No. 15 Lehigh heads to Annapolis Saturday for big matchup at Navy

Saturday, March 23

Annapolis, Md.

12 p.m.

Lehigh University

Navy

Photo by: Hannahally Photography

No. 15 Lehigh heads to Annapolis Saturday for big matchup at Navy

3/22/2019 10:24:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

Game Notes Watch Live on the Patriot League Network (Free)Live Stats

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The No. 15 Lehigh men's lacrosse looks to keep the momentum going from its four-game winning streak when it travels to Navy on Saturday for a big Patriot League showdown. Opening faceoff is set for 12 p.m. in a rematch of last season's Patriot League semifinal matchup. Lehigh's four-game win streak is its largest since posting a pair of four-game streaks during the 2014 season. The Mountain Hawks will be vying for their fifth straight win, which would mark their longest since winning seven in a row in 2013.

At 3-0 in league play, Lehigh stands alone in first place in the league standings (Loyola is right behind at 2-0). The Mountain Hawks are up to No. 15 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and 17 in the USILA Coaches Poll. With the turn of the calendar to March, Lehigh turned the tides from a tough February. Standing 1-3, the Mountain Hawks defeated No. 16 Colgate (10-8), No. 17 Army West Point (11-8) then No. 15 Rutgers (13-10) before topping rival Lafayette (15-7) on Sunday.

Against the Leopards, the Mountain Hawks jumped out to a 4-0 lead after a quarter of play. It was the third quarter this season Lehigh has held an opponent scoreless (and first time it happened in the first quarter). The closest Lafayette would get in the second half was four (9-5), but Lehigh immediately answered with a 6-0 run to erase any doubt. The starting attack of seniors Tristan Rai, Lucas Spence and Mickey Fitzpatrick combined for 16 points (eight goals, eight assists). Rai tied a career high with seven points (four goals, three assists), tying last season's game at Lafayette. Spence had three goals and three assists and now has 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) over the last four games since his return to the lineup. Fitzpatrick had a goal and two assists for a career-high tying three points. Fitzpatrick had a hand in Lehigh's first three goals to get the Mountain Hawks going on Sunday.

Senior Alexander Tumminello posted his third-career hat trick (all this season), with all three goals coming on the extra man. It marked the first time Lehigh had three hat tricks in a game since exactly one year prior at Lafayette when Spence, Rai and Fitzpatrick all did. Junior Andrew Eichelberger and freshman Cole Kirst each had a goal and assist on Sunday. Freshman Tommy Schelling made his first-career start and one day later, was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week due in large part to his game-winning goal at No. 15 Rutgers on Tuesday. Defensively, senior Craig Chick led the charge against Lafayette with a groundball and three caused turnovers to up his career total to 137. He was also honored by the league, winning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for the second straight week. Alongside Chick on close defense, freshman Michael Hagenberger caused two turnovers in his first-career start while senior Matt Rimol collected a career-high four groundballs, double his previous career high.

Several Mountain Hawks posted career highs in groundballs on Sunday, including Spence (7), Fitzpatrick (5) and junior Christian McHugh (3). Sophomore Matt Douglas tied his career high with four GBs. As a team, Lehigh had 52, its second game this season with more than 50 (along with the season opener at NJIT when the Mountain Hawks had 56). The Mountain Hawks now lead the nation in groundballs per game (41.50).

Another area where Lehigh is strong is the faceoff game, standing third nationally with a 68.5 percentage. On Sunday, junior Conor Gaffney won 15-of-18 with 11 groundballs, in a strong bounce-back effort following an 8-of-17 showing at Rutgers. In the end, Lehigh picked up its 10th straight win over Lafayette, tied for the program's longest-ever winning streak against the Leopards.
This Saturday is a critical game for the Patriot League standings, with Lehigh in first at 3-0 and Navy tied for third at 2-1.

Navy is 4-3 on the season, but has lost three of its last five games. After beginning the year 2-0, the Midshipmen have traded wins and losses since. Last time out, Navy dropped a tough 18-5 final at No. 9 Loyola. Navy's wins have come over Vermont (13-8), UMBC (11-6), Bucknell (14-8) and Lafayette (12-7). Christian Daniel leads the Mids in goals (19) and points (26) while Ryan Wade is right behind with 24 points via eight goals and a team-leading 16 assists. Nick Barry has taken the majority of the faceoffs, winning 58-of-122 (47.5 percent). Ryan Kern has started all seven games in goal, tallying an 11.25 GAA and 53.3 save percentage.

Lehigh snapped a four-game losing streak vs. Navy in last season's Patriot League semifinal. Prior to Navy's four-game streak, the Mountain Hawks had won the previous five. Six of Lehigh's seven all-time wins vs. Navy have come since 2011. In 2011, Lehigh defeated Navy 14-10 in Bethlehem to beat the Mids for the first time in 98 years and snap a 26-game losing streak in the series. The first-ever meeting was in 1910, a 4-2 Navy victory.

Following Saturday's game, the Mountain Hawks return home for a Patriot League showdown vs. Boston University on Saturday, Mar. 30 at 2 p.m.

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