“The Canadian Connection” is officially back together on the Lehigh men’s lacrosse team, and they didn’t skip a beat.
The duo of Canadian senior attackmen Dan Taylor and Patrick Corbett took over the Lehigh offense, combining for 10 total points as Lehigh defeated Boston University 10-9 Saturday on a snowy Banko Field.
The snow started coming down at the end of the third quarter and never stopped. The game featured two time changes before it even started in order to beat out the snow. Once the snow started falling, the teams had to switch from regular white game balls to yellow ones to make them more visible.
“It was a crazy game,” coach Kevin Cassese said. “Absolutely crazy.”
Corbett, who had previously been suspended from the team after an off-campus arrest, made his return in the game and scored a career-high five goals. Taylor did not record a goal for the first time in almost a year, but tallied five assists.
Corbett was humble about his big performance, citing his teammates as a key part of his performance.
“A lot of (credit) I have to give to my other players,” Corbett said. “I think every single one of my goals was assisted. We work in a system that I find myself in the right spot and just capitalize on the opportunities I’ve got.”
Junior attackman Reid Weber also stepped up in the game, scoring four goals on 10 shots and scooping four ground balls. The four goals tied a career high for him.
Cassese decided to mix up the lineup once again, going with freshman Nolan Apers as the third starting attackman next to Taylor and Weber. Apers eventually scored the first goal of his career.
Lehigh went into the second quarter with a 3-2 lead after a pair of goals by Weber. Corbett then scored three goals in the second quarter to push its lead to 6-2 going into the end of the half.
The Terriers started to put together a run in the third quarter, scoring three straight to cut the deficit to one goal. The final goal of that run was scored as time expired in the quarter, giving them momentum into the final quarter.
Lehigh scored a pair of goals early in the quarter, but Boston put up another three-goal run to tie the game at nine. At this point, they switched to the different colored balls for visibility reasons.
Ultimately, Corbett’s goal with just under three minutes left in the fourth quarter would be the deciding goal, giving the Mountain Hawks their first win in the Patriot League this season.
The Terriers actually recorded more shots (43-28), more ground balls (36-30), and fewer turnovers (16-13), but Lehigh’s goaltending was the difference-maker. Senior goalie Matt Poillon had 15 saves, one of the highest totals of his career.
“I thought Matt Poillon was special today,” Cassese said. “He came back. I don’t think he’s played well in our first couple games this year, and we really challenged him the last couple days. I personally challenged him today to say that we need the All-American back, and I thought he was excellent today.”
Lehigh will continue its Patriot League play as it travels to face Loyola University (Maryland) on Feb. 28 at 2 p.m.
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