The Brown & White

The men's lacrosse team will play host to the No. 10 ranked Bucknell University Bison Friday night.

Coming off a close loss to Patriot League foe Colgate University, the Mountain Hawks will look to rebound with a big win.

"This game is really important," freshmen goalie Morgan Haller said. "It's the game we need to propel us into the Patriot League playoffs and it's also the seniors last in league game."

This season, most of the Hawks' offensive production has come from the junior attackmen tandem of Ricky Cornetta and Max Dahlem.

Cornetta leads the Hawks in total points, and Dahlem follows close behind in second.

Through the Hawks' 13 games so far, Cornetta has racked up 14 goals and eight assists for 22 points, while Dahlem has compiled 15 goals and four assists for 19 points.

"They work really well together," freshman defender Nate Stires said. "They are very crafty players; very smart and athletic. They've played together for a while now and know each other's games pretty well."

With most goals coming from Cornetta and Dahlem, the Hawks have been able to get early leads in most games, but have struggled to keep them.

Last weekend, the Hawks held a 3-1 lead at halftime before falling to Colgate 5-3.

Earlier in the season, the Hawks held the No. 2 Duke University Blue Devils to a 4-4 tie at halftime, but lost 16-5.

The Hawks will look to their bench for a little offensive support late in the game.

Throughout the season, Head Coach Kevin Cassese has given plenty of players their chance to see the field, and many have taken advantage, as 20 Hawks have tallied at least one goal on the season.

In the loss to Colgate, the Hawks saw scoring from Cornetta, junior attackman Matt Diehl and senior midfielder Greg Furst.

The Bison are on a three game win streak, with wins over Towson University, Holy Cross College and No. 17 Army.

In their eight wins this season, the Bison are averaging just short of 10 goals per game.

The Bison are led by sophomore attackman Tim Brandau, who leads the team with 20 goals, and sophomore attackman Austin Winter, who leads the team in assists with 20.

Lehigh is averaging 6.5 goals per game, while allowing 8.1.

At 2-3 in league play, the Hawks sit in fifth place, right behind Colgate.

A victory for the Hawks could stir up the national polls, which have changed drastically almost every week.

Bucknell sits at No. 2 in the Patriot League with a 3-1 record, 8-2 on the season.

Navy, at 4-0 in league player, is the only team with a better league record.

The Midshipmen are No. 6 in the nation.

Both Lehigh and Bucknell have already fallen to the Midshipmen this season.

After the Bucknell game, the Hawks will end their regular season against the No. 12 Notre Dame University Fighting Irish at home on April 20.

Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. under the lights of the Ulrich Sports Complex.

Former Head Coach Chris Wakely will join broadcast regular Steve Lomangino on lehighsports.com.