Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 1/31/14
From Press Release
Coming off two straight Patriot League Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances, the Lehigh men’s lacrosse team kicks off 2014 when it travels to Greenville, South Carolina to face Furman on Saturday.
In their first year of competition, the Paladins are led by former Navy coach and current head coach of the U.S. National Team Richie Meade. Lehigh-Furman and Delaware-High Point kick off the Division I Men’s Lacrosse schedule on Saturday. The majority of the other teams begin their schedule the weekend of Feb. 8.
The Mountain Hawks are led by senior defenseman Ty Souders (Emmaus) and junior goalie Matt Poillon, who are both two-time All-Americans. Juniors Dan Taylor and Patrick Corbett lead the charge offensively after posting 50 and 26 points last season, respectively. Taylor finished second on the team in goals (29), assists (21) and points (50).
Saturday marks the earliest game in program history. With the addition of Boston University and Loyola to the Patriot League, the league schedule has increased to eight games with the league opener set for Feb. 22 in Boston. Lehigh hosts Marquette in its home opener next Saturday (Feb. 8) before welcoming Villanova on the 15th.
Furman announced that it would be adding men’s and women’s lacrosse on Feb. 9, 2012.
The Mountain Hawks began last season 5-4 and following a 6-4 loss to UMass in mid-March, Lehigh promptly won seven straight games culminating with a dominant 11-5 win over Bucknell in the Patriot League Championship Game. Lehigh went undefeated in Patriot League play and hosted the league tournament for the first time in school history. Overall, the Mountain Hawks have gone 15-1 against league opponents over the last two seasons.
Lehigh is eying a season-opening win for a fifth straight season. The Mountain Hawks defeated Saint Joseph’s in each of the last four openers. Lehigh is searching for its sixth straight regular season game dating back to last season.
Furman is in its first year as a program. The Paladins feature 46 freshmen, but also have some transfers. Included are two who played for Syracuse: Ralph D’Agostino (a member of the 2012 U.S. Under-19 team and the 52nd overall incoming prospect by Inside Lacrosse) and Clay Adams (the 38th ranked incoming freshman midfielder by Inside Lacrosse). Furman plays a challenging schedule, facing North Carolina, Air Force and Army over its next three games before playing Georgetown and Duke later in the season.
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