Lehigh men’s lacrosse sophomore attacker Andrew Kelly earned a Patriot League Player of the Week honorable mention after scoring four goals against Navy on March 9.
Kelly is having a breakout season — helping lead the Mountain Hawks to a 2-1 Patriot League start.
He is ranked second on the team in goals with 14, after finishing his first season with just one goal.
Despite only seeing the field in five games as a first-year, Kelly has quickly become a major asset to the team, starting all seven games he’s played this year.
Kelly, a Pennsylvania native, attended La Salle College High School and started playing lacrosse at a competitive level in middle school.
“At first, I wasn’t that into it, I was much more focused on basketball,” Kelly said. “Then I started playing lacrosse more seriously in eighth grade. In high school I played soccer and lacrosse my freshman year, and then I mainly played lacrosse and squash for the rest of high school.”
Kelly said his love for the sport stems from his father, who also played lacrosse in high school.
Kelly was in contact with several Division I schools during the college recruiting process, but he knew Lehigh was the place for him after meeting the players and coaches during his official visit.
“The coaches were the main reason I came to Lehigh and we connected really well, the most out of all the schools I visited,” Kelly said. “I was looking for the best academic school I could possibly go to and have it be an enjoyable place.”
Though Kelly would spend much of his first year sitting behind Lehigh’s attack trio of junior Scott Cole, and seniors Christian Mule and Justin Tiernan, once the seniors departed at the end of their senior seasons, Kelly got the opportunity to step into a larger role.
“Last year, neither of us were really playing, we were on the scout team,” sophomore attacker and midfielder Curren Johnsen said. “My favorite memory of (Kelly) is being able to watch him grow into a guy who our offense leans on. Over the past year, I really saw him grind and get to where he is now and obviously, he’s at a really good point.”
Johnsen said Kelly’s skill-set is valuable and different from many players on the team.
“He’s always going to be a guy who’s in the game plan for us,” Johnsen said. “You need a dodge behind the goal and he’s one of the few people on our team that really excels in that area.”
Off the field, Kelly’s teammates said his humor shines through.
“He has a really funny side to him, which I love,” first-year attacker Trevor Brotons said. “He’s able to differentiate the seriousness of lacrosse and have fun off the field. He’s just a really nice guy to everyone, you could always go to him and talk about anything if you ever needed to.”
Kelly has stepped into a big leadership position this year to go along with his newfound starting role. Brotons said through Kelly’s success this year, he has helped set the mold for many players on the offensive side of the ball.
Kelly noted that the connections and friendships that come out of being on a team make the grind worth it. He said he clicked right away with the juniors and seniors, and made a great group of friends right away.
He said being a student-athlete can be difficult at times because there is little free time, especially in-season. Still, he said this challenge helps with time management and structure.
“Sometimes, I’ll get home at 9 p.m. and then I have to start my homework,” Kelly said. “But, if you manage your time well, it’s not bad at all.”
Comment Policy
Comments posted to The Brown and White website are reviewed by a moderator before being approved. Incendiary speech or harassing language, including comments targeted at individuals, may be deemed unacceptable and not published. Spam and other soliciting will also be declined.
The Brown and White also reserves the right to refuse the publication of entirely anonymous comments.