Second Half the Difference in 9-7 Win Over Holy Cross on Senior Day

Saturday, April 6

Bethlehem, Pa.

1:00 PM

Lehigh University

5-6 (3-2PL)

Holy Cross

2-8 (0-6PL)

Lehigh

Photo by: Matt Smith

Second Half the Difference in 9-7 Win Over Holy Cross on Senior Day

4/6/2024 4:51:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Despite a slow start to Saturday's game against Holy Cross, the Lehigh men's lacrosse team found its groove in the second half to help come away with a 9-7 win at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Before the game, the Mountain Hawks honored their 12 seniors. With the win, Lehigh improved to 5-6 (3-2 PL), and Holy Cross dropped to 2-8 (0-6 PL).

"I just love this senior class," said head coach Will Scudder. "They've been extremely helpful to me in my first year as a head coach. They bring great energy every day to practice, and they hold their teammates accountable and hold each other accountable. They also take care of business off the field, so that we can focus on lacrosse, so I'm going to be eternally grateful for this class."

Quinn Armstrong netted a team-high of four goals. Grant Rodny also had four points on two goals and two assists. Scott Cole, Andrew Kelly (1G, 1A) and Giovanni Procaccini each tallied a goal apiece for Lehigh.

Both teams got off to a slow start on Saturday, scoring just one goal each through the first 25 minutes of the game. The Crusaders scored three unanswered goals in a span of three minutes to take a 4-1 lead, but Rodny found the back of the net with nine seconds remaining in the first half to cut Holy Cross's lead to 4-2 at halftime.

"I told them at halftime that we looked afraid," Scudder said."We were playing scared and we were scared that we were going to lose the game, and I told them that was unacceptable and we needed to shift our weight to our toes and play the brand of lacrosse that we want to be known for, and I felt like they did that. They committed to that in the third quarter, and I felt like our pace of play changed and so did the outcome of the game."

The Mountain Hawks found their rhythm in the third quarter, scoring the first two goals of the half. The third quarter would be back and forth with three ties, but the Mountain Hawks went on a 3-0 run in five minutes to help take a 9-6 lead with 13:25 remaining in the final frame. Although the Mountain Hawks would not score after this, they held Holy Cross scoreless for more than 17 minutes in the second half to help pull off the victory.

Richard Checo wreaked havoc on Saturday, recording a season-high of six caused turnovers while picking up three ground balls.

"I've been challenging Richard the last couple of weeks to become the best version of him, and we're trying to put him in spots to be aggressive and to really let him do his thing, and I felt like he responded really well the last couple of games to us challenging him, and he is just really giving maximum effort right now," Scudder said.

John Schofield and Raul Ochotorena caused a pair of turnovers, and Aidan Decker and Luke McAuliffe both caused one turnover.

Nick Pecora was credited with nine saves on Saturday. Dawson Friers and JR Long both saw action in net for Holy Cross, with Friers making eight saves and Long making two saves.

Junior faceoff specialist Sean Dow controlled the stripe once again, winning 10-of-17 attempts.

Next up, the Mountain Hawks will travel to Hamilton, N.Y., to take on Colgate on April 13 at 1 p.m.