Saturday, March 7
Bethlehem, Pa.
1 p.m.
Lehigh University
5-1, 2-0PL
15
vs
10
Holy Cross
4-3, 0-2PL
1
2
3
4
F
Holy Cross
4
1
4
1
10
Lehigh
3
3
6
3
15
Photo by: Matt Smith
Another big second-half run leads No. 17 Lehigh to victory, 15-10 over Holy Cross
3/7/2020 6:01:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the second straight week, the No. 17 Lehigh men's lacrosse team trailed early in the third quarter, but the Mountain Hawks answered in a big way. After a 9-0 second-half run vs. Navy last week, Lehigh staged a 7-0 run vs. Holy Cross this Saturday, on the way to a 15-10 Patriot League victory. Trailing 9-7, the Mountain Hawks scored five times over the final 4:44 of the quarter, then two more early in the fourth, for their fourth straight win. Lehigh improves to 5-1 on the season, 2-0 in league play.
A big story of the game came in the faceoff circle. Holy Cross won 12 of the game's first 15 faceoffs, but the Mountain Hawks responded to win nine of the next 14, which proved critical in Lehigh's turnaround.
"This was a tale of two halves that was dictated by the faceoff," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "Holy Cross did a great job early on in the game and were really getting a ton of the possession. I felt like it was 75-25 possession in their favor. When we were able to change the tide in the second half, third quarter in particular, we were able to tilt the field in our direction."
The Mountain Hawks are now 2-0 in league play for a third straight season and 4-0 at home for the first time since 2011.
Lehigh's starting attackmen all tallied hat tricks, combining for 11 goals and six assists. Fifth-year senior Andrew Pettit and sophomore Tommy Schelling each had four goals and three assists while freshman Christian Mule' scored three times, all in the game's final 17:49. Schelling has now posted six or more points in three of the first six games this season. It's the third time in the last four games Pettit has recorded five or more points. Saturday also marked Mule's third straight hat trick and fourth of the season.
Meanwhile, senior Andrew Eichelberger tied a career-high four points for a second straight week, recording two goals and two assists. Classmate Ryan Klose had a goal and two assists as well.
"We had a unique challenge today," said Cassese. "The way Holy Cross plays defense forces you to play a certain way. You really have to share the ball. You have to be unselfish. It's a little different than the way we had to play against Navy last week.
"I was proud of our guys for sticking with it. We struggled with that early, but then I thought we played really well together. We shared the ball well, found the back of the net and shot better in the second half."
Defensively, sophomore Anthony Tangredi impressed with three groundballs and a career-high five caused turnovers. Junior Teddy Leggett also had three groundballs and two caused turnovers.
The first half saw the Crusaders score four of the game's first five goals. Freshman Justin Tiernan scored his first-career goal at 5:34 of the first quarter to help spark a 3-0 Mountain Hawks' run, capped off by a Pettit man-up goal just 1:09 into the second quarter to pull even at 4-4.
The Mountain Hawks extended their run to 5-1 as Eichelberger scored with 1:06 on the clock to give Lehigh a 6-5 halftime advantage.
Holy Cross began the second half on a 4-1 run to take a 9-7 advantage with 7:07 on the clock. Around that point, the Mountain Hawks began to win more faceoffs and it corresponded with a monster run on the scoreboard. Schelling scored consecutive goals at 4:44 and 3:41 to pull Lehigh even at 9-9. Mule' followed, then Pettit scored twice in the final two minutes to give the Mountain Hawks a 12-9 lead heading to the fourth.
In that fourth quarter, Lehigh scored three of the four goals, to pull away for the 15-10 final.
The Mountain Hawks held a 34-31 edge in shots and 38-35 advantage in groundballs. Lehigh was 1-for-2 on the extra man while Holy Cross finished 0-for-1. Junior James Spence made seven saves in goal. Lehigh's faceoff unit bounced back from a tough start to finish 12-of-29 on the day; sophomore Mike Sisselberger was 6-of-13 and senior Conor Gafney was 6-of-16.
The Mountain Hawks now hit the road next Saturday for a big one at No. 15 Army West Point in a rematch of the 2019 Patriot League Championship Game.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
A big story of the game came in the faceoff circle. Holy Cross won 12 of the game's first 15 faceoffs, but the Mountain Hawks responded to win nine of the next 14, which proved critical in Lehigh's turnaround.
"This was a tale of two halves that was dictated by the faceoff," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "Holy Cross did a great job early on in the game and were really getting a ton of the possession. I felt like it was 75-25 possession in their favor. When we were able to change the tide in the second half, third quarter in particular, we were able to tilt the field in our direction."
The Mountain Hawks are now 2-0 in league play for a third straight season and 4-0 at home for the first time since 2011.
Lehigh's starting attackmen all tallied hat tricks, combining for 11 goals and six assists. Fifth-year senior Andrew Pettit and sophomore Tommy Schelling each had four goals and three assists while freshman Christian Mule' scored three times, all in the game's final 17:49. Schelling has now posted six or more points in three of the first six games this season. It's the third time in the last four games Pettit has recorded five or more points. Saturday also marked Mule's third straight hat trick and fourth of the season.
Meanwhile, senior Andrew Eichelberger tied a career-high four points for a second straight week, recording two goals and two assists. Classmate Ryan Klose had a goal and two assists as well.
"We had a unique challenge today," said Cassese. "The way Holy Cross plays defense forces you to play a certain way. You really have to share the ball. You have to be unselfish. It's a little different than the way we had to play against Navy last week.
"I was proud of our guys for sticking with it. We struggled with that early, but then I thought we played really well together. We shared the ball well, found the back of the net and shot better in the second half."
Defensively, sophomore Anthony Tangredi impressed with three groundballs and a career-high five caused turnovers. Junior Teddy Leggett also had three groundballs and two caused turnovers.
The first half saw the Crusaders score four of the game's first five goals. Freshman Justin Tiernan scored his first-career goal at 5:34 of the first quarter to help spark a 3-0 Mountain Hawks' run, capped off by a Pettit man-up goal just 1:09 into the second quarter to pull even at 4-4.
Justin Tiernan is on the board with his first-career goal! Watch: https://t.co/lniVr0QZL5 pic.twitter.com/rURnLK2Lqj
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) March 7, 2020
Pettit man-up goal makes it three straight Lehigh goals and we're tied 4-4 early second quarter! Watch: https://t.co/lniVr0QZL5 pic.twitter.com/Dv2SIKJ0tA
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) March 7, 2020
The Mountain Hawks extended their run to 5-1 as Eichelberger scored with 1:06 on the clock to give Lehigh a 6-5 halftime advantage.
Eichelberger with his second of the game to give Lehigh its first lead, late first half! Watch: https://t.co/lniVr0QZL5 pic.twitter.com/QPYzZWymtv
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) March 7, 2020
Holy Cross began the second half on a 4-1 run to take a 9-7 advantage with 7:07 on the clock. Around that point, the Mountain Hawks began to win more faceoffs and it corresponded with a monster run on the scoreboard. Schelling scored consecutive goals at 4:44 and 3:41 to pull Lehigh even at 9-9. Mule' followed, then Pettit scored twice in the final two minutes to give the Mountain Hawks a 12-9 lead heading to the fourth.
In that fourth quarter, Lehigh scored three of the four goals, to pull away for the 15-10 final.
The Mountain Hawks held a 34-31 edge in shots and 38-35 advantage in groundballs. Lehigh was 1-for-2 on the extra man while Holy Cross finished 0-for-1. Junior James Spence made seven saves in goal. Lehigh's faceoff unit bounced back from a tough start to finish 12-of-29 on the day; sophomore Mike Sisselberger was 6-of-13 and senior Conor Gafney was 6-of-16.
The Mountain Hawks now hit the road next Saturday for a big one at No. 15 Army West Point in a rematch of the 2019 Patriot League Championship Game.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Postgame reaction from @CoachCassese following today's 15-10 win over Holy Cross. pic.twitter.com/9y5nk0Vd4i
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) March 7, 2020
We caught up with Tommy Schelling following a seven-point effort and a 15-10 Lehigh win over Holy Cross! pic.twitter.com/BDjTG83SqA
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) March 7, 2020
Team Stats
HC
LEHIGH
Shots
31
34
Turnovers
20
17
Caused Turnovers
9
12
Faceoffs Won
17
12
Extra-Man Opps
1
2
Ground Balls
35
38
Game Leaders
G
4
A
3
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
3
CT
0
G
4
A
3
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
1
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
G
2
A
2
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
3
CT
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM/D
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
FO/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
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