Saturday, April 3
Bethlehem, Pa.
1 p.m.
Lehigh University
5-0, 4-0PL
13
vs
12
Army West Point
4-2, 2-1PL
1
2
3
4
F
Army West Point
2
3
3
4
12
Lehigh
2
4
5
2
13
No. 10 Mountain Hawks Pull Out Gutsy 13-12 Win Over No. 7 Army West Point
4/3/2021 10:07:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The No. 10 Lehigh men's lacrosse team picked up its second top 10 win of the season on Saturday, defeating visiting and seventh-ranked Army West Point, 13-12 in a game that went down to the final seconds. The Mountain Hawks used an 8-3 run to open an 11-7 third-quarter lead, the Black Knights pulled even at 11 and 12, but junior Cole Kirst put home his career-high fourth goal of the game with 2:02 remaining, which proved to be the winner. Lehigh improves to 5-0, 4-0 in Patriot League play while Army falls to 4-2, 2-1 in the league.
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"It was a wild game," said Cassese. "I talked to (Army) Coach Alberici afterwards and the word that came to mind was it was not clean at all. A lot of that had to do with what each team was doing to each other all over the field, trying to put the other team in some difficult spots. Definitely a chess match going on, but it wasn't clean. A lot of turnovers, but to win a game like that and win it ugly, I said to our guys, it just shows a lot of character for the men in our locker room and I'm really proud that they were able to win that one."
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Before Kirst scored Lehigh's final goal, he netted three of the Mountain Hawks' first five goals, with his third giving Lehigh its first lead at 5-4. The teams traded the game's first eight goals, with Army leading 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 before the Mountain Hawks scored three in a row to take a 6-4 advantage. A Christian Mule' score gave Lehigh a 6-4 lead, on the way to a 6-5 halftime advantage.
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The Black Knights pulled even with a man-up goal just 55 seconds into the third quarter, but the Mountain Hawks responded with five of the next seven goals, beginning and ending with goals from freshman Scott Cole. Cole's second was Lehigh's second man-up tally in 20 seconds to put the Mountain Hawks in front, 11-7 with 4:11 remaining in the third.
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Army answered in a big way, scoring four straight as a Nicholas Garofano goal pulled the Black Knights even at 11 midway through the fourth quarter. Lehigh again had an answer, however, as Mule' scored from Tiernan to put the Mountain Hawks ahead, 12-11. Then 2:37 later, Kirst scored his fourth with 2:02 on the clock for a 13-12 lead, which proved to be the final. Army had multiple chances in the final minute, but senior James Spence made two big saves to preserve the victory.
"That was a game that very easily could have gone the other way, especially when we're up four late in the third, they come storming back and eventually tie it," said Cassese. "Our guys could have very easily folded at that point, but they dug their heels in, got a little tougher and were able to make one more play to finish it out."
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Along with Kirst's four goals, sophomore John Sidorski posted a career-high six points via two goals and four assists. Mule' tallied three goals and an assist. Junior Mike Sisselberger was sensational facing off, posting career highs in faceoffs won (23) and taken (27) with 14 groundballs. Senior Teddy Leggett and graduate student Christian McHugh each caused two turnovers to lead the defense.
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Final shots were 41-40 in favor of Army while the Mountain Hawks held a 51-33 edge in groundballs. Spence finished with 10 saves across Wyatt Schupler, who recorded 11.
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"We needed Cole and the other supporting cast to step up today," said Cassese. "I thought (Marcus) Hudgins did a great job on Tommy (Schelling). I don't think we necessarily did a great job helping Tommy, so the other guys had to step up and win their matchups, and they did. That was really encouraging to see. A lot of guys stepped up and that's what we needed in order to get a big win."
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The Mountain Hawks remain home next Saturday to host No. 14 Navy at 4 p.m.
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Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
ÂGallery: (4-3-2021) Men's Lacrosse vs. No. 10 Army, 4/3/21
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"It was a wild game," said Cassese. "I talked to (Army) Coach Alberici afterwards and the word that came to mind was it was not clean at all. A lot of that had to do with what each team was doing to each other all over the field, trying to put the other team in some difficult spots. Definitely a chess match going on, but it wasn't clean. A lot of turnovers, but to win a game like that and win it ugly, I said to our guys, it just shows a lot of character for the men in our locker room and I'm really proud that they were able to win that one."
Â
Before Kirst scored Lehigh's final goal, he netted three of the Mountain Hawks' first five goals, with his third giving Lehigh its first lead at 5-4. The teams traded the game's first eight goals, with Army leading 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 before the Mountain Hawks scored three in a row to take a 6-4 advantage. A Christian Mule' score gave Lehigh a 6-4 lead, on the way to a 6-5 halftime advantage.
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The Black Knights pulled even with a man-up goal just 55 seconds into the third quarter, but the Mountain Hawks responded with five of the next seven goals, beginning and ending with goals from freshman Scott Cole. Cole's second was Lehigh's second man-up tally in 20 seconds to put the Mountain Hawks in front, 11-7 with 4:11 remaining in the third.
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Army answered in a big way, scoring four straight as a Nicholas Garofano goal pulled the Black Knights even at 11 midway through the fourth quarter. Lehigh again had an answer, however, as Mule' scored from Tiernan to put the Mountain Hawks ahead, 12-11. Then 2:37 later, Kirst scored his fourth with 2:02 on the clock for a 13-12 lead, which proved to be the final. Army had multiple chances in the final minute, but senior James Spence made two big saves to preserve the victory.
Here's a look at what proved to be the game-winning goal from today's big win, the career-high fourth of the game from Cole Kirst! pic.twitter.com/ERM63olfEO
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) April 3, 2021
ÂMountain Hawks win!!! What a save by James Spence to seal it. Second top 10 win of the year. pic.twitter.com/qC8Mt8vVxW
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) April 3, 2021
"That was a game that very easily could have gone the other way, especially when we're up four late in the third, they come storming back and eventually tie it," said Cassese. "Our guys could have very easily folded at that point, but they dug their heels in, got a little tougher and were able to make one more play to finish it out."
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Along with Kirst's four goals, sophomore John Sidorski posted a career-high six points via two goals and four assists. Mule' tallied three goals and an assist. Junior Mike Sisselberger was sensational facing off, posting career highs in faceoffs won (23) and taken (27) with 14 groundballs. Senior Teddy Leggett and graduate student Christian McHugh each caused two turnovers to lead the defense.
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Final shots were 41-40 in favor of Army while the Mountain Hawks held a 51-33 edge in groundballs. Spence finished with 10 saves across Wyatt Schupler, who recorded 11.
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"We needed Cole and the other supporting cast to step up today," said Cassese. "I thought (Marcus) Hudgins did a great job on Tommy (Schelling). I don't think we necessarily did a great job helping Tommy, so the other guys had to step up and win their matchups, and they did. That was really encouraging to see. A lot of guys stepped up and that's what we needed in order to get a big win."
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The Mountain Hawks remain home next Saturday to host No. 14 Navy at 4 p.m.
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Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Team Stats
ARMY
LEHIGH
Shots
41
40
Turnovers
16
21
Caused Turnovers
10
9
Faceoffs Won
4
23
Extra-Man Opps
5
3
Ground Balls
33
51
Game Leaders
Players
G
4
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
3
CT
0
G
3
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
1-60
GB
0
CT
0
G
2
A
4
FO
-
Pen
1-30
GB
4
CT
0
Players Mentioned
A/M
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM/D
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's LacrosseA/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
FO/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
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