For the deep talent fostered in Lehigh men’s lacrosse senior class, 2019 represents a challenge in which the seniors expect to lead and mentor their team to the Patriot League championship and NCAA tournament.
Senior attacker Tristan Rai came to Lehigh from Alberta, Canada, and was ranked third in scoring in 2018, posting 23 goals and a career high 25 assists. In 2019, Rai is part of a lethal attacking force that is looking to pair with a strong defensive unit in order to bring home a championship title.
“I’d love to win the Patriot League for sure,” Rai said. “And we want to go to NCAA’s and do some damage there, and I think we have a real chance to do it this year.”
While reflecting on his career, Rai expressed that he will miss the camaraderie established among his 50 teammates.
“I will miss just the guys to be honest,” Rai said. “Going to the locker room and seeing the boys all the time. It is something you don’t normally get outside of athletics, and I think I’m going to miss that time hanging out with the team.”
Emerging as another major contributor to the team’s senior attackers, senior Lucas Spence finished his junior season second in goals (35), assists (23) and points (58).
Spence also reflected back on his experiences, and much like Rai, said it will be tough to say goodbye to the team he has been a part of for his collegiate career.
“I’m definitely going to miss all the guys (because) they’ve been my best friends the last four years,” Spence said.
This past weekend, the Mountain Hawks lost to No. 11 Virginia by a narrow margin, finishing just three goals behind the Cavaliers, 11-8. While there is great opportunity to build off this performance, Rai recalled a situation similar from his freshman year when Lehigh fell to Duke by only two goals. Duke was ranked No. 3 at the time.
“I ended up having a really good game that day scoring a couple of goals,” Rai said. “It was kind of surreal for me being the Canadian kid just hearing about Duke lacrosse, Lehigh lacrosse, all these great teams and players and actually being able to be a part of the game and having an impact justified a lot of the hard work I had done.”
As for fellow senior attacker Andrew Pettit, this season marks a different challenge for the captain. He is sidelined for the rest of the season due to an ACL tear.
In 2018, Pettit led the Mountain Hawks with 46 goals and 66 points. He was named to the first team All-Patriot League, garnering national recognition by being named to the Tewaaraton Award watch list — the lacrosse equivalent of the Heisman trophy.
Despite his setback this year, Pettit will leave Lehigh as one of its most decorated players in history.
“Seeing as the amount of minutes I’ve logged over the years, it definitely gives me a lot of opportunity to coach up the young (team members) as opposed to being out there on the field,” Pettit said. “Our whole class has a unique perspective on that matter, where we have a lot of knowledge built up over the years.”
Pettit is helping to guide his teammates, especially some of the freshman who have been thrown into action due to the roster’s extensive injury troubles.
“I can coach up the younger guys and still do the best I can to captain and lead the team to a championship at the end of the year,” Pettit said.
While Spence is also enduring an injury to begin his 2019 campaign, he will be a key player in Lehigh’s quest for a Patriot League championship — even if much of his contributions consist of mentoring younger players who are still developing in their own right.
“I think as the young guys get more time, they will grow into being more confident and it will be key,” Spence said.
Looking back on his career, Pettit said he hopes this season brings similar success, like the win in the Patriot League semifinals against Navy. Pettit said he and his team members use these past accomplishments as motivation for more successes because it demonstrates their hard work.
Similarly to the rest of his senior class, Spence said although his Lehigh career may be coming to an end, there is a great opportunity to head out as champions and leave a legacy.
“I think our biggest game will be the Loyola game,” Spence said. “We’re all excited for that because they will probably be ranked No. 1 in the nation. It will be a big matchup for us to kind of get ourselves back on the map of being one of the top teams in the country.”
Lehigh men’s lacrosse takes on No. 5 Cornell in Ithaca, New York, on Sunday, Feb. 24, as the Mountain Hawks look to upset the Big Red.
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