Saturday, April 20
Bethlehem, Pa.
12:00 PM
Lehigh University
7-6 (5-2PL)
13
vs
12
No. 20 Boston University
7-6 (4-3PL)
1
2
3
4
OT
F
BU
4
3
3
2
0
12
Lehigh
3
1
3
5
1
13
Photo by: Matt Smith
Eierman Nets Game-Winning OT Goal in 13-12 Victory Over No. 20 Boston University
4/20/2024 4:50:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Junior midfielder Dakota Eierman scored the biggest goal of his career, netting the game-winning goal with 51 seconds remaining in overtime to give Lehigh a 13-12 victory over No. 20 Boston University Saturday afternoon at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Eierman's goal gave Lehigh its first and only lead of the day, but it would not matter as the Mountain Hawks came out victorious.Â
Trailing 9-4 with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Lehigh needed to change things up if it wanted to pull off the victory, and it did indeed, as the Mountain Hawks outscored Boston University 9-3 the last 23 minutes of the game.Â
With the win, the Mountain Hawks improved to 7-6 (5-2 PL), and the Terriers dropped to 7-6 (4-3 PL). The win also marked Lehigh's second straight victory over a ranked opponent after defeating then No. 17/18 Colgate last week.Â
"This is what we thought we had coming at the beginning of the year, and we weren't ready when we played Rutgers, and we weren't ready when we played Cornell, but the guys stayed the course throughout the year, and that's what we get," said head coach Will Scudder. "This is a full-season effort, and I'm just really proud of the guys for staying the course when we went down."
While Eierman's goal was no doubt the biggest goal of the game, seniors Scott Cole and Quinn Armstrong both netted two important goals in the final two minutes of regulation. Eierman made it a one-goal game with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, and Boston University went back up by two goals after scoring a minute later, but Armstrong and Cole rallied from this, scoring the final two goals in regulation to send things to overtime. Armstrong pulled Lehigh within one goal with 1:27 left in the fourth quarter, and Cole sent things to overtime after scoring the game-tying goal with 21 seconds left in regulation.Â
Cole (4G), Armstrong (3G), Eierman (2G) and Grant Rodny (2G) each netted multiple goals for the Mountain Hawks. Sean Dow and Hunter Polonkey scored the other two goals for Lehigh. Dow's goal also marked the first of his career.Â
The game started out back and forth, with both teams scoring three goals apiece six minutes into the game. Thomas Niedringhaus gave Boston University a 4-3 lead with 5:47 remaining in the first quarter and the Terriers would score three more goals after that to take a 7-3 lead. Boston University held Lehigh scoreless for 23 minutes in the first half and Armstrong got Lehigh back on the board with 2:49 remaining in the second quarter to pull within three goals heading into halftime.
Sophomore defender Richard Checo was outstanding, with a game-high of five caused turnovers. Checo also made a key caused turnover in overtime with 2:12 remaining to give the Mountain Hawks possession, which led to Eierman's game-winning goal.
Senior goalkeeper Nick Pecora recorded eight saves. Will Barnes made 10 saves for the Terriers.Â
Dow won the possession battle for the Mountain Hawks as he won 16-of-29 faceoffs while picking up five ground balls. Lehigh held a 33-32 advantage in shots. The Mountain Hawks also held a 37-33 advantage in ground balls.Â
Next up, Lehigh will travel to Easton, Pa., to take on Lafayette on April 26 at 7:30 p.m. With this weekend's results, Lehigh has also clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament.Â
Trailing 9-4 with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Lehigh needed to change things up if it wanted to pull off the victory, and it did indeed, as the Mountain Hawks outscored Boston University 9-3 the last 23 minutes of the game.Â
With the win, the Mountain Hawks improved to 7-6 (5-2 PL), and the Terriers dropped to 7-6 (4-3 PL). The win also marked Lehigh's second straight victory over a ranked opponent after defeating then No. 17/18 Colgate last week.Â
"This is what we thought we had coming at the beginning of the year, and we weren't ready when we played Rutgers, and we weren't ready when we played Cornell, but the guys stayed the course throughout the year, and that's what we get," said head coach Will Scudder. "This is a full-season effort, and I'm just really proud of the guys for staying the course when we went down."
While Eierman's goal was no doubt the biggest goal of the game, seniors Scott Cole and Quinn Armstrong both netted two important goals in the final two minutes of regulation. Eierman made it a one-goal game with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, and Boston University went back up by two goals after scoring a minute later, but Armstrong and Cole rallied from this, scoring the final two goals in regulation to send things to overtime. Armstrong pulled Lehigh within one goal with 1:27 left in the fourth quarter, and Cole sent things to overtime after scoring the game-tying goal with 21 seconds left in regulation.Â
Cole (4G), Armstrong (3G), Eierman (2G) and Grant Rodny (2G) each netted multiple goals for the Mountain Hawks. Sean Dow and Hunter Polonkey scored the other two goals for Lehigh. Dow's goal also marked the first of his career.Â
The game started out back and forth, with both teams scoring three goals apiece six minutes into the game. Thomas Niedringhaus gave Boston University a 4-3 lead with 5:47 remaining in the first quarter and the Terriers would score three more goals after that to take a 7-3 lead. Boston University held Lehigh scoreless for 23 minutes in the first half and Armstrong got Lehigh back on the board with 2:49 remaining in the second quarter to pull within three goals heading into halftime.
Sophomore defender Richard Checo was outstanding, with a game-high of five caused turnovers. Checo also made a key caused turnover in overtime with 2:12 remaining to give the Mountain Hawks possession, which led to Eierman's game-winning goal.
Senior goalkeeper Nick Pecora recorded eight saves. Will Barnes made 10 saves for the Terriers.Â
Dow won the possession battle for the Mountain Hawks as he won 16-of-29 faceoffs while picking up five ground balls. Lehigh held a 33-32 advantage in shots. The Mountain Hawks also held a 37-33 advantage in ground balls.Â
Next up, Lehigh will travel to Easton, Pa., to take on Lafayette on April 26 at 7:30 p.m. With this weekend's results, Lehigh has also clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament.Â
Team Stats
BU
LEHIGH
Shots
33
34
Turnovers
15
18
Caused Turnovers
9
11
Faceoffs Won
13
16
Extra-Man Opps
5
3
Ground Balls
33
40
Game Leaders
G
4
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
5
CT
1
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
3
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
Players Mentioned
A/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
/ Men's LacrosseA/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's LacrosseLehigh Sports Central: Men's Lacrosse
Thursday, April 24
2025 Season Preview: Men's Lacrosse
Friday, January 31
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Lacrosse
Wednesday, April 10
