April 24, 2010
Box Score
EASTON, Pa. - The No. 19 Lafayette men's lacrosse squad fell to archrival Lehigh in overtime on Saturday night in Fisher Stadium and will enter next weekend's Patriot League Tournament as the No. 3 seed.
Lafayette will face second-seed Navy on Friday afternoon in West Point, N.Y. The Leopards finish the regular season at 8-5 overall and 3-3 in league play.
It was a low scoring first half, thanks in large part to Lehigh holding possession in its offensive end and being warned for stalling several times throughout the first 30 minutes. However, the tactic seemed to work, as the Mountain Hawks took a 5-3 lead into intermission.
Lehigh came out to start the second half and scored two goals in the first 13 minutes to take its largest lead of the game at 7-3 with 1:59 remaining in the third quarter.
Lafayette's potent attack was held scoreless from co-captain Steve Serling's second goal of the evening with 11:11 left in the second quarter to fellow co-captain Matt Mersky's third quarter tally with just 37 remaining in the period.
After junior attack Tom Perini used a Stefan Bauer feed to pull the Leopards back within two (7-5), Lehigh rattled off two more goals to take a 9-5 lead and appear to be on its way to a comfortable victory.
However, Lafayette mounted its second straight comeback in as many games, scoring four goals, two from Steve Serling (one even and one man-up), one from Colin Serling and the last from Mersky with 2:15 remaining to complete the comeback.
The two teams traded possessions near the end of regulation with Kevin Dunbar's shot with nine seconds left stopped by Lehigh's Dan Carr.
As the Leopards rode momentum into overtime, a Lafayette turnover sandwiched two Lehigh turnovers to start the extra frame. With Lafayette in possession after the ball went out on the sideline and the Leopards substituting, a quick whistle put the ball back in play and Lafayette was called for offsides.
Lehigh capitalized, scoring the game-winner with 1:29 left in the first overtime. The Mountain Hawks end their season at 8-7 overall and 2-4 in the Patriot League.
Senior Vinny DePasquale, one of 12 seniors to be honored in a pre-game ceremony, had 13 saves in his final home game at Lafayette.
Steve Serling and Mersky paced the Leopards with four and two goals, respectively. Junior Stefan Bauer totaled a career-high six assists on the night.
Lafayette will take the week to prepare for its first appearance in the Patriot League Tournament. The third-seeded Leopards will battle second-seeded Navy. Top-seed Army will face fourth-seeded Bucknell in the tournament's other semifinal.
Game times are set for 3 and 5:45 p.m., but have not yet been determined which game will be played first. Check back to GoLeopards.com and LSN All-Access all week for Patriot League Tournament previews.
