Tuesday, March 12
Piscataway, N.J.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Rutgers
Lehigh returns to action at Rutgers Tuesday on the Big Ten Network
3/11/2019 3:27:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Winners of two straight to jump back into the national rankings, the No. 16 Lehigh men's lacrosse teams is set for a Tuesday night showdown at No. 15 Rutgers. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. The Mountain Hawks are coming off consecutive wins over nationally-ranked Colgate and Army West Point, winning 10-8 then 11-8, respectively.
The Black Knights scored first on Saturday, but the Mountain Hawks used two 4-0 runs on the way to victory. Lehigh took a 4-1 lead into the second quarter before Army responded to pull even, but freshman Tommy Schelling scored with three seconds left in the quarter to give Lehigh a 5-4 halftime edge. Army scored 30 seconds into the third quarter, but Schelling scored again, just 35 seconds after that, to give him two goals and the Mountain Hawks a 6-5 edge. That sparked Lehigh's seconds four-goal run, which saw fellow freshman Cole Kirst score twice as well. It marked the first-career multi-goal games for both Schelling and Kirst.
The Black Knights pulled as close as 10-8 with 6:02 remaining, but Lehigh's defense, which currently stands seventh nationally, continued to stand tall as Army wouldn't get any closer. Senior Craig Chick led the defense with four groundballs and four caused turnovers to pick up Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. Classmate Eddie Bouhall had four groundballs and a caused turnover while holding Army's leading scorer, freshman Brendan Nichtern to just a goal and assist after entering with 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists) through his first five collegiate games. Nichtern's assist came in transition when Bouhall wasn't covering him.
Senior Lucas Spence continued his strong play after his return to the lineup, posting his second straight hat trick and finishing with three goals and an assist. He was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week, with junior Conor Gaffney garnering his second straight Faceoff Specialist of the Week honor. Gaffney was 18-of-23 at the X with 11 groundballs to up his percentage to over 70 percent. In league play, Gaffney is now 35-of-43 facing off (81.4 percent). Sophomore James Spence won his second straight Goalkeeper of the Week award as well, making 10 saves – nine over the final three quarters, including a number of timely stops. In the end, Lehigh won four of the five weekly awards on Monday (all except Rookie of the Week).
The Mountain Hawks are currently tied with Navy for first in the Patriot League with identical 2-0 league marks, with Loyola at 1-0. Lehigh stands seventh nationally in scoring defense (8.83), tied for first in groundballs (40.67) and third in faceoff winning percentage (0.698).
On Tuesday, Lehigh will look to win a third straight game against a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time since 2013 when it beat No. 12 Penn State on Mar. 9 (12-10), No. 9 Bucknell on Apr. 12 (11-7) and No. 13 Bucknell on Apr. 28 (11-5).
Rutgers stands 4-2 on the season, with its only two defeats coming to Patriot League foes Army (10-7) and Loyola (13-7). Most recently, Rutgers picked up a 9-8 win over in-state foe Princeton Saturday, despite the Tigers holding a 46-37 edge in shots. Adam Charalambides leads the offense in goals (15) and points (21) while Kiernan Mullins isn't far behind with 20 points (13 goals, seven assists) in only four games. Tommy Coyne is third with 10 points (six goals, four assists). Kyle Pless leads the defense with eight caused turnovers while as a team, Rutgers has won 51.4 percent of its faceoffs. In goal, Max Edelman has been sensational with an 8.75 goals against average and 0.646 save percentage.
Rutgers leads the all-time series against Lehigh, 39-9-1 following last season's 8-7 victory over the Mountain Hawks. An even matchup saw neither team lead by more than two goals. The Mountain Hawks scored two straight in the fourth to tie the score at seven, but the Scarlet Knights scored the game-winning goal with 4:17 remaining. It was only the third meeting between the two schools since 1971. Rutgers has won 13 straight in the all-time series. Prior to last year, the teams hadn't played since Apr. 11, 1990, a 21-6 Rutgers win. Lehigh's last win was in 1961, an 8-7 victory. The first-ever game between the sides came in 1887, a 12-0 Lehigh win. It came in Lehigh Lacrosse's third season; it was the program's fifth-ever game and first shutout.
Following Tuesday's game, the Mountain Hawks return to Patriot League play as they host rival Lafayette on Sunday, Mar. 17 at 1 p.m.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
The Black Knights scored first on Saturday, but the Mountain Hawks used two 4-0 runs on the way to victory. Lehigh took a 4-1 lead into the second quarter before Army responded to pull even, but freshman Tommy Schelling scored with three seconds left in the quarter to give Lehigh a 5-4 halftime edge. Army scored 30 seconds into the third quarter, but Schelling scored again, just 35 seconds after that, to give him two goals and the Mountain Hawks a 6-5 edge. That sparked Lehigh's seconds four-goal run, which saw fellow freshman Cole Kirst score twice as well. It marked the first-career multi-goal games for both Schelling and Kirst.
The Black Knights pulled as close as 10-8 with 6:02 remaining, but Lehigh's defense, which currently stands seventh nationally, continued to stand tall as Army wouldn't get any closer. Senior Craig Chick led the defense with four groundballs and four caused turnovers to pick up Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. Classmate Eddie Bouhall had four groundballs and a caused turnover while holding Army's leading scorer, freshman Brendan Nichtern to just a goal and assist after entering with 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists) through his first five collegiate games. Nichtern's assist came in transition when Bouhall wasn't covering him.
Senior Lucas Spence continued his strong play after his return to the lineup, posting his second straight hat trick and finishing with three goals and an assist. He was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week, with junior Conor Gaffney garnering his second straight Faceoff Specialist of the Week honor. Gaffney was 18-of-23 at the X with 11 groundballs to up his percentage to over 70 percent. In league play, Gaffney is now 35-of-43 facing off (81.4 percent). Sophomore James Spence won his second straight Goalkeeper of the Week award as well, making 10 saves – nine over the final three quarters, including a number of timely stops. In the end, Lehigh won four of the five weekly awards on Monday (all except Rookie of the Week).
The Mountain Hawks are currently tied with Navy for first in the Patriot League with identical 2-0 league marks, with Loyola at 1-0. Lehigh stands seventh nationally in scoring defense (8.83), tied for first in groundballs (40.67) and third in faceoff winning percentage (0.698).
On Tuesday, Lehigh will look to win a third straight game against a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time since 2013 when it beat No. 12 Penn State on Mar. 9 (12-10), No. 9 Bucknell on Apr. 12 (11-7) and No. 13 Bucknell on Apr. 28 (11-5).
Rutgers stands 4-2 on the season, with its only two defeats coming to Patriot League foes Army (10-7) and Loyola (13-7). Most recently, Rutgers picked up a 9-8 win over in-state foe Princeton Saturday, despite the Tigers holding a 46-37 edge in shots. Adam Charalambides leads the offense in goals (15) and points (21) while Kiernan Mullins isn't far behind with 20 points (13 goals, seven assists) in only four games. Tommy Coyne is third with 10 points (six goals, four assists). Kyle Pless leads the defense with eight caused turnovers while as a team, Rutgers has won 51.4 percent of its faceoffs. In goal, Max Edelman has been sensational with an 8.75 goals against average and 0.646 save percentage.
Rutgers leads the all-time series against Lehigh, 39-9-1 following last season's 8-7 victory over the Mountain Hawks. An even matchup saw neither team lead by more than two goals. The Mountain Hawks scored two straight in the fourth to tie the score at seven, but the Scarlet Knights scored the game-winning goal with 4:17 remaining. It was only the third meeting between the two schools since 1971. Rutgers has won 13 straight in the all-time series. Prior to last year, the teams hadn't played since Apr. 11, 1990, a 21-6 Rutgers win. Lehigh's last win was in 1961, an 8-7 victory. The first-ever game between the sides came in 1887, a 12-0 Lehigh win. It came in Lehigh Lacrosse's third season; it was the program's fifth-ever game and first shutout.
Following Tuesday's game, the Mountain Hawks return to Patriot League play as they host rival Lafayette on Sunday, Mar. 17 at 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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