Lehigh (6-3, 3-1) opened the scoring on the first play of the second quarter, as quarterback Dante Perri connected with sophomore receiver Mason Humphrey from 12 yards out. It capped a 15-play, 87-yard drive that fell 9 minutes, 55 seconds late.

The Crusaders (4-6, 3-1) responded on the ensuing drive. On third-and-goal from the 10, senior quarterback Joe Pesansky threw a pass to senior tight end Jacob Petersen 3 yards from the pylon. Peterson made the catch and dragged two defenders into the end zone, tying the game 7-7 at 9:29 of the second quarter.

Lehigh’s Nick Garrido converted a 25-yard field goal with 7:47 left in the third quarter. That would be the winning kick.

With less than six minutes remaining, the Crusaders had a chance to tie the game, marching to third-and-9 from the Lehigh 20. However, Lehigh linebacker Mike DeNucci sacked Pesansky for a 10-yard loss. Holy Cross was then flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play, moving back another 15 yards and out of field goal range.

“I had a very good training session and came away without any points. It was a crucial question,” Curran said. “That one kind of came back to bite us.”

The Crusaders got the ball back at their 14-yard line with just 2:24 left. Pesansky led the Crusaders on a 13-play, 51-yard drive that was stopped at the Lehigh 35 with eight seconds remaining. He set up the 52-yard field goal attempt that was blocked by Andrew Sharga.

“We didn’t do our part offensively. I didn’t do my part the best I could,” said Pesansky, who completed 17 of 26 passes for 148 yards but was sacked three times. “It’s something we can learn from and continue to improve and prepare for next week.”

Holy Cross hosts Bucknell Saturday at noon.

Henry Dinh-Price can be contacted at [email protected].