Saturday, March 5
Bethlehem, Pa.
3 p.m.
Lehigh University
2-2, 1-0PL
11
vs
7
Navy
3-3, 0-1PL
1
2
3
4
F
Navy
4
1
1
1
7
Lehigh
2
3
3
3
11
Photo by: Morgan Weindel
Pair of 4-0 Runs Leads Lehigh Past Navy in Patriot League Opener, 11-7
3/5/2022 8:57:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Trailing 5-2 early in the second quarter, the Lehigh men's lacrosse team responded with a pair of 4-0 runs, separated by a single Navy goal, to open a 10-6 lead on the way to a 11-7 Patriot League opening victory on Saturday at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Four Mountain Hawks scored two goals to lead the offense, while senior Mike Sisselberger was sensational in winning 18-of-22 faceoffs with 13 groundballs, including the goal that all but sealed the victory.
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"I thought today was a great team effort," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "We went down early and hit some adversity, and I was really proud with the way the guys responded to that adversity. We scrapped and clawed our way back into it. Once we got back even in the game, we didn't really stop. We just kept scrapping and clawing. We knew it was going to be that type of game. It typically is when it's Lehigh-Navy or anytime you play a service academy. I was just really proud of the guys for digging deep."
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Making his season debut, senior Cole Kirst scored twice, as did sophomore Scott Cole – his third straight multi-goal game. Sophomores Quinn Armstrong and Aidan Decker also scored twice, marking a career-high for Decker. Sophomore Freddie Amato didn't only record his first-career point, but he also dished three assists – all in the span of 11:25 in the second half that turned a 6-6 deadlock into a 10-6 Mountain Hawks' lead.
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Each of Lehigh's starting defensemen – seniors Anthony Tangredi, Michael Gomez and Teddy Leggett – caused two turnovers apiece. Leggett added four groundballs.
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Navy jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead before senior Tommy Schelling finished a feed from classmate Matt Marker at the 3:59 mark. Navy responded, but Cole finished his first of the afternoon with 21 seconds left in the first to pull the Mountain Hawks within 4-2.
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After Navy scored just 1:59 into the second, Kirst scored from a near impossible angle at the 8:13 mark. Lehigh continued with goals at 7:24 and 2:09, then 12:33 of the third quarter, to open a 6-5 lead.
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The Mids pulled even at the 9:51 mark, but four more goals – beginning with two straight from Decker, including a highlight-reel behind-the-back score – put Lehigh ahead 10-6. The final two goals were scored by Marker, then Kirst's second at 9:39 of the fourth.
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The Mountain Hawks will remain home to host Holy Cross next Saturday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
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Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Please see below for some psotgame reaction from Coach Cassese, Sisselberger and Cole after Saturday's win
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"I thought today was a great team effort," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "We went down early and hit some adversity, and I was really proud with the way the guys responded to that adversity. We scrapped and clawed our way back into it. Once we got back even in the game, we didn't really stop. We just kept scrapping and clawing. We knew it was going to be that type of game. It typically is when it's Lehigh-Navy or anytime you play a service academy. I was just really proud of the guys for digging deep."
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Making his season debut, senior Cole Kirst scored twice, as did sophomore Scott Cole – his third straight multi-goal game. Sophomores Quinn Armstrong and Aidan Decker also scored twice, marking a career-high for Decker. Sophomore Freddie Amato didn't only record his first-career point, but he also dished three assists – all in the span of 11:25 in the second half that turned a 6-6 deadlock into a 10-6 Mountain Hawks' lead.
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Each of Lehigh's starting defensemen – seniors Anthony Tangredi, Michael Gomez and Teddy Leggett – caused two turnovers apiece. Leggett added four groundballs.
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Navy jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead before senior Tommy Schelling finished a feed from classmate Matt Marker at the 3:59 mark. Navy responded, but Cole finished his first of the afternoon with 21 seconds left in the first to pull the Mountain Hawks within 4-2.
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After Navy scored just 1:59 into the second, Kirst scored from a near impossible angle at the 8:13 mark. Lehigh continued with goals at 7:24 and 2:09, then 12:33 of the third quarter, to open a 6-5 lead.
"We had a spark today with Cole Kirst returning for us. Obviously first game back was huge, just to have his energy and everything he brings," said Cassese. "We didn't anticipate losing Tommy Schelling so early in the game [due to injury]. It was a group effort on the offensive end. Everybody stepped up. You could sense that in the locker room at halftime, guys just being able to rally together and knowing that Tommy was going to be out of the game, that they each needed to do a little bit more, and they did. We had some guys step up in major ways and got some big-time plays from our second midfield. And I thought our defense played really well down the stretch."He's BACKK!!!! Cole Kirst from an impossible angle to pull the Mountain Hawks within two.
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) March 5, 2022
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/dVBpojY3we pic.twitter.com/UpIA6Vk8TS
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The Mids pulled even at the 9:51 mark, but four more goals – beginning with two straight from Decker, including a highlight-reel behind-the-back score – put Lehigh ahead 10-6. The final two goals were scored by Marker, then Kirst's second at 9:39 of the fourth.
After Navy got within 10-7 with 3:54 remaining, Sisselberger erased any doubt just six seconds later off the ensuing faceoff.Here's the sideline view of Decker's BTB beauty.#SCTop10 #PLTop3 @ESPNAssignDesk pic.twitter.com/d00L1lv4Vi
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) March 5, 2022
For the game, Lehigh held a 50-28 edge in shots and 41-31 advantage in groundballs. Senior James Spence finished with 10 saves for the Mountain Hawks, all coming in the final three quarters. After allowing five goals in the game's first 16:59, Spence and the defense allowed just two over the final 43:01.Mike Sisselberger sealed the win with this goal, then couldn't wait to get back to the faceoff circle. Wait for it 😂😂😂@USALacrosseMag | @Inside_Lacrosse pic.twitter.com/IVNNjOcrEf
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) March 5, 2022
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The Mountain Hawks will remain home to host Holy Cross next Saturday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
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Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Please see below for some psotgame reaction from Coach Cassese, Sisselberger and Cole after Saturday's win
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Team Stats
NAVY
LEHIGH
Shots
28
50
Turnovers
15
19
Caused Turnovers
9
9
Faceoffs Won
4
18
Extra-Man Opps
2
0
Ground Balls
31
41
Game Leaders
Players
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
1
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Men's LacrosseA/M
/ Men's LacrosseA/M
/ Men's LacrosseM
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM/D
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
FO/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
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