Bucknell University Athletics

Bison Men's Soccer Squad Prepares to Kick Off Season
8/26/2002 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 26, 2002
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The 2002 Bucknell men's soccer team opens its season on August 31 at Robert Morris, and the roster of 24 players plans to be ready to start the season on a strong note. Leading the way will be a trio of captains; seniors Tom Ryan (Pine City, N.Y./Elmira Southside) and Nick Taylor (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius), and junior Brian King (Medford, N.J./Shawnee).
The Bison squad, picked to finish seventh in the Patriot League in a pre-season vote by the league's coaches and sports information directors, finished last season at 6-11-1 (1-5-1 PL). The Orange and Blue were picked one point behind Colgate (33) for the sixth-place slot. American, the defending conference champion, was one vote shy of a unanimous selection to repeat in 2002, garnering 13 first-place votes and 97 total points. Lehigh (80) was picked second behind the Eagles, followed by Holy Cross (74). Navy (64) was selected to finish fourth, while Lafayette earned 44 points for fifth place. Rounding out the pre-season were Colgate, Bucknell and Army (24).
Ryan is a three-year letterwinner who had a breakout year offensively from his midfield position last season. A player in 13 games, Ryan tied for the team lead with four assists for the first points of his career.
Joining Ryan in the leadership ranks is three-year letterwinner and two-year starter Taylor. Taylor has been a constant offensive threat through his first three seasons and, needing just three assists to break into the Bucknell career top-10 list, the midfielder will look to continue his offensive prowess through his final season.
King joins Ryan and Taylor as a captain. A starter in 35 of the 37 games he has played in in his career, King will be counted on to provide leadership to a defensive unit that has posted 10 shutouts in the last two years.
Representing the senior class with Ryan and Taylor are Steve Feather (Maryville, Tenn./Maryville), Brian Johnson (Creamridge, N.J./Notre Dame) and Elliott Maruffi-Cowley (Mays Landing, N.J./North Branford (Conn.)). Feather saw increased playing time a year ago, and as a result, tallied the first points of his career with one goal and three assists.
Johnson started eight of the 17 games he played in a year ago. The midfielder will be counted on to continue his role as the setup man as he ended last season tied for second on the squad with three assists. Maruffi-Cowley has been a spot starter in each of his first three years. The forward will be looked at to maintain his scorer's mentality after finishing second on the team in points last season.
Joining King in the junior class are Chris Beekman (Neptune, N.J./Neptune), Kevin Clifford (Marlton, N.J./Holy Cross), Patrick Glennon (South Orange, N.J./Columbia), Mark Mascarenhas (Marietta, Ga./Marist) and Steve Whitaker (Wayne, Pa./Conestoga).
Beekman returns for his third season after two impressive years with the program. A starter in 17 of 18 games last year, Beekman finished second in points with three goals and one assist. Mascarenhas will look to pick up where he left off last season. The midfielder tallied the first and only goal of his career near the end of the season.
A forward, Glennon makes his return to the field after missing the entire season a year ago with a back injury.
Clifford and Whitaker represent the experienced goalkeepers on the squad. Clifford played in three games last season, starting two of them, while Whitaker took the bulk of the action, playing in and starting 16 contests. A deep position on the roster, the duo will be challenged by a talented freshman in Adam Edwards (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown).
The Bison return eight sophomores for the 2002 season. Ori Adrabi (West Hills, Calif./El Camino Real), Greg Buzzell (DuBois, Pa./DuBois Area), Dennis DeLuca (Far Hills, N.J./Delbarton), Alexander Far (Redding, Conn./Joel Barlow), Jonathan Hemmert (Westerville, Ohio/St. Charles Prep), Michael Lookingland II (Fallston, Md./Loyola), Andrew Richardson (Springfield, Va./Robert E. Lee) and Otto Tancraitor III (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) all impacted the team last season and each will be asked to contribute again this year.
Returning full-time starters from the group include Adrabi and Lookingland. Adrabi scored once and assisted on one goal as a rookie while starting 17 of the 18 contests. Lookingland is the only returning player to have started all 18 games last season. The defender showed his versatility, scoring two goals and adding two assists a year ago.
A talented rookie class joins the 2002 Bison team. The program welcomes five freshmen hailing from three different states. Tim Faneck (Shavertown, Pa./Dallas), Eric Brunton (Carmel, Ind./Carmel), Edwards, Scott Visnic (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) and Tim O'Neill (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant) all aspire to be instant contributors to the team. Brunton and Edwards were recently named Freshmen to Watch by collegesoccernews.com.
The 2002 Bison men's soccer team will face several of the same team's it saw on last season's challenging schedule. The Orange and Blue open the season at Robert Morris on August 31 at 3:00 p.m. The team will stay on the road for its next four games, including a contest at Patriot League rival Holy Cross, before opening the home ledger against Pittsburgh on September 16.
Starting with the home game against the Panthers, BU will host five straight games into October. On October 6, the Bison will hit the road again to face defending conference champion American, a top-25 team. Bucknell plays three more on the road before traveling home to host Mount St. Mary's. The Bison play their final road game of the season at Maryland, the second top-25 team on the ledger.
The 2002 regular-season concludes when the Orange and Blue host Army on November 10. The Patriot League Championship Tournament, held at the site of the highest seed, will take place on November 15 and 17.



