Tuesday, May 3
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 p.m.
Lehigh University
vs
Navy (Patriot League Quarterfinals)
Photo by: Matt Smith
Lehigh to Host Navy in Patriot League Quarterfinals Tuesday Night
5/2/2022 8:59:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Coming off three straight one-goal defeats - two in overtime and one coming in the final seconds - the Lehigh men's lacrosse team looks to turn things around when the Mountain Hawks host Navy in the Patriot League Quarterfinals Tuesday night. Opening faceoff is 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Most recently, Lehigh dropped a heartbreaking 13-12 final at Loyola in overtime Friday, holding the lead into the final minute of regulation before the Greyhounds scored a man-up goal to force overtime, then another early in the extra session.
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The Mountain Hawks and Midshipmen finished the regular season tied with 5-3 Patriot League marks, but Lehigh earned the tiebreaker due to an 11-7 head-to-head win in March. Lehigh began league play 5-0 and ended 0-3, but each was decided at the very end… literally. The one that didn't go to overtime almost did, as Boston University scored the game-winning goal with five seconds remaining. Navy is riding a three-game winning streak into Tuesday. Tuesday's game features two top 10 defenses in terms of scoring average – Lehigh is seventh (9.69) and Navy ninth (9.86).
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Tuesday will mark the fifth all-time meeting between Lehigh and Navy in the Patriot League Tournament. The Mids won the first two (in 2005 and 2016) with the Mountain Hawks winning the latest two (in 2014 and 2018). This will mark the second time they meet in the quarterfinals (along with 2014).
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Turnovers have really hurt Lehigh lately, as Lehigh had 16 against Boston University and 22 at Loyola (yet still found a way to have a chance until the end of both contests). After not scoring for the game's first 24:03 Friday, the Mountain Hawks exploded for four goals in 3:27 to get right back in the game. Loyola later scored four straight to take an 11-8 lead, but the Mountain Hawks answered with four in a row to retake a 12-11 advantage. The 12th goal was scored by sophomore Scott Cole, who finished with a career-high tying five points (three goals, two assists) and was one of five Mountain Hawks named All-League on Monday (and one of three named to the first team). Senior Tommy Schelling had three goals and three assists, in the process moving from seventh to sixth in program history for career assists (with 83), passing Tristan Rai's 82. Schelling also reached 166 career points to pass Mark Duncan for eighth in program history.
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Another big story was junior Justin Tiernan. Playing his third game of the season after returning from injury, he scored three goals for his second-career hat trick, providing a big offensive spark. Defensively, senior Michael Gomez had two caused turnovers while classmate Anthony Tangredi caused a turnover to reach 50 in his career. Anchoring the defense was graduate student James Spence, who made a season-high 15 saves, including many timely stops, in an impressive effort. He was named second team All-League on Monday. Over his last five games, Spence has 67 saves, allowing just 50 goals.
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Navy is riding a three-game winning streak entering the Patriot League Tournament, winning at Lafayette (9-5), at No. 6 Army West Point (12-11) and home vs. Bucknell (13-6). Another big win for the Mids came at No. 18 Johns Hopkins on Mar. 18 via an 11-10 final. Patrick Skalniak leads Navy in goals (25) and points (44) and is second in assists (19). Nick Cole is second in points with 37 via 16 goals and a team-leading 21 assists. Jackson Bonitz leads the Mids with 17 caused turnovers while his 35 groundballs are second. Goalie Pat Ryan leads Navy with 37 groundballs. Six Navy playershave taken at least one faceoff this season, led by Nate Hammond who is at 51.4 percent (92-of-179) with 33 groundballs. Ryan has been strong in goal, tallying a 9.71 goals against average and 54.0 save percentage - first and second in the Patriot League, respectively.
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Navy leads the all-time series against Lehigh, 33-11, but the Mountain Hawks have won five straight and 10 of the last 14. Lehigh beat Navy 14-10 in 2011 for its first win over the Midshipmen since 1913 and just second in program history. That sparked a five-game winning streak, followed by four straight Navy wins, but Lehigh has responded with the next five in a row. Each of the last three meetings have come at Lehigh, with the Mountain Hawks winning 14-6 in 2020, 13-7 in 2021 and 11-7 earlier this season. Lehigh trailed 5-2 early in the second quarter, but a pair of 4-0 runs helped the Mountain Hawks to the Patriot League opening victory. The teams have played twice in the Patriot League Tournament since 2014 - with the Mountain Hawks winning at home in the 2014 quarterfinals (10-6) while winning in the semifinals at Loyola (10-9 in overtime). The first-ever meeting between Lehigh and Navy came in 1910 - a 4-2 Navy victory.
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If the Mountain Hawks win on Tuesday, they would advance to Friday's Patriot League Semifinals at Boston University. The host Terriers will face the lowest remaining seed (No. 6 Bucknell also plays at No. 3 Loyola in the other quarterfinal contest).
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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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The Mountain Hawks and Midshipmen finished the regular season tied with 5-3 Patriot League marks, but Lehigh earned the tiebreaker due to an 11-7 head-to-head win in March. Lehigh began league play 5-0 and ended 0-3, but each was decided at the very end… literally. The one that didn't go to overtime almost did, as Boston University scored the game-winning goal with five seconds remaining. Navy is riding a three-game winning streak into Tuesday. Tuesday's game features two top 10 defenses in terms of scoring average – Lehigh is seventh (9.69) and Navy ninth (9.86).
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Tuesday will mark the fifth all-time meeting between Lehigh and Navy in the Patriot League Tournament. The Mids won the first two (in 2005 and 2016) with the Mountain Hawks winning the latest two (in 2014 and 2018). This will mark the second time they meet in the quarterfinals (along with 2014).
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Turnovers have really hurt Lehigh lately, as Lehigh had 16 against Boston University and 22 at Loyola (yet still found a way to have a chance until the end of both contests). After not scoring for the game's first 24:03 Friday, the Mountain Hawks exploded for four goals in 3:27 to get right back in the game. Loyola later scored four straight to take an 11-8 lead, but the Mountain Hawks answered with four in a row to retake a 12-11 advantage. The 12th goal was scored by sophomore Scott Cole, who finished with a career-high tying five points (three goals, two assists) and was one of five Mountain Hawks named All-League on Monday (and one of three named to the first team). Senior Tommy Schelling had three goals and three assists, in the process moving from seventh to sixth in program history for career assists (with 83), passing Tristan Rai's 82. Schelling also reached 166 career points to pass Mark Duncan for eighth in program history.
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Another big story was junior Justin Tiernan. Playing his third game of the season after returning from injury, he scored three goals for his second-career hat trick, providing a big offensive spark. Defensively, senior Michael Gomez had two caused turnovers while classmate Anthony Tangredi caused a turnover to reach 50 in his career. Anchoring the defense was graduate student James Spence, who made a season-high 15 saves, including many timely stops, in an impressive effort. He was named second team All-League on Monday. Over his last five games, Spence has 67 saves, allowing just 50 goals.
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Navy is riding a three-game winning streak entering the Patriot League Tournament, winning at Lafayette (9-5), at No. 6 Army West Point (12-11) and home vs. Bucknell (13-6). Another big win for the Mids came at No. 18 Johns Hopkins on Mar. 18 via an 11-10 final. Patrick Skalniak leads Navy in goals (25) and points (44) and is second in assists (19). Nick Cole is second in points with 37 via 16 goals and a team-leading 21 assists. Jackson Bonitz leads the Mids with 17 caused turnovers while his 35 groundballs are second. Goalie Pat Ryan leads Navy with 37 groundballs. Six Navy playershave taken at least one faceoff this season, led by Nate Hammond who is at 51.4 percent (92-of-179) with 33 groundballs. Ryan has been strong in goal, tallying a 9.71 goals against average and 54.0 save percentage - first and second in the Patriot League, respectively.
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Navy leads the all-time series against Lehigh, 33-11, but the Mountain Hawks have won five straight and 10 of the last 14. Lehigh beat Navy 14-10 in 2011 for its first win over the Midshipmen since 1913 and just second in program history. That sparked a five-game winning streak, followed by four straight Navy wins, but Lehigh has responded with the next five in a row. Each of the last three meetings have come at Lehigh, with the Mountain Hawks winning 14-6 in 2020, 13-7 in 2021 and 11-7 earlier this season. Lehigh trailed 5-2 early in the second quarter, but a pair of 4-0 runs helped the Mountain Hawks to the Patriot League opening victory. The teams have played twice in the Patriot League Tournament since 2014 - with the Mountain Hawks winning at home in the 2014 quarterfinals (10-6) while winning in the semifinals at Loyola (10-9 in overtime). The first-ever meeting between Lehigh and Navy came in 1910 - a 4-2 Navy victory.
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If the Mountain Hawks win on Tuesday, they would advance to Friday's Patriot League Semifinals at Boston University. The host Terriers will face the lowest remaining seed (No. 6 Bucknell also plays at No. 3 Loyola in the other quarterfinal contest).
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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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