Season Preview: New season, New look, Same Winning Mentality

Season Preview: New season, New look, Same Winning Mentality

2/1/2024 11:55:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - New season, new look, same winning foundation.

Lehigh men's lacrosse may look a little different this season with a new head coach in Will Scudder, the loss of All-American faceoff specialist Mike Sisselberger and the loss of its second, third, fourth and fifth leading scorers, but the Mountain Hawks return their winning mentality, two preseason All-Americans and a whole lot of buy-in from all 48 players.

After a busy fall and a couple of weeks of preseason practice, the Mountain Hawks will have its first test of the season on Saturday at Rutgers.

'We're excited," Scudder said. "The carry over from the fall to the spring season feels like there is positive momentum. We have a lot of buy in, especially from the senior class, but they've been doing a really good job. Scott Cole is our captain, but we have 12 other seniors that are doing a tremendous job leading from the front and bringing great energy."

Not only does Lehigh return all 12 seniors, but the Mountain Hawks also return Colin Fowler, Lehigh's lone fifth-year. Fowler was a strong presence on the defensive end last season, as he played in 11 games and made seven starts before suffering a season-ending injury. In those 11 games played last season, Fowler recorded 12 ground balls and caused two turnovers.

"Colin is a really good personality, " Scudder said. "He has a calming presence to him that the guys appreciate, and he just has really good instincts on when to crack a joke, when to be serious and when to lighten the mood. He had some taste of success last season that he just didn't want his career to be over with, and I'm really appreciative of him coming back."

Despite losing All-American Mike Sisseberger due to graduation, the Mountain Hawks return two All-Americans in Scott Cole and Richard Checo.

Both Cole and Checo earned All-American honorable mentions last year, and both were named USA Lax Magazine Preseason All-Americans.

Cole had a fantastic season last year, recording a team-high of 75 points after scoring 46 goals and dishing out 26 points. The senior attackman was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year and earned preseason Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year honors.

"When your most talented player is also one of the hardest worker and a guy that cares at a high level, it makes your job a lot easier, " Scudder said. "He sets the tone for the rest of the team, and he's able to demand more from his teammates because he's demanding more of himself. Every time you talk to Scott, you can see something behind his eyes with just how bad he wants it. He knows this is his last opportunity, and he's not going to leave here with no stone unturned. He wants it so bad. To me, it's not about the numbers he's going to put up offensively, but it's about the buy in and how he's going to bring others along with him."

Due to losing multiple players on the offensive end due to graduation, the team will look to some returners in Quinn Armstrong, Aidan Decker, Andrew Kelly, Grant Rodny and EJ Vasile. All five men have played and will continue to make their presence felt with different and more expanded roles.

"Coach Licciardi has done a really good job with the offense," Scudder said. "His leadership and the way he is coaching these guys is not about the end results and the production. It's 'Hey, we're going to score as a unit, and we're not going to rely on one or two guys to produce. If we've got six guys out there, Lehigh lacrosse is going to score, not just one person.'"

Offensive production all starts at the faceoff "x" and Lehigh has four faceoff specialists in Matt Brock, Sean Dow, Johnny Kidd and Connor Riley.

"For me being a faceoff guy my entire career, that position is super special to me, and I love what we have in that faceoff room," Scudder said. "Between Sean and Matt, those are going to be the two guys we rely on the most this year, and I think they both bring different skill sets that are high-end. I've coached the two best faceoff guys in Patriot League history. I think that Johnny and Conor are both really good too, and they could play at almost any school in our league, so the depth we have there helps push our juniors and seniors there."

While senior goalkeeper Nick Pecora did not land on an all-league team last season, he had an outstanding season in his first year starting. Pecora was named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week three times last season and was second in the league in saves per game (11.67). Lehigh also has three other goalies in Will Deskey, Kasey Heath and Bryce Pang.

"Our goalies were the highlight in our scrimmage," Scudder said. "All four played really well, and I think Nick brings back some great experience. He has some very good instincts, and I think the other three guys have done a good job of pushing him."

In front of Pecora and the goalies is a sophomore All-American defender in Checo. Checo had an incredible first season in the Brown and White, racking up a program record of 54 caused turnovers and a team-high of 64 ground balls. Checo also earned a spot on the Patriot League Preseason All-League team alongside Cole.

"He has really good ball skills and excellent instincts, and I think that allows him to be the player he is," Scudder said. "It looks effortless at times with him, and I think what a lot of people don't understand is how much time he puts in the film room. He watches so much film and understands other players' tendencies and what the offense is trying to do."

Lehigh's defense may be young, but it also has key returners in Timmy Kirlin, Kellen Mathias, Luke McAuliffe, Giovanni Proccacinci, Nick Turinni, Raul Ochotorena and more.

"We don't bring back a bunch of seniors in each group or guys that have been playing for four years one each side, but it's really the confidence of playing together that we have, and I'm excited to see in these next couple of games how well and how cohesive we are on both side," Scudder said.

Scudder added that what really stands out about this group so far is the toughness they have.

"I could not be more appreciative of coach Cassese for the way he helped groom me and mentor me," he said. "We're not changing our culture by any means. I think he did a tremendous job of putting Lehigh lacrosse over the past 16 years, and he did that by developing a culture of passion, selflessness, disciple and toughness…With this group, we have a buy-in from the number one guy on our roster down to the 48th guy on our roster. The care factor is at a really high level."