Bucknell University
Army
#17 Men's Lacrosse Holds Off Late Army Charge in 11-10 LAX Nailbiter
3/17/2001 7:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
March 17, 2001
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Sophomore Dennis Geraghty (Kings Park, N.Y./St. Anthony's) scored five goals and 17th ranked Bucknell withstood a furious Army rally in the final five minutes to hold off the Black Knights 11-10 in a Patriot League lacrosse game at Shea Stadium Saturday.
In defeating Army for the second straight season but for only the third time in 21 all-time meetings, Bucknell improved to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 in Patriot League play. Army fell to 1-3, 1-2.
Goals by Geraghty and sophomore Andrew Sanders (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) 53 seconds apart early in the fourth quarter gave the Bison a seemingly comfortable 11-6 lead. They still held a five-goal cushion when Army's Dino Cotilletta scored with 5:31 remaining, ending the Black Knights' 32:38 scoreless drought.
Less than a minute later Cotilletta fed a bounce pass to Jimmy Vlahakis for a goal, and Cotilletta scored again with 1:50 to go to make it 11-9. After an exchange of turnovers, Army clawed within one goal when Tim Pearson scored from the right wing with 47.5 seconds left.
Bucknell won the ensuing faceoff, but turned the ball over with an errant pass. Army survived a scramble at midfield and got one last possession with 12 seconds remaining, but the Bison defense, which had been stifling for most of the second half, did not yield a good scoring opportunity. Vlahakis had the ball checked out of his stick while trying to shoot as the final horn sounded.
The Black Knights controlled the first period, outshooting Bucknell 11-6 and outscoring the Bison 3-1. Brook Hilton, a middie who had not scored all season, beat sophomore goalkeeper Justin Sussman (Towson, Md./Friends Academy) twice in the first seven minutes of play for a 2-0 lead. Sanders and Geraghty scored in the opening 1:09 of the second quarter to tie the game at 3-3, but Hilton completed his first career hat trick with 11:31 to play in the second quarter to put Army back ahead 4-3.
The second period turned into a shootout, with the Bison scoring seven times to take an 8-6 halftime lead. Geraghty's extra-man goal with 6:27 to play in the half snapped a 6-6 tie and gave Bucknell the lead for good. Mike Kamon scored Army's sixth goal with 8:09 to play in the second quarter, but that proved to be his team's last marker until Cotilletta's goal with 5:31 left in the fourth.
Sussman made 14 saves in the game, half coming during the first quarter. Dominik Nogic had nine saves for Army.
Kamon finished with two goals for Army, while Pearson had a goal and two assists. Sanders had two goals and an assist for the Bison.
Army travels to Colgate next Saturday, March 24 at 1 p.m., while Bucknell hosts Mount St. Mary's Wednesday at 3 p.m.
#17 Bucknell 1 7 1 2 -- 11 Army 3 3 0 4 -- 10BUCKNELL BREAKDOWN: Goals - Geraghty 5, Sanders 2, Hogue, Copelan, Loesch, Lane. Assists -Copelan, Sanders, Juelis, Cutillo, Cheng, Terracciano.
ARMY BREAKDOWN: Goals - Hilton 3, Cotilletta 2, Kamon 2, Fernandez, Vlahakis, Pearson. Assists - Pearson 2, Burke, Woods, Ryan, Cotilletta, Vlahakis.
Shots: Bucknell 30 (6-13-8-3). Army 35 (11-10-5-9). Ground Balls: Bucknell 42. Army 48. Goalie Saves: Bucknell 14 (Justin Sussman 7-3-2-2). Army 9 (Dominik Nogic 3-3-2-1). Clears: Bucknell 20 of 31. Army 22 of 31. Faceoffs: Bucknell 15 of 25. Army 10 of 25. Penalties: Bucknell 5 for 4:00. Army 4 for 3:00. Extra Man Opportunities: Bucknell 2 of 4. Army 0 of 4. Attendance: 537. Team Records: Bucknell 4-1 (2-0 Patriot League). Army 1-3 (1-2 Patriot League).
