Feb. 16, 2008

Box Score

Lehigh (1-0) broke open a tied game in the fourth quarter and held off Saint Joseph's (0-2) 7-5 at Finnesey Field on Saturday afternoon. Scott Cullinan scored two goals and Steve Varga had two assists in the loss. Matt Diehl led Lehigh with three goals.

In a game that was predicated on defense, the Mountain Hawks stood tall, limiting Saint Joseph's to eight second half shots for two goals. While Lehigh's defense took hold, its offense was the difference.

A Ricky Cornetta goal provided a 6-5 edge over the Hawks with 6:18 remaining in the game. SJU frantically tried to even the game up for the fifth time, but to no avail. With 1:28 remaining, Fred Cassilly provided the final goal in a virtually empty net situation for the final 7-5 scoreline.

Lehigh started strong with two goals in the first five minutes, but SJU stormed back with three straight by R.J. Bopf, Chris O'Neill, and Cullinan for a 3-2 lead with 4:55 remaining in the 2nd quarter.

From that point forward, the Mountain Hawks outscored SJU 5-2 to end the game. Lehigh out-shot Saint Joseph's 36-26, 24-8 in the second half alone.

Eric Spirko made 10 saves in net for Lehigh while Erik Hotaling made 15 for the Hawks.

Saint Joseph's will travel to Hamilton, N.Y. on February 28 to take on Colgate.