Sign up for the latest news & updates

© 2024 USA Lacrosse. All Rights Reserved.

Despite a significant disadvantage at the faceoff X, No. 18 Villanova had dominant performances in all other facets of the game to pull off a 16-8 upset win at home over No. 5 Lehigh.  

It was the Mountain Hawks’ first loss of the season.  

On senior day, senior midfielder Colin Crowley led Villanova (7-4, 6-4 Big East) with five points on four goals and one assist. Five players registered three points or more in the statement win. Eric Overbay contributed two goals and two assists and Corey McManus had a hat-trick.  

Mike Sisselberger won 20 of 22 faceoffs, but Lehigh (9-1, 8-0 Patriot) had one less possession than Villanova despite winning 16 more faceoffs, according to Lacrosse Reference. The Mountain Hawks had 24 turnovers. The Wildcats caused 14. Senior defenders Owen Prybylski and Patrick Kennedy had a combined seven caused turnovers between them.

After Crowley and Tommy Schelling traded goals to start the game, Crowley scored on a man-up opportunity on an assist from Keeghan Khan (three assists). The goal was the start of a 7-0 run with goals from seven different players that Villanova used to pull away. The Wildcats held Lehigh to only two goals in the first half and led 8-2 at the break.  

Cole Kirst and Schelling both scored two goals in the loss. The win gives the Wildcats momentum entering the semifinals of the Big East Tournament against No. 9 Georgetown on Thursday in Providence. Villanova’s four losses this season have all come at the hands of Georgetown and No. 8 Denver.  

Even if Villanova fails to flip the script in the conference tournament, the win today bolsters the Wildcats’ resume for a potential at-large bid.  

Kavanagh Puts on a Show, Notre Dame Dominates 'Cuse

Pat Kavanagh collected the loose ball then somehow pulled off a shot between his legs before getting blown up on a late hit by Syracuse’s Owen Murphy. The highlight-reel shot went in on an afternoon when it seemed like everything went No. 4 Notre Dame’s way and caused the Fighting Irish’s social media team to say they were running out of caption ideas.  

Kavanagh set Notre Dame single-game points record with five goals and five assists as the Fighting Irish trampled No. 11 Syracuse 22-8. It was the most goals Notre Dame has ever scored against the Orange.  

Kavanagh, who also set the Fighting Irish single-season assist record (34) held by his older brother and Notre Dame great, Matt, previously tallied nine points in two games earlier this season including the team’s 18-11 win over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.  

Griffin Westlin and midfielder Quinn McCahon each registered five points on three goals and two assists, respectively. Liam Entenmann made 11 saves and allowed only six goals in 52:46.  

A week after Syracuse’s Jakob Phaup won 24-of-27 faceoffs against Virginia’s Petey LaSalla, Notre Dame’s two-man machine of Kyle Gallagher (10-of-15) and Charlie Leonard (8-of-13) combined to win 20-of-32 draws. Leonard also scored Notre’s Dame first goal of the second quarter to tie the score at 4. The Fighting Irish put up nine more goals in the period to take a 13-6 lead into halftime.  

Notre Dame’s defense held the Orange scoreless for 26 minutes from between the end of the second quarter late in the fourth quarter to close out the blowout win.  

Drexel Pull Off Comeback Win at Towson 

Drexel used six fourth-quarter goals to erase a four-goal third quarter deficit and pull off a 12-11 win at Johnny Unitas Stadium.  

Jack Mulcahy scored the game-winner with 11 seconds remaining to complete the comeback and secure Drexel’s seventh consecutive win. Mulcahy, a junior attackman from Chester Spring (Pa.) led the Dragons with three goals and one assist. His linemate Reid Bowering had a hat trick.  

Drexel trailed 6-2 at halftime after Towson closed the second quarter on a three-goal run from Austin Stewart, Reece Potter and Jack McLean. Drexel used a pair of 3-0 runs starting with a Brent McVicker goal with 33 seconds to play in the third quarter to pull themselves back into the game. Luke Tomak scored an unassisted goal with 4:18 to play to give Drexel an 11-10 lead before Carson Geager tied the game at the 2:58 mark on an on-the-run shot off a dodge from the left wing.  

James Avanzato led Towson with three goals and two assists.  

The No. 2 seed in the CAA Tournament, Drexel will face Hofstra in the semifinal on Thursday.    

SoCon Shakeup 

Air Force (4-8, 3-3 SoCon) handed No. 15 Richmond (6-5, 5-1 SoCon) its first conference loss of the season to secure the final spot in the SoCon tournament with the help of a Bellarmine 11-8 win over Mercer.  

The Spiders scored three consecutive goals, including a pair by Richie Connell off Ryan Lanchbury assists on man-up opportunities, in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 8 with 3:53 to play.

But less than a minute late,  junior midfielder Brenden Crouse scored on an outside rocket of shot that Matthew O’Rourk assisted on a EMO.

With a 16-11 win over Jacksonville, High Point (6-5, 5-1 SoCon) clinched a share of the SoCon regular season title. Since Richmond defeated High Point earlier this season, the Spiders retain the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament. High Point will face Jacksonville again in the SoCon Semifinals on Wednesday at Robins Stadium and Air Force will run it back against Richmond.  

Vermont Wins Buzzer Beater Thriller Over Stony Brook  

The entire Vermont lacrosse team rushed the field. Then they waited. After a couple seconds, which probably felt like forever, the Catamounts rejoiced again.  

Liam Limoges’ behind-the-back buzzer- beater lifted Vermont (7-4, 7-2 AE) over No. 17 Stony Brook 8-5, 6-3 AE) in the razor thin American East.  

David Closterman paced the Catamounts with nine points on six goals and three assists. Closterman shoveled the ball to Limoges for the game winning assist before he got knocked to the turf.   

Stony Brook’s Chris Pickel had tied the game at 13-13 with eight seconds to play on his second goal of the afternoon. Dylan Pallonetti had three goals and two assists in the loss.  

Tommy Burke won 22-of-29 faceoffs, including the final one that created the game’s thrilling finish.  

With the win, Vermont ties UMBC, who defeated NJIT 14-6 this afternoon, atop the AE at 7-2, but the Retrievers defeated the Catamounts 10-8 earlier this season.  

NIKE/US LACROSSE TOP 20

No. 4 Notre Dame 22, No. 11 Syracuse 8
No. 18 Villanova 16, No. 5 Lehigh 6
No. 13 Navy 14, Lafayette 10  
No. 14 Drexel 12, Towson 11
Air Force 9, No. 15 Richmond 8 
No. 16 UMBC 14, NJIT 6
Vermont 14, No. 17 Stony Brook 13 

OTHER

Bellarmine 11, Mercer 8  
Cleveland State 14, VMI 11
Hobart 14, Sacred Heart 12 
Robert Morris 16, Utah 12