Saturday, April 24
Bethlehem, Pa.
12 p.m.
Lehigh University
9-0, 8-0PL
18
vs
12
Bucknell
2-6, 1-5PL
1
2
3
4
F
Bucknell
3
4
1
4
12
Lehigh
5
5
2
6
18
Photo by: Justin Lafleur
No. 6 Lehigh Tops Bucknell to Wrap Up Unbeaten Patriot League Regular Season
4/24/2021 8:27:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The No. 6 Lehigh men's lacrosse team wrapped up its Patriot League slate in strong fashion on Saturday, never trailing in an 18-12 win over visiting Bucknell. The victory improves the Mountain Hawks to 9-0 on the season, 8-0 in Patriot League play, as Lehigh finishes undefeated in the league for the first time since 2013 (and winning a program-record eight league contests in the process). Sophomore Christian Mule' was the biggest story, posting career highs in goals (7) and points (10), just one goal from tying the program's single-game mark and two from tying the program's points record.
Â
Lehigh, who already clinched the No. 1 overall seed and right to host the Patriot League Semifinals and Championship Game, become the first men's lacrosse team to post an unbeaten league slate since Loyola was 8-0 in 2014.
Â
"First and foremost, I'd like to give Coach Fedorjaka and the Bison a lot of credit for the effort they put forward today," said Cassese. "For us, I thought we certainly did a nice job offensively. You can look at guys like Christian Mule' and Justin Tiernan, who were very much the recipients of good offense and our guys being able to share the ball. Draw slides, share the ball and end up with shots in tight.
Â
"I thought Bucknell did some things offensively that put a lot of pressure on us defensively," Cassese continued. "A lot of credit goes to their offense, but certainly our defensive effort can be better and needs to be better moving forward. Our faceoff unit and Mike Sissleberger put in another extraordinary effort. He's been a machine for us. We're certainly riding him and going to continue to do so moving forward."
Â
Mule' was a huge spark offensively, having a hand in seven of the Mountain Hawks' 10 first-half goals (four goals, three assists in the first 30 minutes). Junior Tommy Schelling added two goals and four assists for the game while sophomore Justin Tiernan scored three times for his first-career hat trick. Senior Kevin Gersbeck dished a career-high three assists, and classmate Andrew Eichelberger scored twice.
Â
Defensively, senior Teddy Leggett had four groundballs and two caused turnovers, senior Matt Douglas had five groundballs and a career-high tying three caused turnovers while junior Patrick McIlroy tallied two groundballs and a caused turnover. After winning six of his first 11 faceoffs, junior Mike Sisselberger won 15 of his last 16 to finish the day 21-of-27 with 15 groundballs.
Â
Early on, the score was tied at one then three, but a 3-0 Mountain Hawks' surge put Lehigh ahead 6-3 early in the second quarter. Less than two minutes later, Mule' scored his third of the game in impressive fashion, shoveling it past Bucknell goalie Daniel Parson from several yards in front of the crease.
Â
"For Christian, we've been seeing this coming on the last few games and in particular, the Lafayette weekend," said Cassese. "His shooting percentage shot up. That's the product of a lot of hard work. He's been out during the week in between classes, taking extra shots and working on his game. There's no secret to that. The harder you work, the more success you're going to have. I feel great for Christian that a lot of that hard work is paying off."
Final shots were even at 44 while the Mountain Hawks held a 43-27 advantage in groundballs. Senior James Spence made 12 saves, nine coming in the second half. Bucknell's Parson finished with 13.
Â
Lehigh will wrap up its regular season next Saturday when it travels to No. 18 Villanova to face the Wildcats. Gametime is set for 12 p.m.
Â
"When we scheduled that game back in the preseason, Coach Corrado and I were figuring out how to best prepare each other for what we'll see in our league tournaments," said Cassese. "Two very good teams who are going to lay it on the line. There's a lot of crossover in recruiting as well. There'll be a lot of guys who were high school teammates. We recruit from a lot of the same regions, and are very similar type schools and programs. It will be a fun nonleague contest and one that will be highly competitive."
Â
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
ÂGallery: (4-24-2021) Men's Lacrosse vs. Bucknell, 4/24/21
Â
Lehigh, who already clinched the No. 1 overall seed and right to host the Patriot League Semifinals and Championship Game, become the first men's lacrosse team to post an unbeaten league slate since Loyola was 8-0 in 2014.
Â
"First and foremost, I'd like to give Coach Fedorjaka and the Bison a lot of credit for the effort they put forward today," said Cassese. "For us, I thought we certainly did a nice job offensively. You can look at guys like Christian Mule' and Justin Tiernan, who were very much the recipients of good offense and our guys being able to share the ball. Draw slides, share the ball and end up with shots in tight.
Â
"I thought Bucknell did some things offensively that put a lot of pressure on us defensively," Cassese continued. "A lot of credit goes to their offense, but certainly our defensive effort can be better and needs to be better moving forward. Our faceoff unit and Mike Sissleberger put in another extraordinary effort. He's been a machine for us. We're certainly riding him and going to continue to do so moving forward."
Â
Mule' was a huge spark offensively, having a hand in seven of the Mountain Hawks' 10 first-half goals (four goals, three assists in the first 30 minutes). Junior Tommy Schelling added two goals and four assists for the game while sophomore Justin Tiernan scored three times for his first-career hat trick. Senior Kevin Gersbeck dished a career-high three assists, and classmate Andrew Eichelberger scored twice.
Â
Defensively, senior Teddy Leggett had four groundballs and two caused turnovers, senior Matt Douglas had five groundballs and a career-high tying three caused turnovers while junior Patrick McIlroy tallied two groundballs and a caused turnover. After winning six of his first 11 faceoffs, junior Mike Sisselberger won 15 of his last 16 to finish the day 21-of-27 with 15 groundballs.
Â
Early on, the score was tied at one then three, but a 3-0 Mountain Hawks' surge put Lehigh ahead 6-3 early in the second quarter. Less than two minutes later, Mule' scored his third of the game in impressive fashion, shoveling it past Bucknell goalie Daniel Parson from several yards in front of the crease.
The Mountain Hawks used a 4-1 run bridging the end of the first and beginning of the second halves to take an 11-7 lead. From that point forward, the Bison didn't get any closer than four as the Mountain Hawks scored three of the final four goals for the 18-12 final. Mule' scored twice in the final quarter, at the 10:19 and 3:17 marks to close out his 10-point effort.Here's another look at Christian Mule's crazy goal in today's win! #SCTop10 #LaxTop5 #PLTop3 @Inside_Lacrosse @USLacrosseMag https://t.co/sCOT0lLkFA pic.twitter.com/w7RybBrcxn
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) April 24, 2021
Â
"For Christian, we've been seeing this coming on the last few games and in particular, the Lafayette weekend," said Cassese. "His shooting percentage shot up. That's the product of a lot of hard work. He's been out during the week in between classes, taking extra shots and working on his game. There's no secret to that. The harder you work, the more success you're going to have. I feel great for Christian that a lot of that hard work is paying off."
ÂThis is how the first half came to a close, as Christian Mule' scored his fourth.
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) April 24, 2021
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/LF37gRWIzg pic.twitter.com/WbDv4OHmii
Final shots were even at 44 while the Mountain Hawks held a 43-27 advantage in groundballs. Senior James Spence made 12 saves, nine coming in the second half. Bucknell's Parson finished with 13.
Â
Lehigh will wrap up its regular season next Saturday when it travels to No. 18 Villanova to face the Wildcats. Gametime is set for 12 p.m.
Â
"When we scheduled that game back in the preseason, Coach Corrado and I were figuring out how to best prepare each other for what we'll see in our league tournaments," said Cassese. "Two very good teams who are going to lay it on the line. There's a lot of crossover in recruiting as well. There'll be a lot of guys who were high school teammates. We recruit from a lot of the same regions, and are very similar type schools and programs. It will be a fun nonleague contest and one that will be highly competitive."
Â
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Â
Team Stats
BUCKNELL
LEHIGH
Shots
44
44
Turnovers
13
14
Caused Turnovers
8
8
Faceoffs Won
9
24
Extra-Man Opps
4
5
Ground Balls
27
43
Game Leaders
Players
G
7
A
3
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
2
A
4
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's LacrosseM
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM/D
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
FO/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ 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
