March 3, 2009
Stony Brook - Lehigh game notes
Due to the snow storm that hit Long Island yesterday, this afternoon's men's lacrosse game between Stony Brook and Lehigh scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in LaValle Stadium has been rescheduled. It will now be played on Wednesday, March 4 at 1:00 p.m. in LaValle Stadium.
Face-off
Thanks to Mother Nature it took and extra day, but Stony Brook and Lehigh will get their men's lacrosse game in on Wednesday, one that will complete the three-game season opening home stand for the Seawolves. Stony Brook will be looking to tally one in the win column for the first time this season in the contest after a tough first two games that saw the Seawolves face a ranked opponent in each. That will not be the case in this game as Lehigh also comes into the contest looking for its first win of the season. Stony Brook ran into what has been one of the better defenses this year against #14 Harvard on Saturday. The Crimson held the Seawolves to just four goals in a 12-4 win over SBU. Sophomore Jordan McBride recorded his first multi-goal game of the season with two to lead Stony Brook. This is the second straight season that Stony Brook has started 0-2.
The Series
One of the most played series in Stony Brook lacrosse history, this will be the 12th meeting between SBU and Lehigh. There are only four other teams that the Seawolves have played more times than the Mountain Hawks. Stony Brook holds a slim 6-5 edge in the series, but has won three straight. The last meeting between the two came in 2007 when Stony Brook took a 10-9 win in LaValle Stadium. Only five current players on the Stony Brook roster played in that game; Chris Gignilliat, Taylor Eason, Tom Compitello, Steven Waldeck and Nick Maturro. Six of the games have been decided by three goals or less, including three of the last four. Stony Brook has won both games played in the series in LaValle Stadium and overall is 3-2 at home against the Mountain Hawks.
A Look at the Mountain Hawks
Coming off of a 6-9 season in his first at Lehigh, head coach Kevin Cassese, an assistant at SBU in 2004, has seven starters and 19 letterwinners back from 2008. So far this season the team has started 0-3, but two of the losses were by one goal (St. Joseph's and #14 Brown) and last week the Mountain Hawks fell by a 14-6 score to #3 North Carolina. Two players have accounted for the majority of the Lehigh goals. Junior Brian Bienemann leads the squad with eight goals, including three against North Carolina, while fellow junior Chris Lubin has seven tallies, five of which came against Brown and earned him Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week honors. Another member of the Lehigh coaching staff that is a familiar face to Stony Brook fans is assistant coach Brendan Callahan. He played for SBU as a goalie from 2004-07 and holds the school record for goals against average in a season with a 5.97 mark in 2004.
