Football Almost Knocks Off #7 Lehigh but Falls Just Short, 24-20

Saturday, September 19

Bethlehem, Pa. / Goodman Stadium

12:00 PM

Dartmouth College

0-1 , 0-0

Lehigh

4-0 , 3-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Dartmouth	3	10	7	0	20
Lehigh	7	7	3	7	24

Football Almost Knocks Off #7 Lehigh but Falls Just Short, 24-20

9/19/2026 5:58:00 PM | Football

Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Dartmouth football team came close to knocking off a top-10 opponent in its season opener on the road on Saturday, Sept. 19, but #7 Lehigh escaped Goodman Stadium with a 24-20 win in a back-and-forth battle that was decided in the final moments.

Lehigh, the back-to-back Patriot League champion, almost had its regular-season winning streak snapped at 20 games. The Big Green led with nine minutes remaining, but a Mountain Hawk touchdown with 8:46 left to play put the hosts back on top for good. The game was Lehigh's closest all season, with the Mountain Hawks earning wins over Holy Cross (35-10), Georgetown (45-14), and #16 William & Mary (44-20).

Dartmouth outgained Lehigh, 324 to 291 total yards, and converted an efficient 9-for-14 (64%) on third down. In addition, Lehigh's 218 rushing yards were a season low. The Mountain Hawks have twice rushed for more than 300 yards in 2026, with their second-lowest amount (281) coming on Saturday, Aug. 29, against Holy Cross.

Grayson Saunier was efficient through the air, going 17-for-30 for 262 yards and a touchdown. Saunier brought his career total passing yards to 2,938 and needs just 62 more to become the 11th Dartmouth quarterback to throw for 3,000. Nick Lemon led all receivers with five catches for a career and game-high 102 yards, and Myles Craddock added 33 rushing yards and the go-ahead score. Ky'Dric Fisher also scored his third career touchdown for the Big Green.

Steve Simpkins Jr. tied for the game-high in tackles with a career-best 10, while Cameron Best-Alston, Harrison Keith, and Joshua Johnson each tallied six.

Kicker Owen Zalc went a perfect 2-for-2 on field goals, which included a pair of 50-yarders. Zalc's second field goal, which came from 51 yards out, tied the Goodman Stadium record. Zalc's 41 career field goals tie him for fifth all-time in Ivy League history. He needs 11 to tie and 12 to pass the Ivy record of 52, set by Brown's Steve Morgan in 2007. Zalc also moved up #2 all-time on the Big Green's all-time scoring list, bringing his career total to 214 points and passing Al Marsters '29, who had 214.

Lehigh, unbeaten at 4-0 entering the day, struck first with a 1-yard touchdown run to cap a 10-play, 67-yard opening drive. Zalc drilled a 50-yard field goal to get the Big Green on the board, then added his 51-yarder in the second quarter.

Lehigh pushed back ahead 14-6 on a short touchdown pass. With 35 seconds left in the first half, Saunier found Fisher deep for a 33-yard touchdown, and Zalc's PAT trimmed the deficit to just one, 14-13, heading into the locker room.

The third quarter belonged to Dartmouth. After Lehigh tacked on a 27-yard field goal to push its lead to 17-13, the Big Green methodically marched 75 yards on 10 plays, and Craddock capped it by punching in a 2-yard touchdown run with just two seconds left in the quarter. Zalc's extra point made it 20-17 Dartmouth, the program's first lead of the game.

Lehigh answered in the fourth quarter, aided by a pass interference call that put the ball at the Dartmouth 2-yard line, and scored to go back on top, 24-20, with 8:46 remaining.

Saunier led one more push, capped by a 42-yard connection with Lemon and a 24-yard grab from James Elliott that pushed the ball to the Lehigh 26-yard line with fewer than 20 seconds to play. Despite the Big Green's valiant effort in the late stages of the fourth quarter, the Mountain Hawks held on for the 24-20 win.

Up Next
The Big Green hosts (RV) Monmouth (1-2, 1-0) in its home opener at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field.

"It's about physicality and effort. Our guys across the board on offense, defense and special teams checked the box every snap."

Hear from Sammy McCorkle, the Robert L. Blackman Head Football Coach, after today's game.#GoBigGreen | #TheWoods 🌲 pic.twitter.com/ArbdW7wH2V
— Dartmouth Football (@DartmouthFTBL) September 19, 2026