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3/26/2022 | 1 p.m
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History
WEST POINT, NY – The Lehigh men’s lacrosse team jumped out to a 4-0 lead less than nine minutes in and would never trail, as the Mountain Hawks improved to 3-0 in Patriot League play with an impressive 11-10 win at No . 9 Army West Point on Saturday afternoon at Michie Stadium. On numerous occasions, the Black Knights responded to either tie or pull within a goal, but Lehigh always had an answer. After Army scored three goals in the first 4:56 of the fourth quarter to pull within one, the Mountain Hawks scored two of the next three, as senior Matt Marker’s goal with 5:40 remaining proved to be the difference.
“It was a typical Lehigh Army battle,” said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. “Not necessarily the cleanest game, but definitely intense and highly competitive. It always is when we play Army, which is why we love playing them. It brings out the best in us.”
The victory is Lehigh’s first against a top-10 opponent since also beating the Black Knights last season at home when they were ranked seventh.
Senior Cole Kirst scored a game-high four goals, which also tied a career high (originally set against Army last season). Sophomore Scott Cole scored three goals for his fourth-career hat trick (third this season), as Kirst and Cole combined for seven of the Mountain Hawks’ 11 goals on the afternoon.
Defensively, senior Anthony Tangredi had a groundball and caused two turnovers while graduate student Teddy Leggett covered Army’s Brendan Nichtern – the preseason Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year – and held him to just one goal (after scoring 19 over his first seven games). Nothing was held to just one point (an assist) over the first three quarters. Lehigh’s defense held Army more than five goals under its average of 15.86 entering the day (which was seventh in the nation), as the Black Knights’ 10 goals tied for their low season.
🥍 @LehighLacrosse wins on the road at No. 9 Army on Saturday to remain perfect in @PatriotLeague play.@NCAALAX | @Inside_Lacrosse | @espn pic.twitter.com/7a0Jhaw8iV
— Patriot League on ESPN (@PatriotLeagueTV) March 19, 2022 “I was proud of the way we started both halves,” said Cassese. “We were certainly ready to play, dialed from the start. I was also proud of the way our guys continued to scrap and battle when Army made their runs in the second and fourth quarters. It would have been easy to fold and allow Army to take over the game, but we were able to dig in and hold on for the win.”
Senior Mike Sisselberger played a big role in the victory, winning 17-of-25 faceoffs with seven groundballs. He won 5-of-6 in the first and third quarters, and 5-of-8 in the fourth – including the final faceoff with 57 seconds remaining to ensure Army wouldn’t get the ball back with a chance to tie.
Lehigh got goals early on from Cole, Kirst, junior Christian Mule’ and Kirst again to put the Mountain Hawks up 4-0 with 6:12 left in the first quarter.
Cole Kirst with his second to put the Mountain Hawks up 4-0 at Army.
Watch on ESPN+ https://t.co/yeC1XwdRpp pic.twitter.com/ZsgAuXBodY
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) March 19, 2022 But Army responded very quickly, scoring first at 4:42 of the first quarter and turning that into a 4-0 run of its own, capped off by an extra man goal to tie the score at four with 4:46 left in the second.
Kirst had a big-time answer, though, as he scored an unassisted goal with 1:29 left in the stanza, for a hat trick, and a 5-4 Lehigh lead at the half. The Mountain Hawks outscored the Black Knights 4-1 in the third, two of the goals scored by Cole and the others by Kirst and Eierman to put Lehigh ahead, 9-5 heading to the fourth.
That’s when Army put forth one last valiant run, scoring at 14:19, 12:16 and 10:04 to pull within 9-8. But senior Tommy Schelling answered at the 8:54 mark and after Army again pulled within 10-9, Marker’s goal at 5:40 gave Lehigh an 11-9 lead. That goal proved large, as Army scored at the 0:57 mark to account for the 11-10 final.
Mountain Hawks wrap up a HUGE win at No. 9 Army to improve to 3-0 in @PatriotLeague play!#PSDT #WinToday pic.twitter.com/JjosfxcXkQ
— Lehigh Lacrosse (@LehighLacrosse) March 19, 2022 “I thought our seniors played big in the biggest moments,” said Cassese. “When we needed someone to settle us down, a senior was able to do it. When we needed someone to make a big play, a senior was there to make it. You need your seniors to deliver in big games and I thought our seniors did that today.”
For the game, Army held a 38-36 edge in shots while Lehigh held a 26-23 advantage in groundballs. Graduate student James Spence finished with 10 saves in goal, while junior Caleb Creasor had one. Army’s Wyatt Schupler also tallied 10.
The Mountain Hawks now return home next Saturday (Mar. 26) for a big nonleague showdown vs. No. 5 Georgetown at 1 pm on ESPN+.
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