Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's lacrosse

Last updated
Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's lacrosse
Lehigh Mountain Hawks wordmark Lehigh flat.svg
Founded1885
University Lehigh University
Head coachWill Scudder
StadiumFrank Banko Field
(capacity: 1,534)
Location Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Conference Patriot League
Nickname Hawks
ColorsBrown and white [1]
   
Pre-NCAA era championships
(11) – 1890, 1893, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1959 (USILA Class C Division III Co-Champion)
NCAA Tournament appearances
(4) - 2012, 2013, 2021, 2024
Conference Tournament championships
(4) - 2012, 2013, 2021, 2024
Conference regular season championships
(5) - 1999, 2012, 2013, 2021, 2024

The Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's lacrosse team represents Lehigh University in NCAA Division I college lacrosse. The Mountain Hawks play their home games at Frank Banko Field, which is part of a complex that also includes Lehigh's soccer and field hockey venues. [2] Will Scudder is the program's current head coach since June 19, 2023.

Contents

Overview

Lehigh is a charter member of the USILA, one of about two dozen.

Early national titles

According to Lehigh's Epitome Yearbook, lacrosse was introduced at Lehigh in 1884 and four years later, Lehigh entered the Inter-collegiate Lacrosse Association, mostly through the efforts of Arnold K. Reese, an 1889 graduate, who captained and trained the team throughout his college career. Lehigh played its first varsity lacrosse game on May 9, 1885 against Stevens Tech.

According to the Lehigh Burr, Lehigh was a top team in the early years of inter-collegiate lacrosse. Lehigh was third in 1888, second in 1889, and was voted the National Champion in 1890. In what was billed as a "Championship Series" that season, Lehigh defeated Princeton, Johns Hopkins and Stevens Tech to win the title.

Since starting lacrosse, the team has a record of 647-715-10 in 135 lacrosse seasons.

Recent history

Lehigh has made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament; their first was in 2012. [3] They earned an automatic bid into the tournament by winning the Patriot League conference tournament over Bucknell, 13–9. [4]

Their first NCAA Tournament game ended in defeat, losing 10–9 against Maryland, after being seeded number seven in the tournament. [5] The Mountain Hawks made the tournament again in 2013, in which they lost to North Carolina. [6]

In 2021, the Hawks advanced to the Patriot League final by defeating Colgate 13–9 in the semi-finals. [7] The conference championship game against Loyola, scheduled for May 9, 2021, was canceled after an outbreak of Covid-19 on the Loyola team. By virtue of the no-contest, Lehigh became the Patriot League's automatic qualifier for the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship. [8] The Hawks were defeated in the first round by Rutgers. [9]

Head coach Kevin Cassese, who had led the Mountain Hawks to each of their conference tournament championships and NCAA tournament appearances, left the program to become associate head coach at Virginia on June 19, 2023. Associate head coach/defensive coordinator Will Scudder was promoted to succeed Cassese on the same day. [10] The Mountain Hawks won the Patriot League tournament in Scudder's first year at the helm in 2024 despite low expectations entering the season. [11]

Season Results

The following is a list of Lehigh’s season results during the NCAA Division I era starting in 1971, as well as certain pre-NCAA era seasons:

SeasonCoachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Pre-NCAA Era (Independent)(1885–1970)
18904-1-1Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association National Championship
18936-1Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association National Championship
19218-1United States Inter-Collegiate Lacrosse League National Championship
19597-4USILA Class C Division III National Co-Champion
Steve Jacobson (Independent)(1971–1972)
1971Steve Jacobson 8–3
Steve Jacobson:8–3 (.727)
Tom Gilburg (Independent)(1972–1975)
1972Tom Gilburg 5–7
1973Tom Gilburg 8–4
1974Tom Gilburg 3–9
1975Tom Gilburg 5–6
Tom Gilburg:21–26 (.447)
John Luckhardt (Independent)(1976–1978)
1976John Luckhardt 5–6
1977John Luckhardt 6–6
1978John Luckhardt 7–5
John Luckhardt:18–17 (.514)
Harry Price (Independent)(1979–1980)
1979Harry Price 7–5
1980Harry Price 7–6
Harry Price:14–11 (.560)
Pete vonHoffman (Independent)(1981–1981)
1981Pete vonHoffman 3–10
Pete vonHoffman:3–10 (.231)
Jeff Tipping (Independent)(1982–1982)
1982Jeff Tipping 2–12
Jeff Tipping:2–12 (.143)
Bob Shape (Independent)(1983–1984)
1983Bob Shape 5–9
1984Bob Shape 4–10
Bob Shape:9–19 (.321)
John McCloskey (Independent)(1985–1990)
1985John McCloskey 6–8
1986John McCloskey 8–6
1987John McCloskey 9–5
1988John McCloskey 5–8
1989John McCloskey 2–7
1990John McCloskey 2–12
John McCloskey (Patriot League)(1991–2001)
1991John McCloskey 5–82–3T–4th
1992John McCloskey 7–73–2T–2nd
1993John McCloskey 10–53–2T–2nd
1994John McCloskey 12–34–12nd
1995John McCloskey 8–64–12nd
1996John McCloskey 5–92–34th
1997John McCloskey 11–44–12nd
1998John McCloskey 6–73–2T–2nd
1999John McCloskey 7–64–1T–1st
2000John McCloskey 7–72–4T–5th
2001John McCloskey 4–102–4T–4th
John McCloskey:114–118 (.491)33–24 (.579)
Chris Wakely (Patriot League)(2002–2007)
2002Chris Wakely 5–92–45th
2003Chris Wakely 5–92–45th
2004Chris Wakely 4–102–56th
2005Chris Wakely 9–53–34th
2006Chris Wakely 8–74–23rd
2007Chris Wakely 4–92–45th
Chris Wakely:35–49 (.417)15–22 (.405)
Kevin Cassese (Patriot League)(2008–Present)
2008Kevin Cassese 6–92–45th
2009Kevin Cassese 4–112–45th
2010Kevin Cassese 8–72–46th
2011Kevin Cassese 7–93–34th
2012Kevin Cassese 14–35–12nd NCAA Division I First Round
2013Kevin Cassese 12–56–01st NCAA Division I First Round
2014Kevin Cassese 13–56–23rd
2015Kevin Cassese 7–93–56th
2016Kevin Cassese 6–94–45th
2017Kevin Cassese 7–74–45th
2018Kevin Cassese 10–75–34th
2019Kevin Cassese 9–85–32nd
2020Kevin Cassese 5–12–0††
2021Kevin Cassese 10–28–01st (South) NCAA Division I First Round
2022Kevin Cassese 8–75–34th
2023Kevin Cassese 10-56-23rd
Kevin Cassese:136–104 (.567)68–42 (.618)
Will Scudder (Patriot League)(2024–Present)
2024Will Scudder 10-76-22nd NCAA Division I First Round
2025Will Scudder 0–20–0

}}

Will Scudder:10–9 (.526)6–2 (.750)
Total:657–724–17 (.476)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

†NCAA canceled 2020 collegiate activities due to the COVID-19 virus.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Lehigh University" (PDF).
  2. ↑ "Facilities". Lehigh University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  3. ↑ "Men's Lacrosse History".
  4. ↑ "Colgate Wins First-Ever Patriot League men's lacrosse tournament Title With 13–9 Victory Over Bucknell". Patriot League . 27 April 2008. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014.
  5. ↑ "Men's Lacrosse: Notre Dame tops Colgate in overtime to advance to second round". Inside Lacrosse . 11 May 2008. Archived from the original on May 18, 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  6. ↑ "Men's Lacrosse: Colgate Defeats Previously Unbeaten UMass in NCAA First Round". Inside Lacrosse. 12 May 2012. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  7. ↑ "Lehigh and Loyola Maryland Advance to 2021 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Championship Game (5.7.21)". patriotleague.org. Patriot League. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  8. ↑ "Loyola Maryland Withdraws From Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Championship due to COVID Protocol". Lehigh Sports. Lehigh University Athletics. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  9. ↑ "No. 9 Men's Lacrosse Defeats No. 10 Lehigh in NCAA Tournament". Rutgers University Athletics. 15 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "Cassese To Depart Lehigh; Scudder Named Head Men's Lacrosse Coach," Lehigh University Athletics, Monday, June 19, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  11. ↑ Stevens, Patrick. "NCAA Rewind: Lehigh Exceeds Expectations in Scudder's First Season at the Helm," USA Lacrosse Magazine, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
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