Saturday, April 6
Baltimore, Md.
11 a.m.
Lehigh University
7-4, 5-1PL
9
at
15
Loyola
8-2, 5-0PL
1
2
3
4
F
Lehigh
0
3
3
3
9
Loyola Maryland
6
4
3
2
15
No. 15 Mountain Hawks can’t respond from early blitz from No. 2 Loyola, fall 15-9
4/6/2019 3:37:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BALTIMORE – No. 2 Loyola jumped out to a 6-0 lead after one quarter and 9-0 advantage early in the second, and despite the Mountain Hawks beginning to hit their stride, the closest they could the margin to was six in a 15-9 defeat on Saturday. Lehigh pulled within 10-4 and 12-6 in the third quarter, needing one more surge to pull within striking distance, but the Greyhounds always had an answer. The loss is Lehigh's first since February, snapping a six-game winning streak. The Mountain Hawks fall to 7-4 on the season, 5-1 in Patriot League play while Loyola improves to 8-2 and 5-0.
"I thought Loyola played great," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "That was the best game they've played, maybe all year, so you need to give them credit. If they play like that, I don't think it really matters much, but we helped them out quite a bit. That was one of their better efforts and one of our worst efforts of the season."
Arguably the nation's top attackman, and player, Pat Spencer finished with five goals and six assists for his second straight game with 10+ points.
Gallery: (4/6/2019) Men's Lacrosse at Loyola, 4/6/19
"You look at the way it starts. I think we should probably slide to the player of the year (Spencer) on the first play that he touches it," said Cassese. "That was disappointing to see. It just continued to unravel from there."
No other Greyhounds' player had more than three points. Lehigh was just 14-of-19 on the clear and couldn't maintain possession like it needed in order to limit Spencer's touches.
"We didn't win our fair share of faceoffs and we failed to clear the ball very well," said Cassese. "A lot of that was due to their ride. I give them a lot of credit. Their ride was completely different than what they've shown all year. We didn't have possession and that was a huge part of the game. The best game plan to stop number seven (Spencer) is to keep the ball away from him and we didn't do that today."
Sophomore Teddy Leggett enjoyed a strong game defensively and on the faceoff wing, posting seven groundballs and four caused turnovers, both tying career highs. Offensively, three Mountain Hawks scored two goals apiece – senior Tristan Rai, junior Ryan Klose and freshman Cole Kirst. The goal totals set a career high for Klose, while tying Kirst's career best.
Spencer had a hand in six of Loyola's first nine goals in the early surge. Rai got the Mountain Hawks on the board at the 8:26 mark of the second quarter, off a tremendous pass from freshman Tommy Schelling (who dished a career-high three assists on the afternoon). Schelling assisted Klose less than two minutes later. After a Loyola score at the 2:21 mark, senior Mickey Fitzpatrick fed Kirst in front of the goal, who beat the horn to pull Lehigh within 10-3 at the half.
Senior Alexander Tumminello got the second-half scoring started on a delayed penalty just over a minute in, pulling the Mountain Hawks back within six for the first of three times in the half. Later in the quarter, consecutive goals from Rai and Kirst pulled the Mountain Hawks within 12-6 at the 4:15 mark, but three straight Loyola goals bridging the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth erased any doubt.
Lehigh closed the game on a 3-0 run, with goals from Klose (man-up), senior Jackson Monnin and junior Andrew Eichelberger, to pull within 15-9 when the clocks hit zero.
Final shots were 47-39 in favor of Loyola while the Greyhounds held a 35-28 edge in groundballs. Junior Conor Gaffney was 10-of-21 facing off (and Lehigh was 11-of-27 for the game). Gaffney did reach the 500 career faceoff win plateau, becoming the first in school history and fourth in Patriot League history to reach that milestone.
Sophomore James Spence made 12 saves for Lehigh, including six in the third quarter and nine in the second half. Senior Chris Kiernan entered late and made a stop for the Mountain Hawks. Jacob Stover finished with 15 saves for Loyola.
The Mountain Hawks return home on Wednesday for a nonleague matchup vs. Robert Morris at 5 p.m.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
"I thought Loyola played great," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "That was the best game they've played, maybe all year, so you need to give them credit. If they play like that, I don't think it really matters much, but we helped them out quite a bit. That was one of their better efforts and one of our worst efforts of the season."
Arguably the nation's top attackman, and player, Pat Spencer finished with five goals and six assists for his second straight game with 10+ points.
"You look at the way it starts. I think we should probably slide to the player of the year (Spencer) on the first play that he touches it," said Cassese. "That was disappointing to see. It just continued to unravel from there."
No other Greyhounds' player had more than three points. Lehigh was just 14-of-19 on the clear and couldn't maintain possession like it needed in order to limit Spencer's touches.
"We didn't win our fair share of faceoffs and we failed to clear the ball very well," said Cassese. "A lot of that was due to their ride. I give them a lot of credit. Their ride was completely different than what they've shown all year. We didn't have possession and that was a huge part of the game. The best game plan to stop number seven (Spencer) is to keep the ball away from him and we didn't do that today."
Sophomore Teddy Leggett enjoyed a strong game defensively and on the faceoff wing, posting seven groundballs and four caused turnovers, both tying career highs. Offensively, three Mountain Hawks scored two goals apiece – senior Tristan Rai, junior Ryan Klose and freshman Cole Kirst. The goal totals set a career high for Klose, while tying Kirst's career best.
Spencer had a hand in six of Loyola's first nine goals in the early surge. Rai got the Mountain Hawks on the board at the 8:26 mark of the second quarter, off a tremendous pass from freshman Tommy Schelling (who dished a career-high three assists on the afternoon). Schelling assisted Klose less than two minutes later. After a Loyola score at the 2:21 mark, senior Mickey Fitzpatrick fed Kirst in front of the goal, who beat the horn to pull Lehigh within 10-3 at the half.
Senior Alexander Tumminello got the second-half scoring started on a delayed penalty just over a minute in, pulling the Mountain Hawks back within six for the first of three times in the half. Later in the quarter, consecutive goals from Rai and Kirst pulled the Mountain Hawks within 12-6 at the 4:15 mark, but three straight Loyola goals bridging the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth erased any doubt.
Lehigh closed the game on a 3-0 run, with goals from Klose (man-up), senior Jackson Monnin and junior Andrew Eichelberger, to pull within 15-9 when the clocks hit zero.
Ryan Klose with the extra-man goal. Loyola leads 15-7, mid fourth quarter. Watch on @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/o27gi1kpim
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) April 6, 2019
Final shots were 47-39 in favor of Loyola while the Greyhounds held a 35-28 edge in groundballs. Junior Conor Gaffney was 10-of-21 facing off (and Lehigh was 11-of-27 for the game). Gaffney did reach the 500 career faceoff win plateau, becoming the first in school history and fourth in Patriot League history to reach that milestone.
This faceoff win by Conor Gaffney to start the third quarter is number 500 of his career. Congrats, Conor! He is just the fourth in @PL_MLAX history to reach that milestone - and he's just a junior. pic.twitter.com/hch5jeoaiS
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) April 6, 2019
Sophomore James Spence made 12 saves for Lehigh, including six in the third quarter and nine in the second half. Senior Chris Kiernan entered late and made a stop for the Mountain Hawks. Jacob Stover finished with 15 saves for Loyola.
The Mountain Hawks return home on Wednesday for a nonleague matchup vs. Robert Morris at 5 p.m.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
LOYOLA
Shots
39
47
Turnovers
14
13
Caused Turnovers
7
9
Faceoffs Won
11
16
Extra-Man Opps
5
4
Ground Balls
28
35
Game Leaders
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
2
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
M/FO
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM/D
/ Men's LacrosseM
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's LacrosseLehigh Sports Central: Men's Lacrosse
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