2012 RECORD: 14-3 (5-1 PATRIOT LEAGUE) COACH: KEVIN CASSESE (6TH YEAR)
LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS 10
Feb 9 St. Joseph’s Feb 16 at Villanova Feb 23 at Denver Feb 24 vs. Air Force* Mar 2 VMI Mar 5 Penn Mar 9 vs. Penn State ** Mar 16 at Army Mar 20 UMass Mar 23 at Holy Cross Mar 30 Navy Apr 6 Colgate Apr 12 at Bucknell Apr 20 Lafayette *at Barton Stadium, Denver ** at PPL Park, Philadelphia
Some teams get uncomfortable when forced to play extended stretches of defense. Not Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks thrive with their backs to
the goal, and it showed vividly in their historic 2012 season. Lehigh won its fi rst Patriot League title, produced a school- record 14 victories, made its fi rst-ever NCAA tournament and pushed Maryland to near-elimination in the fi rst round before dropping a 10-9 heartbreaker on a last-second goal. The Mountain Hawks owe much of their success to the defensive unit that fi nally got it under sixth-year coach Kevin Cassese and defensive coordinator Brendan Callahan. Lehigh was wall-like on defense, ranking second only to Notre Dame in Division I by permitting just 6.82 goals per game.
While the loss of midfi elders Roman and Cameron Lao- Gosney creates the most popular question mark surrounding Lehigh in 2013, Cassese thinks the fate of the Hawks will depend tremendously on their ability to duplicate or improve upon their near- spotless, defensive execution. In other words, can Lehigh once again play the best, vanilla-fl avored, help defense this side of Notre Dame? “We want to give up save-
able shots,” Cassese said. “It’s one defense, but we have the option to slide to the crease, slide adjacent [to the goal] or not slide. We can open or close the crease area, or go from a man-to-man to a zone defense quickly... It is more about decision-making than anything else.”
Lehigh knows it has an exceptional goalie in sophomore Matt Poillon. The Hawks also know Poillon can’t be left out to dry — as he was when Villanova trounced Lehigh 17-7 in the second game of the season. Cassese remembers a lot of proverbial light bulbs fl ashing after that embarrassment. Cassese said 14 of the Wildcats’ 17 goals came from point-blank range. How did that happen? Too many defenders overplayed their matchups and threw wild checks, ignoring proper spacing principles and failing to communicate. It was a useful teaching tool. A nine-game winning streak followed during which Lehigh allowed just 4.3 goals per game. With close defensemen Ty Souders and Mike Noone setting the tone, the Hawks bottled up the crease and forced shooters to unfavorable angles. Poillon took care of the rest. “We don’t need Matt to do a lot of talking and yelling back there,” Cassese said. “We just want him to keep seeing those save-able shots.”
— G.L. A Publication of US Lacrosse
Matt Poillon
RIVAL COACHES SAY “What develops at midfi eld could be what moves them forward or holds them back… I watched them in the fall. Head and shoulders above the other team. They played with a confi dence and enjoyment that reminded me of the late spring… Fantoni plays with a confi dence about him.”
TOP RETURNER A Dante Fantoni (Sr.) Fantoni is the team’s most versatile fi nisher, and he’s healthy after an injury-plagued junior year. “He’s as good a goal scorer as I’ve seen,” Cassese said. “He’s very accurate with his shot, can beat you with both hands, and he’s got a great feel for the game.”
X-FACTOR
LSM Dylan O’Shaughnessy (So.) At 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, you can’t miss him. And O’Shaughnessy came on strong as a freshman to become quite the disruptive force up top. “If he takes the next step like I think he can, so will our defense. This kid is a beast,” Cassese said.
PROJECTED STARTERS
A David DiMaria (Sr.)* G: 24
A: 23
A Dante Fantoni (Sr.)* G: 23
A: 20
A Dan Taylor (So.)* G: 11
A: 6
M Patrick Corbett (So.)* G: 18
A: 5
M Brian Hess (Sr.)* G: 9
A: 3
M Cody Ferraro (Jr.) G: 2
A: 1
FO Ryan Snyder (Sr.) FO%: 50.0 GB: 97
D Ty Souders (Jr.)* GB: 31
CT: 15
D Mike Noone (Sr.)* GB: 40
CT: 28
D Lukas Mikelinich (Jr.)* GB: 17
CT: 10
LSM Dylan O’Shaughnessy (So.)* GB: 13
CT: 11
G Matt Poillon (So.)* GAA: 6.75 SV%: 59.7
*returning starters TELLING NUMBER
Lehigh is high on Canadian Patrick Corbett, a terrifi c fi nisher and now the focus of a rebuilding midfi eld unit after scoring 18 goals a year ago.
3.59
Lehigh can force long scoring droughts, as it did to numerous foes in the Patriot League.
Scoring margin in 2012, fifth- best in D-I.
February 2013 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 39
©KEVIN P. TUCKER (ALL)
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