Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's lacrosse

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]

Lehigh Mountain Hawks
Founded	1885
University	Lehigh University
Head coach	Kevin Cassese (since 2008 season)
Stadium	Frank Banko Field (capacity: 1,534)
Location	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Conference	Patriot League
Nickname	Hawks
Colors	Brown 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
(3) - 2012, 2013, 2021
Conference Tournament championships
(3) - 2012, 2013, 2021
Conference regular season championships
(4) - 1999, 2012, 2013, 2021

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 amassed a record of 575–669–10.

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]

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:

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Pre-NCAA Era (Independent) (1885–1970)
1890		4-1-1			Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association National Championship
1893		6-1			Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association National Championship
1921		8-1			United States Inter-Collegiate Lacrosse League National Championship
1959		7-4			USILA Class C Division III National Co-Champion
Steve Jacobson (Independent) (1971–1972)
1971	Steve Jacobson	8–3
Steve Jacobson:		8–3 (.727)
Tom Gilburg (Independent) (1972–1975)
1972	Tom Gilburg	5–7
1973	Tom Gilburg	8–4
1974	Tom Gilburg	3–9
1975	Tom Gilburg	5–6
Tom Gilburg:		21–26 (.447)
John Luckhardt (Independent) (1976–1978)
1976	John Luckhardt	5–6
1977	John Luckhardt	6–6
1978	John Luckhardt	7–5
John Luckhardt:		18–17 (.514)
Harry Price (Independent) (1979–1980)
1979	Harry Price	7–5
1980	Harry Price	7–6
Harry Price:		14–11 (.560)
Pete vonHoffman (Independent) (1981–1981)
1981	Pete vonHoffman	3–10
Pete vonHoffman:		3–10 (.231)
Jeff Tipping (Independent) (1982–1982)
1982	Jeff Tipping	2–12
Jeff Tipping:		2–12 (.143)
Bob Shape (Independent) (1983–1984)
1983	Bob Shape	5–9
1984	Bob Shape	4–10
Bob Shape:		9–19 (.321)
John McCloskey (Independent) (1985–1990)
1985	John McCloskey	6–8
1986	John McCloskey	8–6
1987	John McCloskey	9–5
1988	John McCloskey	5–8
1989	John McCloskey	2–7
1990	John McCloskey	2–12
John McCloskey (Patriot League) (1991–2001)
1991	John McCloskey	5–8	2–3	T–4th
1992	John McCloskey	7–7	3–2	T–2nd
1993	John McCloskey	10–5	3–2	T–2nd
1994	John McCloskey	12–3	4–1	2nd
1995	John McCloskey	8–6	4–1	2nd
1996	John McCloskey	5–9	2–3	4th
1997	John McCloskey	11–4	4–1	2nd
1998	John McCloskey	6–7	3–2	T–2nd
1999	John McCloskey	7–6	4–1	T–1st
2000	John McCloskey	7–7	2–4	T–5th
2001	John McCloskey	4–10	2–4	T–4th
John McCloskey:		114–118 (.491)	33–24 (.579)
Chris Wakely (Patriot League) (2002–2007)
2002	Chris Wakely	5–9	2–4	5th
2003	Chris Wakely	5–9	2–4	5th
2004	Chris Wakely	4–10	2–5	6th
2005	Chris Wakely	9–5	3–3	4th
2006	Chris Wakely	8–7	4–2	T–3rd
2007	Chris Wakely	4–9	2–4	5th
Chris Wakely:		35–49 (.417)	15–22 (.405)
Kevin Cassese (Patriot League) (2008–Present)
2008	Kevin Cassese	6–9	2–4	5th
2009	Kevin Cassese	4–11	2–4	T–4th
2010	Kevin Cassese	8–7	2–4	T–5th
2011	Kevin Cassese	7–9	3–3	4th
2012	Kevin Cassese	14–3	5–1	T–1st	NCAA Division I First Round
2013	Kevin Cassese	12–5	6–0	1st	NCAA Division I First Round
2014	Kevin Cassese	13–5	6–2	3rd
2015	Kevin Cassese	7–9	3–5	T–6th
2016	Kevin Cassese	6–9	4–4	5th
2017	Kevin Cassese	7–7	4–4	T–4th
2018	Kevin Cassese	10–7	5–3	4th
2019	Kevin Cassese	9–8	5–3	T–2nd
2020	Kevin Cassese	5–1	2–0	†	†
2021	Kevin Cassese	10–2	8–0	1st (South)	NCAA Division I First Round
2022	Kevin Cassese	8–7	5–3	T–4th
2023	Kevin Cassese	3–1	1–0
Kevin Cassese:		129–100 (.563)	63–40 (.612)
Total:		637–710–17 (.473)
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

• USILA#List of ILA.2C USILL.2C USILA Champions 1881-1935
• Lacrosse in Pennsylvania
• Chris Cameron

References

1. "Lehigh University" (PDF).
2. "Facilities". Lehigh University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
3. "Men's Lacrosse History".
4. . Patriot League. 27 April 2008. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014.
5. . Inside Lacrosse. 11 May 2008. Archived from the original on May 18, 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
6. . 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.

External links

• Official website