Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/10/18
From Press Release
The Lehigh men’s lacrosse team posted a pair of 4-0 runs, including one in the fourth quarter to turn a 6-5 deficit into a 9-6 lead, on its way to a big 9-7 win at No. 12 Army West Point on Saturday afternoon.
Lehigh scored nine goals against a Black Knights’ defense allowing just 6.60 per game entering the day, while on the other end, the Mountain Hawks’ defense held Army to a season-low seven goals. Junior Andrew Pettit (Tower Hill) tied a career-high five goals, including three straight in the fourth quarter, while classmate Craig Chick recorded seven groundballs and three caused turnovers. With the win, Lehigh improves to 5-1 on the season and 3-0 in Patriot League play.
Sophomore Andrew Eichelberger also posted a career-high three points with two goals and one assist. Junior Lucas Spence (Springfield-Delco) had a goal and assist, while senior Nolan Apers scored a goal as well.
Chick’s three caused turnovers gave him 93 for his career, moving him into a tie for 18th place in NCAA history in that category. Freshman Teddy Leggettadded a career-high seven groundballs to go with three caused turnovers. Junior Eddie Bouhall collected three groundballs while sophomore Christian McHugh had two, along with an assist.
Army finished with a 33-29 edge in shots while Lehigh held a 28-23 advantage in groundballs. Sophomore Conor Gaffney (Lenape) won 12-of-20 faceoffs, including 9-of-14 over the final three quarters. Freshman James Spence (Springfield-Delco) was strong in goal, making nine saves, five coming in the second half.
Lehigh was able to frustrate Army offensively for most of the game using its zone defense.
“For us, it’s just about trying to keep teams on their heels,” said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. “I thought we did a pretty good job of that, although they hit some shots and got after us in between the restraining lines pretty well today – in the third quarter in particular. But we were able to make a few plays in the end to secure the win.”
Army jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with 6:58 remaining in the first quarter, but the Mountain Hawks answered with four consecutive goals, two of which were scored by Pettit. Lehigh went in front 4-2 early in the second quarter after the first of two Eichelberger goals.
With Lehigh leading 5-3 at the half, the Black Knights outscored the Mountain Hawks 3-0 in the third quarter to take a 6-5 lead. However, Pettit had an answer in the fourth quarter, scoring three consecutive goals – at the 11:02 mark to pull even at six, at 9:18 to give Lehigh a 7-6 lead, and at 8:42 on the extra man to give the Mountain Hawks an 8-6 advantage.
Spence added a transition goal less than two minutes later to give Lehigh a 9-6 lead, Army got one back at 5:47, but the Mountain Hawks’ defense stood tall to close out the impressive victory.
Conor Glancy (Malvern Prep) had two goals for Army.