Sunday, May 5
Baltimore, Md.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
9-8
7
vs
11
Army West Point (Championship)
13-4
1
2
3
4
F
Army West Point
3
0
2
6
11
Lehigh
0
5
1
1
7
Photo by: Larry French
Tough first and fourth quarters prove too much to overcome in 11-7 title game defeat to Army
5/5/2019 4:57:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BALTIMORE – The second-seeded Lehigh men's lacrosse team bounced back from a tough start to outscore fourth-seeded and 19th-ranked Army West Point 7-2 over the middle 35 minutes, but the Black Knights responded by scoring six unanswered goals over the final 12:16 to defeat the Mountain Hawks, 11-7 in the Patriot League Championship Game Sunday. Senior Mickey Fitzpatrick helped lead the offensive charge with his fourth-career hat trick. On the other side of the field, classmate Craig Chick had three caused turnovers to finish his career with 160 – a new NCAA all-time record. Junior Conor Gaffney was stellar facing off, winning 18-of-22 with 15 groundballs, winning his final 13 faceoffs of the game. In the process, he broke the Patriot League record for faceoff wins in a season (finishing with 249) while his 69.7 percentage for the season is also a league record.
Gaffney's 69.7 percentage on the year was good for a tie for 17th place in NCAA history for a single season. He finished the season with Patriot League records in percentage, faceoff wins and groundballs (152), all school records as well. Chick's three caused turnovers helped him pass Detroit's Jordan Houtby, who held the mark at the start of the day. Gaffney, Chick and sophomore goaltender James Spence were Lehigh's All-Tournament Team honorees. Spence had 14 saves on Sunday, 10 coming in the first half.
Along with Fitzpatrick's three goals, freshman Tommy Schelling had three points (one goal, two assists) and senior Tristan Rai recorded two points (one goal, one assist), the goal being the 100th of his career. He ends his career with multiple points in 10 straight games.
Army jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, with both goaltenders standing tall as Spence and Black Knights' goalie A.J. Barretto had four first-quarter saves apiece.
"After the first quarter, I told our guys it was a microcosm of our season," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "We came out of the gates in February and got our doors blown off. We started 1-3 then we fought back in March. I told them to treat the second quarter like it was March, and they did. They responded really well. That's what this team has been doing all year. We know we have flaws and we don't make excuses for those. We just say that we're just going to get the next one. That's what our guys did."
The Mountain Hawks went on to outscore Army in the second quarter, 5-0. Senior Lucas Spence began the scoring at the 11:09 mark. Fitzpatrick scored two of the next three, with an Alexander Tumminello goal in between. The rally was capped off with 17 seconds left, as Rai scored from freshman Mike Monitto for a 5-3 halftime advantage.
"I thought were playing well in the first quarter. We just weren't shooting well," said Cassese. "Barretto was awesome and we couldn't get it by him. I felt like the first half in particular, overall, we outplayed them. I thought our lead should have been a lot bigger at halftime, and that was a difference in the game."
The teams traded goals through most of the third quarter, Lehigh's goal coming from Schelling. Army did get one back with five seconds remaining to pull within 6-5 after three quarters of play.
Fitzpatrick scored his first just over a minute into the fourth quarter, but Army quickly answered, scoring goals at 12:16, 9:10 and 7:40 to take an 8-7 lead. On the other end, the Mountain Hawks struggled to crack Army's D, which entered the day No. 2 nationally in scoring defense. The Black Knights went on to score three insurance goals for the 11-7 final.
"They were smothering us," said Cassese. "We couldn't really find much room to operate. I thought offensively, they made the most of opportunities. They drew a couple fouls, got some extra-man goals and things like that. They just made a few more plays than we did in the fourth."
Final shots were 43-38 in favor of Army while the Mountain Hawks held a 37-26 edge in groundballs. Lehigh had 16 turnovers compared to 10 for the Black Knights.
Lehigh ends its season with a 9-8 record, advancing to its second straight Patriot League Championship Game and fifth in the last eight years. Despite facing several significant injuries, including to key players, the Mountain Hawks battled and went on to beat three nationally-ranked opponents and give themselves a chance until the very end.
"I'm really proud of the guys," said Cassese. "It's still fresh so I won't be able to fully put it in perspective as of yet. In my 12 years at Lehigh, that was the most adversity that we had to deal with. It hit us hard and hit us at all the wrong times. I'm proud of the guys for being able to rally back a few times. One time in March (going 6-0) and then against Boston University on Friday. It felt like Boston was going up and we were going the other way [entering the game]. That was a defining moment for this team and a microcosm of the resilience that they showed, starting with the senior class."
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Gallery: (5/5/2019) Men's Lacrosse vs. Army, PL Championship
Gaffney's 69.7 percentage on the year was good for a tie for 17th place in NCAA history for a single season. He finished the season with Patriot League records in percentage, faceoff wins and groundballs (152), all school records as well. Chick's three caused turnovers helped him pass Detroit's Jordan Houtby, who held the mark at the start of the day. Gaffney, Chick and sophomore goaltender James Spence were Lehigh's All-Tournament Team honorees. Spence had 14 saves on Sunday, 10 coming in the first half.
Along with Fitzpatrick's three goals, freshman Tommy Schelling had three points (one goal, two assists) and senior Tristan Rai recorded two points (one goal, one assist), the goal being the 100th of his career. He ends his career with multiple points in 10 straight games.
Army jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, with both goaltenders standing tall as Spence and Black Knights' goalie A.J. Barretto had four first-quarter saves apiece.
"After the first quarter, I told our guys it was a microcosm of our season," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "We came out of the gates in February and got our doors blown off. We started 1-3 then we fought back in March. I told them to treat the second quarter like it was March, and they did. They responded really well. That's what this team has been doing all year. We know we have flaws and we don't make excuses for those. We just say that we're just going to get the next one. That's what our guys did."
The Mountain Hawks went on to outscore Army in the second quarter, 5-0. Senior Lucas Spence began the scoring at the 11:09 mark. Fitzpatrick scored two of the next three, with an Alexander Tumminello goal in between. The rally was capped off with 17 seconds left, as Rai scored from freshman Mike Monitto for a 5-3 halftime advantage.
"I thought were playing well in the first quarter. We just weren't shooting well," said Cassese. "Barretto was awesome and we couldn't get it by him. I felt like the first half in particular, overall, we outplayed them. I thought our lead should have been a lot bigger at halftime, and that was a difference in the game."
The teams traded goals through most of the third quarter, Lehigh's goal coming from Schelling. Army did get one back with five seconds remaining to pull within 6-5 after three quarters of play.
Fitzpatrick scored his first just over a minute into the fourth quarter, but Army quickly answered, scoring goals at 12:16, 9:10 and 7:40 to take an 8-7 lead. On the other end, the Mountain Hawks struggled to crack Army's D, which entered the day No. 2 nationally in scoring defense. The Black Knights went on to score three insurance goals for the 11-7 final.
"They were smothering us," said Cassese. "We couldn't really find much room to operate. I thought offensively, they made the most of opportunities. They drew a couple fouls, got some extra-man goals and things like that. They just made a few more plays than we did in the fourth."
Final shots were 43-38 in favor of Army while the Mountain Hawks held a 37-26 edge in groundballs. Lehigh had 16 turnovers compared to 10 for the Black Knights.
Lehigh ends its season with a 9-8 record, advancing to its second straight Patriot League Championship Game and fifth in the last eight years. Despite facing several significant injuries, including to key players, the Mountain Hawks battled and went on to beat three nationally-ranked opponents and give themselves a chance until the very end.
"I'm really proud of the guys," said Cassese. "It's still fresh so I won't be able to fully put it in perspective as of yet. In my 12 years at Lehigh, that was the most adversity that we had to deal with. It hit us hard and hit us at all the wrong times. I'm proud of the guys for being able to rally back a few times. One time in March (going 6-0) and then against Boston University on Friday. It felt like Boston was going up and we were going the other way [entering the game]. That was a defining moment for this team and a microcosm of the resilience that they showed, starting with the senior class."
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
ARMY
LEHIGH
Shots
43
38
Turnovers
10
16
Caused Turnovers
8
7
Faceoffs Won
4
18
Extra-Man Opps
5
3
Ground Balls
26
37
Game Leaders
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
3
CT
0
G
1
A
2
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
1
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
Players Mentioned
D/LSM
/ Men's LacrosseM
/ Men's Lacrosse
M/FO
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's LacrosseM
/ Men's LacrosseLehigh Sports Central: Men's Lacrosse
Thursday, April 24
2025 Season Preview: Men's Lacrosse
Friday, January 31
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Lacrosse
Wednesday, April 10
