Men’s Lacrosse traveled to Lehigh this past Saturday to take on the Mountain Hawks in a conference matchup. It was a back-and-forth game through all four quarters, but the Bison ultimately fell 9-8.

Bucknell led three separate times throughout the contest, including a 6-5 lead at the half. They also led by two goals early in the second quarter. This two-goal lead and Lehigh’s one-point lead late in the fourth quarter were the largest leads by either team throughout the entire game.

The Bison won the shots taken category 36-35, and both teams grabbed 29 ground balls. The main difference in the game was faceoffs, with Lehigh dominating the Bison, winning faceoffs 15-6.

Michael Meyer ’26, Hans Huber ’27 and Connor Davis ’25 each scored twice for the Bison, and Will Hopkins ’26 dished one of Bucknell’s two only assists along with a goal of his own.

Bucknell rolled to a 3-1 run at the end of the first quarter and into the second, giving them the biggest lead either team would have the entire game. After Lehigh came back with two unanswered goals to tie it at 3-3, the team combined for five goals in the last five minutes of the half, with Bucknell closing it with a 6-5 lead. 

Lehigh outshot Bucknell 13-4 in the third quarter to take a 7-6 lead late in the third, but Patrick Ciquera ’24 answered to make it a 7-7 tie as the two headed into the fourth quarter.

After Lehigh scored two unanswered in a slow fourth quarter, Bucknell trailed 9-7 with just under three minutes to play.

Hopkins would score for the Bison in the last minute, but Lehigh’s defense held true and the Mountain Hawks escaped with a 9-8 victory.

“We had a lot of great opportunities at the end as well as during the rest of the game and offensively we need to do a better job of capitalizing on them,” Hopkins said. “We have to maintain composure and know that as a unit we will get the shots we want and when those times come be ready to score.”

Next up, Bucknell returns home to face Lafayette next Saturday at 2 p.m.