BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lafayette men's lacrosse eclipsed the nine-win mark for the first time since 1984 in its dominant 12-7 rivalry win at Lehigh on Friday night. The Maroon and White now prepare to host No. 6 Navy at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29 in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament.

Friday's victory marked the first time in program history that the Leopards won five conference games in a single season and it was Lafayette's first win over the Mountain Hawks since 2009.

The Maroon and White came out of the gate scorching hot. The nation's leader in assists per game, Riley Sullivan, opened the contest's scoring at the 13:38 mark off an assist by freshman Joshua Heaney. Charlie Sherman responded a few minutes later for Lehigh, but then the flood gates opened. The Leopards proceeded to rifle home four unanswered goals before Lehigh's Luke Winkler stopped the run. Heaney found the back of the net with 97 seconds left in the stanza and Lafayette led 6-2 after 15 minutes.

Lehigh found some momentum in the second period by slowing down Lafayette's offense. The Mountain Hawks outscored the Leopards 2-1 in the frame, which included a goal with four seconds remaining by Lehigh's Dakota Eierman. Freshman midfielder Benjamin DiBattista was the sole goal scorer for Lafayette in the quarter, but the Leopards held a 7-4 advantage at the intermission.

Andrew Kelly kept the Mountain Hawks rolling to begin the third quarter, notching a goal with 8:53 to go. The Leopards led 7-5 prior to Jack Massotto and Nick Muller finding the back of the net, which granted Lafayette a 9-5 lead.

Three freshmen pushed the Maroon and White over the finish line in the fourth quarter. Heaney struck first with 12:22 to play, while DiBattista and Nicholas Blalock each notched tallies to send the Mountain Hawks away on Senior Night.

Junior goalkeeper Joe Doherty posted a game-high eight saves and he scooped up a team-high five ground balls in the win.

The Maroon and White return to Fisher Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29 as they host No. 6 Navy in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament.
 

To keep up with the Lafayette men's lacrosse team, follow its social media pages.

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