The 2013 season is here and we wanted to work closely with college programs to bring a part of the excitement to you. Throughout the 2013 season we will highlight lacrosse programs on our space for all of our readers to follow. Player blogs serve as a unique outlet for programs to showcase their season as it develops, plus highlight everything they have to offer a student-athlete. In contrast, families and fans get a glimpse into the program’s athletic and academic regimen.
Brian Hess
Midfielder – #2
Friday Night Lights
We resumed for practice on Thursday on the field of Goodman Stadium, also known as the Football Stadium. We dialed down practice a bit because we had Colgate in two days, but wanted to get a feel of what it was like playing on grass. Freshman Andrew Iacoca almost had to stand on the sideline again as he forgot cones for practice, but quickly righted this wrong to avoid another fiasco. Chris Rinaldi’s beard was getting outrageously long, and it was flowing in the wind. He wouldn’t stop talking about how “extreme” and “teck-deck” it was all week. We had a great two days of practice on Thursday and Friday though, and it was no secret that with the weekend brought our biggest test of the season. It was a rematch of last year’s Patriot League Championship Game televised on CBS Sports Network. Lehigh vs. Colgate.
We woke up early on Saturday due to our early start time (11 a.m.) for the tilt. It was an extremely exciting game that went back and forth from the start. Patrick Corbett led off the scoring with an absolutely beautiful finish off a feed from QB1, David DiMaria. Colgate answered and we went toe to toe, trailing us only by one at halftime. We knew the 3rd quarter would be a decisive quarter, as Colgate has worked their opponents handedly during this time. It was a huge emphasis during practice this week, and it was time to execute during the game. We fought hard in an attempt to match their intensity, but still found ourselves knotted up at 8 headed into the 4th quarter. Fortunately, our team was able to hold off their offensive onslaught and pull out a hard fought W, which was huge for us. A special shout out this week goes to Kyle “The AK-47” Stiefel, who put on a shooting clinic. I know I was getting after him last week, but the kid can absolutely shoot the rock. As he says, “2 shots, 2 goals, Hundo-p shooting percentage for the Stief.” He was pinging corners like it was going out of style.
The win bumped us up to 4-0 in the Patriot League, with an opportunity at winning the regular season title. Due to the early start time, we were able to soak up the sun in the afternoon, which was nice because my brother and his awesome girlfriend were in town, along with my girl AD, also known as “The One That Got Away.” The win only magnified the enjoyment of the afternoon, as my Saturday was capped off by dinner with my parents, the legendary Vicki and Big Al Hess. A standout of the afternoon Barbeque was Bubba “Da Boss BubbaRoss” Ambrose, who is an honorary member of the squad. He lives with a bunch of the guys and has been our absolute since day 1, and always makes sure we are mentally ready to go.
On Sunday, we met for film to try and learn from the game as well as give out our post game awards. JP “Tonie Tones” Walsh was named Practice Player of the Week, which he readily deserved. Practice on Monday was an absolute workday, as Derek Bogorowski would have guessed. The only thing is, Derek guesses this every day, regardless of the situation. Classic 8. We took this day to look within and focus on getting better as a team. We started off with 1-1’s, and Baxter “The MD” Lanius put on quite a performance. Besides his great 1-1 skills, Baxter is widely known for having the best stick work in the country. Practice was capped off with a lift, and Nate Hunt broke his previous record of 13 “Let’s Goooo Hawks” chants with an astonishing 18.
Tuesday through Thursday saw a shift in our focus from ourselves to league rival Bucknell. They are 4-0 as well, so the stakes are extremely high for this week. The winner will earn the right to host the 2013 Patriot League Tournament, which is huge. This has been a goal of ours all season, as Lehigh has never hosted before. Bucknell is a very talented team that is extremely well coached, so we know we will have our hands full. As Coach Cassese said, “This game is going to be an absolute tilt,” and I couldn’t agree more. Signing off this week, and wishing everyone a great weekend.
