Friday, May 7
Bethlehem, Pa.
4 p.m.
Lehigh University
10-1
13
vs
9
Colgate (Semifinals)
3-7
1
2
3
4
F
Colgate
2
5
1
1
9
Lehigh
3
5
3
2
13
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Mountain Hawks Advance to Third Straight Title Game Behind 13-9 Win Over Colgate
5/7/2021 10:41:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After early 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, the No. 9 Lehigh men's lacrosse team responded and wouldn't trail for the game's final 46:54 in a 13-9 win over visiting Colgate in the Patriot League Semifinals Friday. Tied at seven late in the second quarter, Lehigh scored four straight goals to take an 11-7 lead and wouldn't look back. With the win, the Mountain Hawks improve to 10-1 overall, advancing to their third straight Patriot League Championship Game and sixth in the last nine seasons.
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"Really happy to win," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "I thought our guys put in a really gutsy performance today. It was a gritty win and it certainly wasn't clean by any stretch of the imagination. We're going to take the win, move on and be happy to be in the Patriot League Championship Game."
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Sophomore John Sidorski paced the offense with three goals (for his first-career hat trick) and three assists for a career-high tying six points. Sophomore Christian Mule' had a hat trick while junior Tommy Schelling recorded a goal and two assists. Sophomore Justin Tiernan scored the first two goals of the third quarter, which helped the Mountain Hawks create separation.
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"John Sidorski was excellent tonight, and we needed him to be," said Cassese. "I think he had a big chip on his shoulder. He played really poorly against Villanova last week. He's been a strong catalyst for our offense throughout the year and I think he took [last week] to hear. He was able to learn from it, but also forget about it and go out and play well. He did a great job of winning his individual matchup, but also making others better once he won that matchup."
Defensively, senior Teddy Leggett had a monster game with six groundballs and four caused turnovers to tie a career high. Graduate student Andrew Eichelberger caused a pair of turnovers as well.
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"I thought our defense did a really nice job," said Cassese. "We were playing shorthanded back there and they got the stops they needed to today. I felt like in particular, Teddy Leggett did an unbelievable job leading us back there. He picked up a bunch of groundballs and had some rally timely caused turnovers. In games like this, you have to rely on your upperclassmen and your seniors."
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Trailing 2-1 late in the first quarter, a 3-0 run in the span of 2:44 gave the Mountain Hawks a 4-2 lead early in the second quarter. After the Raiders pulled even, goals from freshman Quinn Armstrong (on the extra man), junior Cole Kirst and Mule' put Lehigh ahead 7-4, but Colgate again had an answer. The Raiders scored the next three to pull even at seven.
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Schelling scored a big goal from Sidorski at 1:48 of the second quarter to put the Mountain Hawks ahead at the half, 8-7, before Tiernan opened the second-half scoring with goals at the 13:46 and 8:28 marks for a 10-7 lead. Graduate student Crew Cintron made it four straight late in the stanza.
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From that point forward, the teams traded goals, as Mule' and Sidorski each added their third of the game, good for the 13-9 final.
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Final shots were 38-35 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 47-38 edge in groundballs. Junior Mike Sisselberger won 18-of-25 faceoffs with 14 groundballs. Twenty three turnovers and six failed clears hurt Lehigh. Senior goaltender James Spence finished with nine saves, including five in the third quarter. Colgate's Sean Collins made eight.
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Next up, the Mountain Hawks will host 16th ranked Loyola on Sunday afternoon in the Patriot League Championship Game. Gametime is set for 12 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
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Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
ÂGallery: (5-7-2021) Men's Lacrosse vs. Colgate, 5/7/21, PL Semis
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"Really happy to win," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "I thought our guys put in a really gutsy performance today. It was a gritty win and it certainly wasn't clean by any stretch of the imagination. We're going to take the win, move on and be happy to be in the Patriot League Championship Game."
Â
Sophomore John Sidorski paced the offense with three goals (for his first-career hat trick) and three assists for a career-high tying six points. Sophomore Christian Mule' had a hat trick while junior Tommy Schelling recorded a goal and two assists. Sophomore Justin Tiernan scored the first two goals of the third quarter, which helped the Mountain Hawks create separation.
Â
"John Sidorski was excellent tonight, and we needed him to be," said Cassese. "I think he had a big chip on his shoulder. He played really poorly against Villanova last week. He's been a strong catalyst for our offense throughout the year and I think he took [last week] to hear. He was able to learn from it, but also forget about it and go out and play well. He did a great job of winning his individual matchup, but also making others better once he won that matchup."
ÂMoving onto the @PatriotLeague Championship Game! See how it happened... pic.twitter.com/6YdhgV7knD
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) May 8, 2021
Defensively, senior Teddy Leggett had a monster game with six groundballs and four caused turnovers to tie a career high. Graduate student Andrew Eichelberger caused a pair of turnovers as well.
Â
"I thought our defense did a really nice job," said Cassese. "We were playing shorthanded back there and they got the stops they needed to today. I felt like in particular, Teddy Leggett did an unbelievable job leading us back there. He picked up a bunch of groundballs and had some rally timely caused turnovers. In games like this, you have to rely on your upperclassmen and your seniors."
Â
Trailing 2-1 late in the first quarter, a 3-0 run in the span of 2:44 gave the Mountain Hawks a 4-2 lead early in the second quarter. After the Raiders pulled even, goals from freshman Quinn Armstrong (on the extra man), junior Cole Kirst and Mule' put Lehigh ahead 7-4, but Colgate again had an answer. The Raiders scored the next three to pull even at seven.
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Schelling scored a big goal from Sidorski at 1:48 of the second quarter to put the Mountain Hawks ahead at the half, 8-7, before Tiernan opened the second-half scoring with goals at the 13:46 and 8:28 marks for a 10-7 lead. Graduate student Crew Cintron made it four straight late in the stanza.
Â
From that point forward, the teams traded goals, as Mule' and Sidorski each added their third of the game, good for the 13-9 final.
Â
Final shots were 38-35 in favor of Lehigh while the Mountain Hawks held a 47-38 edge in groundballs. Junior Mike Sisselberger won 18-of-25 faceoffs with 14 groundballs. Twenty three turnovers and six failed clears hurt Lehigh. Senior goaltender James Spence finished with nine saves, including five in the third quarter. Colgate's Sean Collins made eight.
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Next up, the Mountain Hawks will host 16th ranked Loyola on Sunday afternoon in the Patriot League Championship Game. Gametime is set for 12 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
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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
COLGATE
LEHIGH
Shots
35
38
Turnovers
16
23
Caused Turnovers
9
8
Faceoffs Won
8
18
Extra-Man Opps
1
1
Ground Balls
36
47
Game Leaders
Players
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
3
A
3
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
1
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
Players Mentioned
A/M
/ Men's LacrosseM
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM/D
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's LacrosseA/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
FO/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
/ Men's LacrosseA
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