Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Primed for Patriot League Repeat in 2002
2/21/2002 7:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Feb. 21, 2002
LEWISBURG, Pa. - A perfect 12-0 record in 1996 caught the nation's attention. An NCAA Tournament berth in 2001 finally stamped them "for real" in lacrosse circles. Now comes the true test of a championship team - repeating that success year after year.
That is the challenge ahead this spring for Bucknell's men's lacrosse team, which is ranked 19th in the Inside Lacrosse preseason coaches' poll and faces No. 13 North Carolina Saturday at 1 p.m. in the season opener. It will be the first lacrosse game to be played at Bucknell's Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
The Herd's stampede to the 2001 NCAA Tournament began almost exactly a year ago, with a 9-4 upset of then-10th-ranked North Carolina. An 11-10 nailbiter at Army and a 12-4 rout of preseason favorite Hobart propelled the Bison to an unblemished 6-0 Patriot League record and sent them to the postseason for the first time in school history. A competitive 12-7 first-round loss to No. 5 Notre Dame hardly dampened an exciting and historic year of lacrosse at Bucknell.
"Last year's success was all about the internal leadership on the team," says Sid Jamieson, the only head men's lacrosse coach in the 34-year history of Bison Lacrosse. "Obviously you need maturity and confidence and skills, but you have to have people in the locker room who can lead positively and get the job done both on and off the field. When you look back at last year's team, there were people in the room that really wanted to lead us in the right direction. When the coaches just have to order the bus and order the food and put the right guys out there and let them do their thing, that's what we want to have happen. Coaches don't want to have to win games, they want the players to win the games. That's exactly what happened last year."
A half-dozen starters return from arguably Bucknell's most talented team ever, including nine of their top 10 scorers and an All-America caliber goalie. While graduation partly disassembled a defense that ranked eighth nationally in goals against (7.93 per game), Jamieson has a host of big, athletic long poles ready to step in.
Seven times last season Bucknell held an opponent to eight goals or less, including such talents as Maryland, North Carolina, Hobart and Penn State. A big part of that stinginess rested on the broad shoulders of goaltender Justin Sussman (Baltimore, Md./Friends Academy). Now a junior, Sussman earned preseason honorable mention All-America honors after ranking seventh nationally in both goals-against average (8.59) and save percentage (.622).
"Justin was obviously one of the major reasons why we had success last year," lauds Jamieson. "He had an exceptional year."
Sussman stole the 12-4 win over No. 12 Hobart with an awesome 26-save performance in a game in which the Bison were outshot 47-30. His ability to stone the best attackmen is a comforting thought for Bison fans who will see some new faces on close defense this season, after the loss of defensemen Brian Treacher and J.C. Metivier, as well as all-star long-stick middie Mark Juelis.
Anchoring the position is senior co-captain Kevin Smithies (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown H.S.), like Sussman a preseason honorable mention All-American. A second-team All-Patriot League selection last spring, the 6'4", 210-pounder should again be one of the conference's premier stoppers.
An intimidating defender at 6'6", sophomore Blaise Fletcher (Glen Mills, Pa./Archmere Academy) moves into the starting lineup after appearing mostly on the man-down unit as a rookie. Another second-year man, Brendan Fitzgibbons (Dallas, Texas/Hillcrest H.S.) is not as big as Smithies or Fletcher, but is equally as physical and can run the field very well.
Despite the losses on defense, the Bison should have depth here with a nice mix of youth and experience. Senior Matt Ewalt (Prince Frederick, Md./Calverton School) is in his third year in the program, while sophomore Eric Hannon (Nashua, N.H./Nashua H.S.) appeared in one game last year after posting excellent prep credentials. Bruising 6'4", 225-pound freshman Daryl Seymour (Rooseveltown, N.Y./Kimball Union) is a member of the Iroquois National Team and joins 6'3" classmate Grant Kemmerer (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius H.S.) on the back line.
Freshmen Reece Pacheco (East Falmouth, Mass./Tabor Academy) and Ned Hare (Hingham, Mass./Loomis-Chaffee School) are top candidates to replace Juelis at the long-stick midfield position, while athletic newcomers Michael Petrash (Bethesda, Md./Landon School) and Ryan Goodman (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Dwight Englewood H.S.) arrive to compete for field time as short-stick defensive middies.
Senior co-captain Brian Loesch (Baldwin, N.Y./Kellenberg H.S.) is one of the league's top d-middies and won 54.5 percent of his draws last season as the Bison's primary faceoff specialist. Also able to lend a hand in the attack area, Loesch chipped in three goals and five assists. Loesch ranked 12th nationally in ground balls (80) and 20th in faceoff percentage last season.
Junior Justin Slama (Chestertown, Md./Kent County H.S.) will also see plenty of action on the defensive midfield unit. Slama is an excellent passer in transition, as evidenced by his key assist in the North Carolina win last season.
Junior transfer Jeff Powless (Onondaga Nation, N.Y./Herkimer CC) was the junior college player of the year last season and will begin the year as Sussman's chief backup in goal.
At the other end of the field the Bison have no shortage of first-class talent to put the ball in the net, with a trio of juniors leading the way. Bucknell claims one of the Patriot League's top goal-scorers in junior Dennis Geraghty (Kings Park, N.Y./St. Anthony's H.S.). Geraghty was a first-team All-Patriot League selection a year ago and by season's end proved to be the conference's top off-ball attackman. He scored a career-high 39 goals, which ranked fifth on the Bucknell single-season list and also listed 12th nationally and second in the league in 2001. At 6'3" and 185 pounds, Geraghty is difficult to move off the crease and is also an effective rider.
Third-year man Kelly Hogue (Painted Post, N.Y./Corning West H.S.) has never played with more confidence after pouring in 27 goals a year ago to rank sixth in the Patriot League. Possessing a blistering shot, Hogue registered a hat trick in the big win over Hobart and exploded for five goals in wins over Penn State and Holy Cross.
Junior Andrew Sanders (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East H.S.) is fully recovered from a shoulder injury that spoiled his 2001 campaign. Sanders is lightning quick and extremely shifty with the ball. He scored 13 goals and six assists in eight games last season, and his hat trick helped spark the season-opening win over North Carolina.
Sanders' injury last season opened a window of opportunity for freshman Wes Fetchet (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan H.S.), and Fetchet took full advantage. He tallied four goals in his first start against Hobart and went on to earn Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors. Fetchet finished with 13 goals and three assists.
Adding to Bucknell's vast reservoir of talent at the attack position is high school All-American Chris Cara (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford H.S.), who performed well in the preseason. Cara has big-time tools and could grow into an all-star caliber player as he gains experience. Classmate Patrick Christensen (Leonardtown, Md./St. Mary's Ryken H.S.) and sophomores Craig Fleishman (Wayne, N.J./Montclair Kimberly Academy) and Sean Joffe (Westfield, N.J./Westfield H.S.) will lend depth at attack.
Bucknell also brings back plenty of experience and talent in the midfield, with juniors John Terracciano (Lynbrook, N.J./Lynbrook H.S.), Rob Lane (Boonton Township, N.J./Mt. Lakes H.S.) and Andrew Copelan (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford-Mendon H.S.) likely comprising the top line. Terracciano is one of the fastest open-field runners in the Patriot League, and last season he displayed a penchant for scoring big goals, netting a pair against top-ranked Maryland and two each against Lehigh and Penn State.
Copelan is coming off an outstanding sophomore campaign and emerged as the leader of the Bison midfield. Lane also had a fine season, scoring 10 goals to go with seven assists. All three first-line juniors are very heady players who are strong both in transition and in settled offensive sets.
A host of first-year players round out the remainder of the midfield unit. Nick Lane (Boonton Township, N.J./Mt. Lakes H.S.), Rob's younger brother, joins rookies Patrick O'Hearn (Fallston, Md./Gilman H.S.), Nick Martino (Croton, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson H.S.), Ross Albers (Chantilly, Va./Chantilly H.S.), John Salvesen (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Ward Melville H.S.), Brendan Shanley (Yorktown, N.Y./Yorktown H.S.) and T.J. Wallace (Penfield, N.Y./McQuaid H.S.) in the middie rotation.
Headlined by Atlantic Coast Conference powers North Carolina and Maryland (March 12), the Bison feature a home schedule jam-packed with star power, and an overall schedule as challenging as any in school history. Bucknell also hosts Ivy Leaguers No. 25 Harvard (March 2) and Penn (March 9), along with Patriot League rivals Army (March 16), Colgate (Apr. 14) and Lehigh (Apr. 27). The Bison will quickly adjust to their new surroundings in Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, with their first five games of the year at home.
A five-game road trip ensues, however, with tilts at Mount St. Mary's (March 20), Holy Cross (March 23), No. 23 Hobart (March 30), No. 7 Georgetown (Apr. 3) and Lafayette (Apr. 6). The Bison also visit No. 16 Penn State on Apr. 23.
According to Jamieson, the difficult slate is a clear statement that Bucknell's program has elevated to the brink of the nation's elite. The Bison earned their first top-10 ranking last season and finished the season ranked 13th. With 123 of their 141 goals back in 2002, to go with honorable mention All-Americans on defense and in goal, the Bison are once again favored to capture the Patriot League crown.
Bucknell is 11-1 in league games in the last two seasons, but with no postseason tournament in the Patriot League, one slip in the regular season can be the difference between a dream season and the nightmare of a missed opportunity.
"When you get to this level, talent has to be a given, which is obviously a function of recruiting," Jamieson says. "We now expect that we are going to have the talent to challenge every single year. We hope that we can recruit the type of young men that are not only going to be good students and good players, but excellent leaders as well."
Those expectations are lofty, but this veteran Bison group is prepared to prove them attainable.
