|
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
Final
|
|
Holy Cross
|
2
|
4
|
2
|
4
|
12
|
|
Lehigh
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
7
|
Box Score
WORCESTER, Mass. – The Holy Cross men's lacrosse team defeated Lehigh for just the second time in program history as two Crusaders tallied hat tricks and five had at least three points. With the victory, Holy Cross earns the fifth place seed in the Patriot League Tournament and ties the program record in league wins at four.
Despite Lehigh (8-7, 5-3) jumping onto the board first, Holy Cross (7-6, 4-4 PL) rattled off two goals in the first quarter to take a 2-1 lead. Will Spangenberg led off the scoring at the nine minute mark and Kevin Kodzis tallied a goal with 1:09 to play in the quarter. With four minutes to play in the opening quarter, the game was delayed for 30 minutes due to weather.
Lehigh evened the score, 2-2, with 8:25 to play in the second quarter. Then, the Crusaders went on a five goal run to take a commanding 7-3 lead. In that span, Kodzis recorded his second goal of the game, Connor Waldron got on the board, Spangenberg doubled up, and Justin Lynskey scored.
With Under 10 minutes to play in the third quarter, Holy Cross held off the Mountain Hawks with a five goal lead. Lehigh found the back of the net twice more to push the game to 7-5 but the Crusaders responded as Drew Babiak scored a man-up goal. The Mountain Hawks did not go away quietly as the scored with seven seconds to play in the third quarter to push the game to 8-6 heading into the final 15 minutes.
The fourth quarter was all Holy Cross as they outscored Lehigh 4-1. Waldron completed his hat trick at 13:31. Will Spangenberg assisted Justin Lynskey on a flashy behind-the-back goal with 12:43 to go in the game and put the Crusaders ahead, 10-6. Babiak and Kodzis each tallied once more as they took the game, 12-7.
The Crusaders advance to the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2017, where they made their second-ever appearance. Holy Cross will play at Army as the five-seed on April 30 at 3:00 p.m.
NOTES & NUMBERS:
- Holy Cross outshot Lehigh, 37-29.
- Jonathan Tesoro made seven saves.
- Holy Cross had just 17 turnovers, to Lehigh's 28.
- Dan O'Connell went 9-for-23 at the faceoff.
CRUSADER LEADERS:
- Kodzis and Waldron tallied hat tricks. Kodzis added an assist for a four-point night.
- Justin Lynskey recorded two goals and two assists.
- Will Murphy led the defense with three caused turnovers.
- Matt Farrell picked up seven ground balls.
