Box Score Box Score: No. 18 Lehigh 14, VMI 11

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Looking to knock off one of the top teams in the nation, the VMI lacrosse team nearly accomplished the feat but came up a little short as host No. 18 Lehigh escaped with a 14-11 victory over the Keydets Thursday night at Ulrich Sports Complex in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
 
VMI (0-2) jumped to a 4-1 lead in the opening quarter to take the Mountain Hawks by surprise. Ryan Perouty struck first for the Keydets at 12:57 with an unassisted goal to put VMI up, 1-0. After a man-up goal by Lehigh, the Keydets scored three unanswered goals over the last eight minutes of the period to move up, 4-1. John Daniel, Perouty and sophomore Aidan Riley notched the goals for VMI over the span.
 
Despite two more VMI goals midway through the second quarter from Perouty and junior Jon Fant, the Mountain Hawks would go on a 3-0 run in the final three minutes of the half to cut the VMI lead to 6-5 going into the half.
 
Both teams went on a scoring tear in the third quarter to combine for 10 goals with six going to Lehigh and four to the Keydets. Fant, Riley, sophomore Michael Santos and Perouty logged the four goals for VMI in the stanza.
 
"I am incredibly proud of our guys tonight," said VMI head coach Jon Birsner. "They battled toe-to-toe with a very well-coached, talented, No. 18 team in the country.  An away game on a short week is tough to prepare for but Coach Herring and Coach O'Hara worked tirelessly to teach and implement our game plan and our guys responded well tonight.
 
"There's a lot we still need to work on so we will take this extended week to prepare for another strong opponent in Mount St. Mary's. But if we stick together and continue to work as hard as we have all year, I'm excited to watch this team continue to improve and battle each week."
 
Down 11-10 going into the fourth quarter, VMI tied the game at 11 apiece off a goal from Daniel but the Keydets were held scoreless the remainder of the game as Lehigh managed three more to grab the victory from VMI's grasp.
 
Perouty finished the game with four goals to pace the Keydets while Daniel, Fant and Riley each scored two apiece.
 
VMI had a difficult time containing Lehigh attackman Andrew Pettit, who went off for eight goals to keep the score in Lehigh's favor. Tommy Schelling added three for the Mountain Hawks.
 
In a complete game, VMI keeper Bill Osteen earned nine saves in the loss.
 
VMI returns to action Saturday, Feb. 29, with a third straight road match as the Keydets travel to Emmitsburg, Maryland, to face Mount St. Mary's. Faceoff is scheduled for a 12 p.m. start.