March 9, 2012
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Just days after becoming the first Patriot League team to defeat a nationally-ranked opponent, Lehigh did it again last Saturday with a 9-8 upset of No. 4/4 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., firmly lifting the Mountain Hawks into the national conversation as the 2012 season continues on.
2012 Composite Schedule
2012 Cumulative Stats (through March 6, 2012)
Lehigh has been doing it with defense, and that threat continued Tuesday when it wrapped up its three-game road trip with a stifling 6-2 win at VMI. The Mountain Hawks have surrendered two of the three lowest goal amounts for an opponent in any game this season. Lehigh also blanked Manhattan 13-0 earlier this season, producing the first shutout in the NCAA in nearly two years.
Lafayette also owns one of the League’s stellar defensive showings this season, as the Leopards walloped Wagner 19-2.
While Lehigh has done it with defense, Colgate picked up two victories last week based on its offense. Junior midfielder Peter Baum tied a Patriot League record with eight goals in a 24-14 victory at Robert Morris last weekend, and scored six more in Tuesday’s 18-8 win over Hobart. The Raiders are 4-1 this season and open Patriot League play against another team that has played well of late in Holy Cross. The Crusaders won two games in Florida last week, beating Jacksonville 13-11 and Mercer 12-6.
Army went 1-1 last week. The Black Knights went up against No. 7/3 Cornell on the road Saturday and came home with an 18-7 loss, but rebounded with a 9-8 victory over visiting Rutgers Tuesday. It was part of a 4-0 day for Patriot League teams that day, with Colgate, Holy Cross and Lehigh capturing the other wins.
Bucknell and Navy have both been idle since their tilt Saturday. Billy Eisenreich scored twice and had five assists for a seven-point outing in the Bison’s 14-9 win in Annapolis, Md. It was the first win of the season for the defending champions, who opened with three straight closes losses to nationally-ranked teams. Both Bucknell and Navy are 1-3 on the season.
Lafayette, like Bucknell and Navy, only had one game last week. The Leopards scored the first goal of the game but surrendered the next four in a 9-6 loss to Rutgers. Lafayette hosts Navy Saturday in the second of two League contests Saturday afternoon. Both that contest and Colgate at Holy Cross will face off at 12 p.m.
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, March 10
Colgate at Holy Cross *, 12 p.m.
Navy at Lafayette *, 12 p.m.
Hobart at Bucknell, 1 p.m.
Army vs. Air Force, 2 p.m.
(Houston, Texas)
Sunday, March 11
Yale at No. 16/15 Lehigh, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, March 13
Colgate at Binghamton, 3 p.m.
Lafayette at Fairfield, 3 p.m.
Bucknell at Drexel, 4 p.m.
Vermont at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.
Navy at Towson, 7:30 p.m.
Recent Results
Saturday, March 3
Bucknell 14, Navy 9 *
Colgate 24, Robert Morris 14
No. 7/3 Cornell 18, Army 7
Rutgers 9, Lafayette 6
Lehigh 9, No. 4/4 North Carolina 8
Sunday, March 4
Holy Cross 13, Jacksonville 11
Tuesday, March 6
Holy Cross 12, Mercer 6
No. 16/15 Lehigh 6, VMI 2
Colgate 18, Hobart 8
Army 9, Rutgers 8
PATRIOT LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
TWO BIG LEAGUE CONTESTS SATURDAY
Patriot League play for 2012 officially began last week when Bucknell visited Navy, and it picks up again Saturday with two contests. Navy hits the road to visit Lafayette, while Holy Cross hosts Colgate. It is the first League action of the season for the latter three, and both contests are scheduled for 12 p.m. The Mids are looking to avoid going 0-2 in the League standings after last Saturday’s 14-9 loss to Bucknell.
LEHIGH INVADES TOBACCO ROAD
After handing No. 19/18 Penn a 10-4 loss in Philadelphia last week, Lehigh continued its strong play with a 9-8 defeat of fourth-ranked North Carolina Saturday night in Chapel Hill. Lehigh owns the League’s only two victories over nationally-ranked opponents. The Mountain Hawks look to capture a third win over a team in the national top 20 when they host No. 15/16 Yale Sunday at 1 p.m.
LEHIGH MOVES UP IN RANKINGS
The Mountain Hawks also corralled some significant upward momentum in the national polls as a result of last week’s victories at Penn and North Carolina. Lehigh surged to No. 16 in the USILA Coaches Poll and to No. 15 in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media rankings released Monday.
BAUM’S OFFENSE GARNERS NATIONAL HONOR
Already on the national radar as a member of the 2012 Tewaaraton Award Watch List, Colgate junior midfielder Peter Baum collected another honor this week when he was named the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Player of the Week. Baum scored six goals in Tuesday’s 18-8 win over Hobart just three days after exploding for a League record-tying eight in Saturday’s 24-14 drubbing of Robert Morris. As of Monday, Baum led the Patriot League and ranked third and fifth nationally, respectively, with 4.25 goals and 5.25 points per game. Baum was the second straight Nike/Inside Lacrosse Player of the Week from the League, following Holy Cross’ James Kennedy the week before.
SEEKING THE TEWAARATON TROPHY
A total of nine student-athletes in the Patriot League have been named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List in men’s lacrosse, it was announced in February. Army, Bucknell, Lehigh and Navy each have two student-athletes named to the watch list, while Colgate boasts one. Making the list from Army are senior Tim Henderson and junior Garrett Thul; senior Billy Eisenreich and junior Kyle Feeney from Bucknell; junior Peter Baum from Colgate; juniors Dante Fantoni and Ryan Snyder from Lehigh; and senior Nikk Davis and sophomore Sam Jones from Navy. Both of this year's preseason major award winners in the Patriot League are on the list. Baum was the coaches' and SIDs' selection as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Henderson was named the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
BUCKNELL PICKED TO REPEAT
Coming off an impressive 14-3 season, an undefeated run through the Patriot League and an overtime loss to eventual national champion Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the defending Patriot League Champion Bucknell Bison topped the 2012 preseason men's lacrosse poll. Bucknell claimed the No. 1 position with the maximum 72 points and 12 first-place votes. The Bison finished 18 points ahead of second-place Army, which collected 54 points and the remaining two first-place ballots. 2011 runner-up Colgate took a close third with 52 points, while Lehigh was next in fourth with 44 points. Taking fifth was Navy with 38 points, while Lafayette (19 points) and Holy Cross (15) rounded out the poll in sixth and seventh, respectively. Colgate junior Peter Baum was named the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Army senior Tim Henderson was tabbed as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Patriot League Weekly Awards
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
PETER BAUM, COLGATE Jr., M, Portland, Ore.
Baum erupted for eight goals and a pair of assists for 10 points in Colgate’s 24-14 win at Robert Morris Saturday afternoon. The junior from Portland, Ore., scored four times during the Raiders’ 11-goal eruption in the first quarter, before scoring three more times across the end of the second quarter and start of the third to eventually put his team in front 20-7. Baum extended his point-scoring streak to 31 straight games, which ranks in the nation’s top 10, and leads the Patriot League averaging 4.25 goals per contest. He has 17 goals and four assists for 21 points.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
TY SOUDERS, LEHIGH So., D, Macungie, Pa.
Souders spearheaded the Mountain Hawks on defense last week, helping them post two impressive victories over nationally-ranked foes. He collected four ground balls and caused one turnover in Tuesday’s 10-4 victory at No. 19/18 Penn in which the Lehigh defense caused 16 of the Quakers’ 18 turnovers. He added three more ground balls and another caused turnover in Saturday’s 9-8 victory at No. 4/4 North Carolina. Souders helped lead a Lehigh defense that held the Quakers without a goal for the first 24:56 of Tuesday’s game, extending the Mountain Hawks’ own team shutout streak to 90:14 that stretched back to the fourth quarter of the contest two weeks ago against Villanova. On Saturday, Souders and the Lehigh defense held the Tar Heels’ three top goal scorers to just one marker. The Mountain Hawks defense held UNC scoreless for 27:50, which helped Lehigh turn a 5-3 deficit into an 8-5 lead in the fourth quarter.
GOALKEEPER OF THE WEEK
MATT POILLON, LEHIGH Fr., GK, Mount Sinai, N.Y.
Poillon finished with a .556 save percentage, facing 27 shots on goal with 15 stops and posting two victories as Lehigh defeated No. 19/18 Penn and No. 4/4 North Carolina on the road. The freshman from Mount Sinai, N.Y., came up with his biggest save of the week with just 27 seconds to go on Saturday, as he stoned Marcus Holman to preserve the Mountain Hawks’ 9-8 win over the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C. For the season, Poillon has a .579 save percentage while his performance against two NCAA Tournament teams from last season lowered his season goals-against average to 6.00.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
RYAN WALSH, COLGATE Fr., A, Wantagh, N.Y.
Walsh collected his first career hat trick and added three assists for six points in the Raiders’ 24-14 drubbing at Robert Morris on Saturday. The Wantagh, N.Y., native is third on the team with 11 points with five goals and six assists. He more than doubled his offensive output for the season in the 10-goal win against the Colonials.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
BILLY EISENREICH, BUCKNELL Sr., A, Chatham, N.J.
Eisenreich was stellar for Bucknell, leading the Bison to their first win of the 2012 campaign and, even more importantly, grabbing that first Patriot League triumph of the season. He scored twice and added five assists to tie a career best with seven points in Bucknell’s 14-9 victory at Navy Saturday afternoon. His stats from the 2012 meeting against the Mids are the exact same ones he posted a year ago when the Bison won by one at home in overtime in the previous meeting. Eisenreich’s first goal of the day snapped a 4-4 tie early in the second quarter, giving the defending champions a lead they would not relinquish. Eisenreich has 18 points in four games this season.
DAVID DiMARIA, LEHIGH Jr., A, Dix Hills, N.Y.
DiMaria scored three goals and dished six assists for nine points in Lehigh’s two victories over nationally-ranked opponents. He scored twice, including the eventual game-winner, and finished with five points in Tuesday’s 10-4 win at No. 19/18 Penn. He added a goal and three assists for four points in Saturday’s 9-8 triumph at fourth-ranked North Carolina.
GARRETT THUL, ARMY Jr., A, Flemington, N.J.
Thul recorded career hat trick No. 20 with three goals in Army’s 18-7 loss at No. 7/3 Cornell Saturday afternoon. He has goals in 29 straight games, the third-longest such streak in the nation.
RYAN SNYDER, LEHIGH Jr., Reading, Pa.
Snyder lifted his name into the conversation as one of the best face-off men in the country after going 13-of-20 in his team’s 9-8 win at No. 4/4 North Carolina Saturday night. He went up against UNC’s R.G. Kennan, who entered the contest second in the nation with a face-off percentage over 80 percent. Snyder also went 10 of 11 on face-offs in the second half of Tuesday’s 10-4 win over No. 19/18 Penn.
JOHN HANNAN, HOLY CROSS Jr., M, Manhasset, N.Y.
Hannan tallied five goals on the week, including four in Sunday’s 13-11 win at Jacksonville. At 2-2, Holy Cross has its best record through four games since starting 3-1 in 2008.
