
Offensively, senior Mickey Fitzpatrick led the way with two goals, while junior Ryan Klose opened the scoring at the 2:42 mark of the first quarter. Hofstra goaltender Robert Casey had 14 saves, including seven in the first quarter to help limit the Mountain Hawks' attack. Junior Conor Gaffney finished 6-of-10 facing off, including a perfect 4-of-4 in the fourth quarter. Through two games, Gaffney has won 66.7 percent of his draws (20-of-30) with 12 groundballs.
Lehigh will be searching for its first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since defeating No. 11/13 Navy in the 2018 Patriot League Semifinals. The Mountain Hawks then played Loyola in the title game, who went on to face UVA in the NCAA Tournament and open up its season against the Cavaliers this season. Last season, Lehigh picked up three wins over ranked foes - also beating No. 12 Army (9-7) and No. 18/19 Hofstra (13-8). Following Friday's game, Lehigh will head to another top-ranked opponent, traveling to No. 5/6 Cornell next Sunday (Feb. 24). The Mountain Hawks will be on the road for three straight, also traveling to No. 18/20 Colgate on Mar. 2 before hosting Army West Point on Mar. 9.
Last season, Virginia advanced to the NCAA Tournament where it lost to Loyola; the Cavaliers finished 12-6, including 1-3 in the ACC. This year, in Lars Tiffany's third season at UVA, the Cavaliers are 0-1 following a 17-9 defeat at Loyola. Matt Moore and Dox Allex each tallied a hat trick, as Moore finished with three goals and two assists. UVA held a 45-40 edge in shots, but Loyola goaltender Jacob Stover made 17 saves. The team's top two scorers from last season return in Michael Kraus (44 goals, 39 assists) and Allex (39 goals, 12 assists), who each eclipsed 50 points in 2018. Alex Rode returns as the starting goaltender after tallying an 11.58 GAA and 0.493 save percentage a season ago.
Lehigh leads the all-time series with Virginia, 1-0, with the only other meeting coming in 1906 - an 11-1 victory.
Following Friday's contest, the Mountain Hawks travel to Cornell on Sunday, Feb. 24 to face Cornell at 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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