Saturday, April 10
Bethlehem, Pa.
4 p.m.
Lehigh University
6-0, 5-0PL
13
vs
7
Navy
3-2, 1-2PL
1
2
3
4
F
Navy
1
1
3
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7
Lehigh
3
5
1
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13
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
No. 7 Lehigh Surges Past No. 19 Navy, 13-7, to Clinch South Division
4/10/2021 11:32:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The No. 7 Lehigh men's lacrosse team remained undefeated on Saturday, ending the first half on an 8-1 run to take a six-goal halftime lead, on the way to a 13-7 win over No. 19 Navy. With the victory and results around the Patriot League, the Mountain Hawks officially clinched the South Division title and with it, a top two seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament. Lehigh now stands 6-0 overall, 5-0 in the Patriot League and 4-0 in the South. Navy fell to 3-2 overall, 1-2 in the league (and South).
"I was proud of the way our guys battled through the entire game," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "I thought it was an up and down game, lots of runs. Navy played with a lot of desperation today because they knew that in order to make the Patriot League Tournament, they had to win. Playing against a desperate team is a tough task because they're going to lay it all on the line. I was proud of the effort our guys gave all the way through. To be able to finish off the game and extend our lead when we needed to was impressive."
Junior Tommy Schelling led the offense with three goals and two assists while classmate Cole Kirst posted his fourth straight hat trick; he now has 17 goals through six games in 2021. Sophomore Justin Tiernan tied a career-high for goals (2) and points (3). Classmate Christian Mule' finished with two goals, two assists, five groundballs and two caused turnovers.
"Sometimes, you win games on offense. Sometimes, you win games on defense," said Cassese. "I thought we certainly won it with our defense today. We were excellent at the faceoff; Mikey Sisselberger was dominant once again. James Spence was outstanding in the cage. I thought we played with poise on the defensive end, which is something we'd been lacking for the last couple weeks."
After Navy scored first, the Mountain Hawks ended the first quarter on a 3-1 run, all goals scored in the span of 2:17. The Mids pulled within 3-2 early in the second, but Lehigh ended the stanza with five straight goals, two of which were man-up tallies. Schelling's second straight goal, and fourth point of the first half, put the Mountain Hawks ahead, 8-2 after 30 minutes of play.
Navy outscored Lehigh in the third quarter, 3-1, to pull within 9-5 heading to the fourth. But Mule' scored two straight to put the Mountain Hawks ahead, 11-5, erasing much doubt on the way to the 13-7 victory.
Junior Mike Sisselberger continued his sensational play facing off. The nation's leader in faceoff win percentage and groundballs per game finished Saturday 18-of-23 with 11 groundballs. Senior James Spence made 14 saves, seven coming in the third quarter.
Final shots were 55-36 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 42-25 edge in groundballs. Navy's Spencer Rees finished with 15 saves across Spence's 14.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Gallery: (4-10-2021) Men's Lacrosse vs. No. 19 Navy, 4/10/21
"I was proud of the way our guys battled through the entire game," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "I thought it was an up and down game, lots of runs. Navy played with a lot of desperation today because they knew that in order to make the Patriot League Tournament, they had to win. Playing against a desperate team is a tough task because they're going to lay it all on the line. I was proud of the effort our guys gave all the way through. To be able to finish off the game and extend our lead when we needed to was impressive."
Junior Tommy Schelling led the offense with three goals and two assists while classmate Cole Kirst posted his fourth straight hat trick; he now has 17 goals through six games in 2021. Sophomore Justin Tiernan tied a career-high for goals (2) and points (3). Classmate Christian Mule' finished with two goals, two assists, five groundballs and two caused turnovers.
Defensively, the Mountain Hawks held Navy scoreless for two long stretches – 11:39 (bridging the first and second quarters) and 16:17 (bridging the second and third) – which proved critical.Fourth straight hat trick for Cole Kirst?! Yes please. pic.twitter.com/TK0pwJzjMV
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) April 10, 2021
"Sometimes, you win games on offense. Sometimes, you win games on defense," said Cassese. "I thought we certainly won it with our defense today. We were excellent at the faceoff; Mikey Sisselberger was dominant once again. James Spence was outstanding in the cage. I thought we played with poise on the defensive end, which is something we'd been lacking for the last couple weeks."
After Navy scored first, the Mountain Hawks ended the first quarter on a 3-1 run, all goals scored in the span of 2:17. The Mids pulled within 3-2 early in the second, but Lehigh ended the stanza with five straight goals, two of which were man-up tallies. Schelling's second straight goal, and fourth point of the first half, put the Mountain Hawks ahead, 8-2 after 30 minutes of play.
Navy outscored Lehigh in the third quarter, 3-1, to pull within 9-5 heading to the fourth. But Mule' scored two straight to put the Mountain Hawks ahead, 11-5, erasing much doubt on the way to the 13-7 victory.
Junior Mike Sisselberger continued his sensational play facing off. The nation's leader in faceoff win percentage and groundballs per game finished Saturday 18-of-23 with 11 groundballs. Senior James Spence made 14 saves, seven coming in the third quarter.
Just an average day at the office for Mikey Sisselberger, who won 18-of-23 this afternoon with 11 groundballs. pic.twitter.com/oMMTaICs62
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) April 10, 2021
"I thought we got really good leadership from our defensive captains today, Matt Douglas and Teddy Leggett," said Cassese. "Andrew Eichelberger took on a lot of the defensive workload with Jack Spence out of the lineup. Our captains did a great job of being selfless and leading out front. We certainly needed them and it showed in our defensive effort."James Spence was CLUTCH once again this afternoon, making 14 saves, including seven in the third quarter alone. pic.twitter.com/WkoFEh2ho2
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) April 10, 2021
Final shots were 55-36 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 42-25 edge in groundballs. Navy's Spencer Rees finished with 15 saves across Spence's 14.
Now one of just three remaining undefeated teams in the nation, Lehigh will return to action next weekend when it faces Lafayette for a pair – at Lafayette on Friday (8 p.m.) and home vs. the Leopards on Sunday (12 p.m.).🥍 No. 7 @LehighLacrosse remains unbeaten with a win over another ranked team, this time No. 19 Navy.@NCAALAX | @PatriotLeague | @espn pic.twitter.com/PihG0BmyXt
— Patriot League on ESPN (@PatriotLeagueTV) April 10, 2021
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Team Stats
NAVY
LEHIGH
Shots
36
55
Turnovers
10
11
Caused Turnovers
2
4
Faceoffs Won
5
18
Extra-Man Opps
3
6
Ground Balls
25
42
Game Leaders
Players
G
3
A
2
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
3
CT
0
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
1
G
2
A
3
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
5
CT
2
G
2
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM/D
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
FO/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
/ Men's LacrosseA
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