Friday, May 3
Baltimore, Md.
8 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Boston University (Semifinals)
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Mountain Hawks set for Patriot League Semifinal showdown vs. Boston U. Friday night
5/2/2019 11:35:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The second-seeded Lehigh men's lacrosse team is set for its second season when it squares off against third-seeded Boston University in the Patriot League Semifinals on Friday evening. Opening faceoff is set for 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. Lehigh-Boston U. will be game two of a doubleheader held at No. 1 seed Loyola. The Greyhounds begin the day by hosting fourth-seeded Army West Point at 5 p.m.
The Mountain Hawks went 6-0 in the month of March (5-0 in league play, and a nonleague win at Rutgers). Those five wins would prove to be all they would need to earn a top-two seed and bye into the Patriot League Quarterfinals. At 5-3, Lehigh finished in a tie with Boston University and Army West Point, earning the No. 2 seed due to beating both the Terriers and Black Knights. The Mountain Hawks earned a top two seed for the first time since 2013, when they were No. 1 and hosted the Patriot League Tournament. The last time Lehigh came in at No. 2 was 2012, when it picked up a thrilling 16-14 win at No. 1 Colgate in the championship game.
Overall, Lehigh has won four straight semifinal games, last falling in the semis in 2011. Since, the Mountain Hawks beat Army in 2012 (at Colgate), Colgate in 2013 (at Lehigh), Army in 2014 (at Loyola) and Navy in 2018 (at Loyola). Friday will mark the second all-time Patriot League Tournament meeting vs. Boston University and first since falling in the quarterfinals in Boston in 2017.
Lehigh has been struggling a bit entering the postseason, dropping four of its last five games. Last Friday, the Mountain Hawks closed the regular season with a 12-7 defeat at Holy Cross. In the first half of its game, Boston University fell at Navy to officially clinch the Mountain Hawks the No. 2 seed (regardless of the outcome vs. the Crusaders). Holy Cross used a 5-0 run bridging the second and third quarters to turn a 3-2 Lehigh lead into a 7-3 Crusaders' advantage. The Mountain Hawks went on a 3-1 run late in the third quarter, but Holy Cross outscored the Mountain Hawks 4-1 in the fourth quarter to pull away.
Senior Tristan Rai led Lehigh's offense with three goals for his second hat trick of the season (and 17th of his career). Classmate Lucas Spence had a goal and two assists while juniors Ryan Klose and Parker Kent each had a goal and assist. For Kent, his two points marked a career high while Klose tied a career high and tallied his third multi-point game of the season.
Junior Conor Gaffney continued his impressive season, winning 14-of-23 faceoffs (10-of-12 in the second half) with seven groundballs. The effort came vs. Holy Cross' Dan O'Connell, in a battle of top five faceoff men in the country entering the day (by faceoff percentage). Gaffney was honored with Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Week on Monday, his third award of the season, while also being named Faceoff Specialist of the Year. Then, later in the week, Gaffney garnered Scholar-Athlete of the Year recognition.
Another standout was senior Craig Chick, who had four groundballs and four caused turnovers to move to 154 in his career, just four from tying the NCAA record. With a strong Patriot League Tournament, he could tie or break the all-time mark of 158 held by Detroit's Jordan Houtby (2010-13).
The Mountain Hawks are eying a trip to the Patriot League Championship Game for a second straight year and fifth time in the last eight seasons.
Boston University enters the weekend with an 11-5 record, following a 14-8 Patriot League Quarterfinal win over visiting Bucknell. After Lehigh defeated the Terriers on Mar. 30, they responded in a big win with wins against No. 16 Army West Point, No. 2 Loyola and Holy Cross. They then dropped a 13-12 final at Navy in the regular season finale. Chris Gray leads the offense with a Patriot League record 108 points (48 goals, 60 assists), which is also No. 1 in the nation. James Burr leads the team in goals (54) while adding 15 assists for 69 points. Tied for third on the Terriers with 39 points is Timmy Ley (33 goals, six assists) and Brendan Homire (19 goals, 20 assists). Sean Christman has won 58.5 percent of his faceoffs (190-of-325) with 118 groundballs while Reece Eddy leads the Terriers with 33 caused turnovers. Joe McSorley has started all 16 games in goal, tallying a 10.08 GAA and 55.2 save percentage.
Lehigh is 6-1 all-time against Boston University, with none of the wins coming by more than four goals. The Mountain Hawks won in 2014 (10-7), 2015 (10-8), 2016 (8-7), 2017 (10-6) and 2018 (7-6). The Terriers won 10-4 in the 2017 Patriot League Quarterfinals. This year, the Mountain Hawks used a five-goal third quarter to take a 10-5 lead heading to the fourth. Boston University made a fourth-quarter surge, but the Mountain Hawks held them off for the 10-8 victory. Lehigh held BU to eight goals, tied for the Terriers' second lowest goal total of the season.
If the Mountain Hawks win on Friday, they would advance to their second straight Patriot League Championship Game and face either top-seeded Loyola or fourth-seeded Army West Point on Sunday. Opening faceoff at Loyola's Ridley Athletic Complex is set for 12 p.m.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
The Mountain Hawks went 6-0 in the month of March (5-0 in league play, and a nonleague win at Rutgers). Those five wins would prove to be all they would need to earn a top-two seed and bye into the Patriot League Quarterfinals. At 5-3, Lehigh finished in a tie with Boston University and Army West Point, earning the No. 2 seed due to beating both the Terriers and Black Knights. The Mountain Hawks earned a top two seed for the first time since 2013, when they were No. 1 and hosted the Patriot League Tournament. The last time Lehigh came in at No. 2 was 2012, when it picked up a thrilling 16-14 win at No. 1 Colgate in the championship game.
Overall, Lehigh has won four straight semifinal games, last falling in the semis in 2011. Since, the Mountain Hawks beat Army in 2012 (at Colgate), Colgate in 2013 (at Lehigh), Army in 2014 (at Loyola) and Navy in 2018 (at Loyola). Friday will mark the second all-time Patriot League Tournament meeting vs. Boston University and first since falling in the quarterfinals in Boston in 2017.
Lehigh has been struggling a bit entering the postseason, dropping four of its last five games. Last Friday, the Mountain Hawks closed the regular season with a 12-7 defeat at Holy Cross. In the first half of its game, Boston University fell at Navy to officially clinch the Mountain Hawks the No. 2 seed (regardless of the outcome vs. the Crusaders). Holy Cross used a 5-0 run bridging the second and third quarters to turn a 3-2 Lehigh lead into a 7-3 Crusaders' advantage. The Mountain Hawks went on a 3-1 run late in the third quarter, but Holy Cross outscored the Mountain Hawks 4-1 in the fourth quarter to pull away.
Senior Tristan Rai led Lehigh's offense with three goals for his second hat trick of the season (and 17th of his career). Classmate Lucas Spence had a goal and two assists while juniors Ryan Klose and Parker Kent each had a goal and assist. For Kent, his two points marked a career high while Klose tied a career high and tallied his third multi-point game of the season.
Junior Conor Gaffney continued his impressive season, winning 14-of-23 faceoffs (10-of-12 in the second half) with seven groundballs. The effort came vs. Holy Cross' Dan O'Connell, in a battle of top five faceoff men in the country entering the day (by faceoff percentage). Gaffney was honored with Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Week on Monday, his third award of the season, while also being named Faceoff Specialist of the Year. Then, later in the week, Gaffney garnered Scholar-Athlete of the Year recognition.
Another standout was senior Craig Chick, who had four groundballs and four caused turnovers to move to 154 in his career, just four from tying the NCAA record. With a strong Patriot League Tournament, he could tie or break the all-time mark of 158 held by Detroit's Jordan Houtby (2010-13).
The Mountain Hawks are eying a trip to the Patriot League Championship Game for a second straight year and fifth time in the last eight seasons.
Boston University enters the weekend with an 11-5 record, following a 14-8 Patriot League Quarterfinal win over visiting Bucknell. After Lehigh defeated the Terriers on Mar. 30, they responded in a big win with wins against No. 16 Army West Point, No. 2 Loyola and Holy Cross. They then dropped a 13-12 final at Navy in the regular season finale. Chris Gray leads the offense with a Patriot League record 108 points (48 goals, 60 assists), which is also No. 1 in the nation. James Burr leads the team in goals (54) while adding 15 assists for 69 points. Tied for third on the Terriers with 39 points is Timmy Ley (33 goals, six assists) and Brendan Homire (19 goals, 20 assists). Sean Christman has won 58.5 percent of his faceoffs (190-of-325) with 118 groundballs while Reece Eddy leads the Terriers with 33 caused turnovers. Joe McSorley has started all 16 games in goal, tallying a 10.08 GAA and 55.2 save percentage.
Lehigh is 6-1 all-time against Boston University, with none of the wins coming by more than four goals. The Mountain Hawks won in 2014 (10-7), 2015 (10-8), 2016 (8-7), 2017 (10-6) and 2018 (7-6). The Terriers won 10-4 in the 2017 Patriot League Quarterfinals. This year, the Mountain Hawks used a five-goal third quarter to take a 10-5 lead heading to the fourth. Boston University made a fourth-quarter surge, but the Mountain Hawks held them off for the 10-8 victory. Lehigh held BU to eight goals, tied for the Terriers' second lowest goal total of the season.
If the Mountain Hawks win on Friday, they would advance to their second straight Patriot League Championship Game and face either top-seeded Loyola or fourth-seeded Army West Point on Sunday. Opening faceoff at Loyola's Ridley Athletic Complex is set for 12 p.m.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Players Mentioned
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