Saturday, April 15
Bethlehem, Pa.
12 PM
Lehigh University
8-3 (5-1)PL
15
vs
8
Colgate
1-8 (1-5PL)
1
2
3
4
F
Colgate
3
1
2
2
8
Lehigh
4
5
3
3
15
Photo by: Matt Smith
Lehigh bests Colgate 15-8, Clinches Spot in Patriot League Tournament
4/16/2023 3:16:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh men's lacrosse team pulled away from Colgate 15-8 at the Ulrich Sports Complex Sunday in the resumption of a game that was suspended Saturday due to inclement weather. The victory clinches a Patriot League Tournament berth for the Mountain Hawks.
"I'm super proud of our guys,' said head coach Kevin Cassese. "It was a tough situation overall, and yesterday was meant to be a celebration of Lehigh lacrosse. We had senior day, we had alumni day, and we were going to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of our 2013 Patriot League Championship team, and the weather and some of the decisions made throughout the day were not in our favor, and we weren't able to get the game in."
Lehigh is 8-3 (5-1 PL), and the Raiders are 1-8 (1-5 PL). Lehigh came into the game on Sunday with a 3-2 lead with 2:17 left to play in the quarter. Colgate had possession of the ball to start off Sunday's game, and Adam Salvaggio tied things at three with 1:25 to play in the first quarter.Â
That would be the last tie of the game. Goals from Scott Cole and Justin Tiernan put Lehigh up 5-3. After Alex Pistorious scored with 9:21 left in the first half to make it 5-4, Lehigh took control from there. The Mountain Hawks would go on to score the next six goals of the game. They ended the first half on a 4-0 run to take a 9-5 lead at halftime.
The Mountain Hawks held the Raiders scoreless for more than 15 minutes. Michael Minicus stopped the 6-0 run for Lehigh with a goal of his own in the third quarter.Â
Christian Mule' put Lehigh up by seven with 4:37 to go in the third quarter, which would match its largest lead of the game . From there, both teams scored three more goals the rest of the way.
This marked the third time this season that Lehigh held an opponent to single digit goals.
Lehigh's starting attack unit combined for 17 points in the game. Cole led the way with five goals and two assists, Mule' had six points (2G, 4A), and Justin Tiernan had four points (3G, 4A).Â
In the fourth quarter, Richard Checo picked up his 43rd caused turnover of the season, which surpasses the school single-season record previously held by Craig Chick. Checo had a game-high of four caused turnovers.Â
Ryan Niggeman and Judah Hicks both caused two turnovers for Lehigh as well.Â
Junior Nick Pecora helped anchor a defense that only allowed eight goals. He had 15 saves, which is just one shy of a career-high.
Mike Sisselberger won 16-of-24 faceoffs.
Rory Connor led the way for Colgate with four goals. Colgate's Matt LaCombe finished with 10 saves.Â
The Mountain Hawks travel to Boston University on April 22 at 12 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
"The best thing that happened today is that we earned more time together," Cassese said. "Clinching a Patriot League Tournament berth and doing that for 12 years straight is something that we're really proud of, and that's something that's a minimum standard for our program to compete for a Patriot League Championship. The hope is that we put ourselves in positions to do some damage in that and win the thing to compete for a National Championship."Â
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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"I'm super proud of our guys,' said head coach Kevin Cassese. "It was a tough situation overall, and yesterday was meant to be a celebration of Lehigh lacrosse. We had senior day, we had alumni day, and we were going to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of our 2013 Patriot League Championship team, and the weather and some of the decisions made throughout the day were not in our favor, and we weren't able to get the game in."
Lehigh is 8-3 (5-1 PL), and the Raiders are 1-8 (1-5 PL). Lehigh came into the game on Sunday with a 3-2 lead with 2:17 left to play in the quarter. Colgate had possession of the ball to start off Sunday's game, and Adam Salvaggio tied things at three with 1:25 to play in the first quarter.Â
That would be the last tie of the game. Goals from Scott Cole and Justin Tiernan put Lehigh up 5-3. After Alex Pistorious scored with 9:21 left in the first half to make it 5-4, Lehigh took control from there. The Mountain Hawks would go on to score the next six goals of the game. They ended the first half on a 4-0 run to take a 9-5 lead at halftime.
The Mountain Hawks held the Raiders scoreless for more than 15 minutes. Michael Minicus stopped the 6-0 run for Lehigh with a goal of his own in the third quarter.Â
Christian Mule' put Lehigh up by seven with 4:37 to go in the third quarter, which would match its largest lead of the game . From there, both teams scored three more goals the rest of the way.
This marked the third time this season that Lehigh held an opponent to single digit goals.
Lehigh's starting attack unit combined for 17 points in the game. Cole led the way with five goals and two assists, Mule' had six points (2G, 4A), and Justin Tiernan had four points (3G, 4A).Â
In the fourth quarter, Richard Checo picked up his 43rd caused turnover of the season, which surpasses the school single-season record previously held by Craig Chick. Checo had a game-high of four caused turnovers.Â
Ryan Niggeman and Judah Hicks both caused two turnovers for Lehigh as well.Â
Junior Nick Pecora helped anchor a defense that only allowed eight goals. He had 15 saves, which is just one shy of a career-high.
Mike Sisselberger won 16-of-24 faceoffs.
Rory Connor led the way for Colgate with four goals. Colgate's Matt LaCombe finished with 10 saves.Â
The Mountain Hawks travel to Boston University on April 22 at 12 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
"The best thing that happened today is that we earned more time together," Cassese said. "Clinching a Patriot League Tournament berth and doing that for 12 years straight is something that we're really proud of, and that's something that's a minimum standard for our program to compete for a Patriot League Championship. The hope is that we put ourselves in positions to do some damage in that and win the thing to compete for a National Championship."Â
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
32
40
Turnovers
19
22
Caused Turnovers
14
14
Faceoffs Won
10
17
Extra-Man Opps
6
2
Ground Balls
31
35
Game Leaders
Players
G
5
A
2
FO
-
Pen
1-30
GB
3
CT
1
G
3
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
2
A
4
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
1
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's LacrosseA/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM/D
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
/ Men's Lacrosse
FO/M
/ Men's LacrosseA
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