Spence Brothers Fueling Lehigh's Turnaround
3/28/2019 3:07:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse, Student Athlete, Features
From US Lacrosse Magazine
By: Justin Lafleur
You often hear teams say they're a family, competing alongside their brothers.
That couldn't be more true for the Lehigh men's lacrosse team, whose camaraderie and togetherness allowed them to fight through early-season adversity and a 1-3 start to win five straight games.
It's also true because there are literally two sets of brothers on the Mountain Hawks, including Lucas and James Spence – an attackman and goaltender separated by two years who are two of the primary drivers of the Mountain Hawks' recent success.
In Lehigh's five-game winning streak, Lucas has 25 points (15 goals, 10 assists) while James has stopped more than 60 percent of the shots sent his way, twice making a career-high 17 saves (at Rutgers and at Navy) and winning Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week three times in March.
"It has always been fun playing with a sibling," said Lucas, a senior while James is a sophomore. "It's an interesting dynamic. Your teammates are your brothers, but literally one is my blood relative. I'm with James 365 days a year, between lacrosse and going home, family vacations and bus trips."
A bus trip to Colgate preceded the Mountain Hawks' turnaround. Early in the year, the team faced hardship, primarily due to injuries – none bigger than losing leading returning scorer Andrew Pettit for the season. In February games at Virginia and Cornell, Lehigh took leads into the third and fourth quarters, respectively, but fell just short.
"It was a gut check," said Lucas. "But then, the Colgate win happened along with taking down Army and Rutgers within days. It was huge for us, especially being down at Rutgers and having a surge at the end of the game to close out that win (Lehigh outscored the Scarlet Knights 8-2 over the final 18:10 of the contest)."
For the full story on the US Lacrosse Magazine Website, please click here.Â
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By: Justin Lafleur
You often hear teams say they're a family, competing alongside their brothers.
That couldn't be more true for the Lehigh men's lacrosse team, whose camaraderie and togetherness allowed them to fight through early-season adversity and a 1-3 start to win five straight games.
It's also true because there are literally two sets of brothers on the Mountain Hawks, including Lucas and James Spence – an attackman and goaltender separated by two years who are two of the primary drivers of the Mountain Hawks' recent success.
In Lehigh's five-game winning streak, Lucas has 25 points (15 goals, 10 assists) while James has stopped more than 60 percent of the shots sent his way, twice making a career-high 17 saves (at Rutgers and at Navy) and winning Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week three times in March.
"It has always been fun playing with a sibling," said Lucas, a senior while James is a sophomore. "It's an interesting dynamic. Your teammates are your brothers, but literally one is my blood relative. I'm with James 365 days a year, between lacrosse and going home, family vacations and bus trips."
A bus trip to Colgate preceded the Mountain Hawks' turnaround. Early in the year, the team faced hardship, primarily due to injuries – none bigger than losing leading returning scorer Andrew Pettit for the season. In February games at Virginia and Cornell, Lehigh took leads into the third and fourth quarters, respectively, but fell just short.
"It was a gut check," said Lucas. "But then, the Colgate win happened along with taking down Army and Rutgers within days. It was huge for us, especially being down at Rutgers and having a surge at the end of the game to close out that win (Lehigh outscored the Scarlet Knights 8-2 over the final 18:10 of the contest)."
For the full story on the US Lacrosse Magazine Website, please click here.Â
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