—  Luke Winkler, Finn Morgan and Luke Breslin combined for 11 goals and 4 assists to lead the Lehigh men's lacrosse team (6-7 / 3-4 Patriot League) to a  19-7 win over Navy (7-6 / 3-4 Patriot League) Saturday afternoon at Ulrich Sports Complex in Bethlehem, Pa. The Mountain Hawks jumped out to 6-0 lead and built an 11-1 lead by halftime en route to the league victory.

Lehigh scored four goals in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the contest, including a goal by Riley Connor off the opening faceoff. Breslin had the hot hand early, scoring all 3 of his goals during the 4-0 run that saw the Mids have just one offensive possession during the stretch.

The Mountain Hawks pushed their lead to 6 before the Mids would find the back of the net. Jack Flaherty (Sr / M / Massapequa, N.Y.) fought his way through a double team and thanks to his 6-6 frame saw an open Race Ripley (Sr / A / Annapolis, Md.) anchored at the left crease for the goal at 6:20.

Lehigh, however, responded by scoring 5 in a row and holding the Mids without a goal for more than 21 minutes to close out the half with an 11-1 lead.

Navy came out of the locker room focused on battling its way back into the game. The Mids scored back-to-back goals in the opening minute of the third quarter with Ryan Landolphi (Jr / M / Manhasset, N.Y.) driving down the right lane for a goal, followed by Colin Shadowens (Sr / FO / Severna Park, Md.) who won the ensuing faceoff and scored his first-collegiate goal. Shadowens became the 26th different Navy player to score a goal this season, tying the school record (26 in 2025) for most players to score a goal in a season.

Lehigh briefly stopped the Navy run with a goal by Luke Winkler, but the Mids answered by scoring 3-consecutive goals to cut the deficit to 6 (12-6). Alex Ponchock (Fr / Fr / M / Jupiter, Fla.) sparked the run when he drilled a 15-yard shot over the shoulder of Lehigh goalkeeper Kasey Heath. Extra-man snipe Aidan Lough (Jr / M / Oyster Bay, N.Y.) targeted his third goal of the season off an assist from Alec Gregorek (So / A / Wading River, N.Y.), while William Goers (So / M / Chester, Md.) scored a spectacular goal off a blind shot curling around the left side of the goal.

Just 38 seconds after Goers' goal, Ponchock looked to have scored when his shot hit the inner portion of the cross bar before squirting back out into the field of play. Navy was unable to challenge due to Lehigh not having replay. Instead of the Mids cutting the deficit to 5 and carrying momentum into the fourth frame, Lehigh would beat the clock and score with 8.2 seconds remaining in the third to take a 7-goal lead (13-6) and more importantly change the tenor of the game.

Lehigh went on a 6-0 run to begin the final quarter, while Ponchock would score the final goal of the game on an extra-man goal with 1:38 remaining.

Six different players accounted for the Mids' 7 goals in the game, led by Ponchock's 2. Defensively, George Vlahos (So / San Francisco, Calif.) made his third-consecutive start between the pipes where he made 8 saves, while allowing all 19 goals by the Mountain Hawks. Playing without Tewaaraton Award nominee AJ Marsh (Jr / D / Reisterstown, Md.) on defense, Aidan Hurdle (Sr / D / Annapolis, Md.) made his first-collegiate start, while the long-stick midfield tandem of Kade Smith (Jr / Simsbury, Conn.) and Patrick Flaherty (So / Massapequa, N.Y.) combined for 6 of Navy's 7 caused turnovers on the afternoon. Shadowens and Zach Hayashi (Jr / North Potomac, Md.) combined to win 17 of the 29 draws in the contest.

Morgan, who came into the game ranked 7th nationally in goals per game (3.08) and the only freshman in the country with more than 30 goals, paced the Mountain Hawks with 7 points on 4 goals and 3 assists. Winkler also targeted 4 of his shots, while Breslin tallied 3 goals and an assist. Richard Checo, the NCAA's all-time leader in caused turnovers, posted a game-high 5 takeaways, while Heath posted 10 saves and allowed 6 of the Mids' 7 goals. 

Navy, who still has a chance to make the 6-team Patriot League Tournament field, will play its regular-season finale next Friday at home against Loyola (5-2 / 8-5 Patriot League), who is in a three-way tie for first place in the conference. Faceoff is slated for 7:00 pm. The game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network, while the radio broadcast will be carried on 1430 WNAV with Joe Miller on the call.

### Go Navy ###