Saturday, February 15
Charlottesville, Va.
1 p.m.
Lehigh University
at
Virginia
Photo by: Maddy Hite
No. 18 Lehigh set for Saturday showdown at defending national champ, No. 1 Virginia
2/14/2020 12:50:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following a 16-11 season-opening win over Utah, the No. 18 Lehigh men's lacrosse team travels to No. 1/2 and defending national champion Virginia on Saturday for one of its toughest tests of the year. Gametime is set for 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (WatchESPN). During the nonleague season, the Mountain Hawks will face the top two teams currently in the national polls (along with Penn State). Saturday will also mark Lehigh's second straight season playing at Virginia, following an 11-8 defeat last year.
The Mountain Hawks opened the season with a strong 16-11 win over upstart Utah. Lehigh trailed 5-3 early in the second quarter, but outscored the Utes 13-6 the rest of the way. Sophomore Tommy Schelling paced the offense with career highs in goals (7) and points (9), marking the most points in all of NCAA Division I lacrosse last weekend. He was just one goal from tying the program record and two goals from tying the Patriot League mark. Schelling became the first Lehigh player with seven or more goals since Dan Taylor on Apr. 18, 2014 at Lafayette, and first with nine or more points since Taylor on Feb. 14, 2015 at Furman.
Schelling had plenty of help around him. Fifth-year senior Andrew Pettit had two goals and two assists in his first game since 2018, after missing last season due to injury. Freshman Christian Mule' recorded a hat trick in his first-career game, beginning with a highlight-reel behind-the-back score in the second quarter as part of a 5-0 run to turn a 5-3 Lehigh deficit into an 8-5 advantage. Senior Andrew Eichelberger tied a career-high three points via two goals and an assist.
The Mountain Hawks won their fifth straight season opener and 10th in the last 11 years. Lehigh won 19-of-30 faceoffs for the game, led by senior Conor Gaffney who was 17-of-26 with 11 groundballs. In the process, Gaffney moved from fifth to fourth in Patriot League history for career faceoff wins (currently 619). He also needs just 25 more groundballs to become the league's all-time leader in that category.
Sophomore Mike Sisselberger won 2-of-4 faceoffs with a groundball and caused turnover. After the Mountain Hawks won just 4-of-9 in the second quarter and 9-of-17 in the first half, they responded to win all five in the third quarter and 10-of-13 in the second half. Sophomore Anthony Tangredi led the defense with a career-high seven groundballs and three caused turnovers. Senior Erik DiGirolamo had two groundballs and a career-high tying two caused turnovers. Junior Teddy Leggett collected three groundballs and scored a fourth-quarter goal off a faceoff, assisted by Gaffney. Junior James Spence finished with 12 saves, 11 coming over the final three quarters.
The Mountain Hawks will face a UVA team ranked No. 1 in the USILA Coaches Poll and No. 2 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Lehigh will be searching for its first win over a top-five opponent since a 9-8 victory at No. 4 North Carolina on March 3, 2012. That was also the last time the Mountain Hawks beat an ACC opponent. Lehigh will be searching for a 2-0 start to the season for the third time in the last four years. The last Lehigh Athletics team to beat a No. 1 team in the country since wrestling topped No. 1 Cornell, 17-15, on Jan. 20, 2011.
After starting last season 1-2, UVA won 16 of its final 17 games of the year to win the national championship. The Cavaliers picked up 13-12 overtime wins over Maryland and Duke in the NCAA quarterfinals and semifinals before topping Yale in the championship game, 13-9. Virginia returns a lot from that 2019 team, including four players named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List - Dox Aitken, Jared Conners, Michael Kraus and Matt Moore. Last season, Moore led the offense with 89 points (46 goals, 43 assists) while Kraus was right behind with 75 (39 goals, 36 assists). Starting goaltender Alex Rode returns after posting a 10.22 goals against average and 50.6 save percentage. Rode made 19 saves in a 12-9 season-opening win over Loyola. Moore led the offense with five points (three goals, two assists).
The all-time series between Lehigh and Virginia is tied, 1-1. Lehigh's win came in 1906 by an 11-1 final while the Cavaliers' victory was last season, 11-8.
Following Saturday's game, the Mountain Hawks are set for a busy week as they return home to host VMI on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 5 p.m. before traveling to NJIT on Saturday for a 12 p.m. matchup against the Highlanders.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
The Mountain Hawks opened the season with a strong 16-11 win over upstart Utah. Lehigh trailed 5-3 early in the second quarter, but outscored the Utes 13-6 the rest of the way. Sophomore Tommy Schelling paced the offense with career highs in goals (7) and points (9), marking the most points in all of NCAA Division I lacrosse last weekend. He was just one goal from tying the program record and two goals from tying the Patriot League mark. Schelling became the first Lehigh player with seven or more goals since Dan Taylor on Apr. 18, 2014 at Lafayette, and first with nine or more points since Taylor on Feb. 14, 2015 at Furman.
Schelling had plenty of help around him. Fifth-year senior Andrew Pettit had two goals and two assists in his first game since 2018, after missing last season due to injury. Freshman Christian Mule' recorded a hat trick in his first-career game, beginning with a highlight-reel behind-the-back score in the second quarter as part of a 5-0 run to turn a 5-3 Lehigh deficit into an 8-5 advantage. Senior Andrew Eichelberger tied a career-high three points via two goals and an assist.
The Mountain Hawks won their fifth straight season opener and 10th in the last 11 years. Lehigh won 19-of-30 faceoffs for the game, led by senior Conor Gaffney who was 17-of-26 with 11 groundballs. In the process, Gaffney moved from fifth to fourth in Patriot League history for career faceoff wins (currently 619). He also needs just 25 more groundballs to become the league's all-time leader in that category.
Sophomore Mike Sisselberger won 2-of-4 faceoffs with a groundball and caused turnover. After the Mountain Hawks won just 4-of-9 in the second quarter and 9-of-17 in the first half, they responded to win all five in the third quarter and 10-of-13 in the second half. Sophomore Anthony Tangredi led the defense with a career-high seven groundballs and three caused turnovers. Senior Erik DiGirolamo had two groundballs and a career-high tying two caused turnovers. Junior Teddy Leggett collected three groundballs and scored a fourth-quarter goal off a faceoff, assisted by Gaffney. Junior James Spence finished with 12 saves, 11 coming over the final three quarters.
The Mountain Hawks will face a UVA team ranked No. 1 in the USILA Coaches Poll and No. 2 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Lehigh will be searching for its first win over a top-five opponent since a 9-8 victory at No. 4 North Carolina on March 3, 2012. That was also the last time the Mountain Hawks beat an ACC opponent. Lehigh will be searching for a 2-0 start to the season for the third time in the last four years. The last Lehigh Athletics team to beat a No. 1 team in the country since wrestling topped No. 1 Cornell, 17-15, on Jan. 20, 2011.
After starting last season 1-2, UVA won 16 of its final 17 games of the year to win the national championship. The Cavaliers picked up 13-12 overtime wins over Maryland and Duke in the NCAA quarterfinals and semifinals before topping Yale in the championship game, 13-9. Virginia returns a lot from that 2019 team, including four players named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List - Dox Aitken, Jared Conners, Michael Kraus and Matt Moore. Last season, Moore led the offense with 89 points (46 goals, 43 assists) while Kraus was right behind with 75 (39 goals, 36 assists). Starting goaltender Alex Rode returns after posting a 10.22 goals against average and 50.6 save percentage. Rode made 19 saves in a 12-9 season-opening win over Loyola. Moore led the offense with five points (three goals, two assists).
The all-time series between Lehigh and Virginia is tied, 1-1. Lehigh's win came in 1906 by an 11-1 final while the Cavaliers' victory was last season, 11-8.
Following Saturday's game, the Mountain Hawks are set for a busy week as they return home to host VMI on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 5 p.m. before traveling to NJIT on Saturday for a 12 p.m. matchup against the Highlanders.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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