Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Army *
Army Rallies Past Bucknell in Key Patriot League Showdown, 10-9
4/12/2003 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 12, 2003
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army's John Walker scored the go-ahead goal with 2:08 remaining and goalie Matt Darak stopped a Worthy Sanders shot in the final seconds to lead the Black Knights to a come-from-behind 10-9 victory over 17th-ranked Bucknell Saturday at Shea Stadium.
Backed by three goals and two assists from Sanders, the Bison built a trio of three-goal leads, but Army outscored them 5-2 in the final quarter to sneak out with a victory. Bucknell had its five-game winning streak end, as the Bison fell to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in Patriot League play. Army, which got three goals from Walker and a goal and three assists from Jeff Bryan, improved to 6-5, 3-1.
Army's win puts 4-1 Hobart back into first place in the Patriot League by just a half game over the Bison and Black Knights. Colgate was 2-1 in league play heading into a Saturday night game at Lehigh.
Bucknell had won its last three meetings with Army and appeared headed for a fourth straight after scoring three unanswered goals to take a 3-1 lead after one quarter. The Black Knights cut it to 4-3 on John Ryan's goal early in the third quarter, but Patrick Christensen and Kelly Hogue answered with back-to-back goals to restore Bucknell's lead to three goals at 6-3 midway through the third period.
After the two teams engaged in a tight defensive struggle in the first half, the scoring frequency picked up in the second. Bryan, Army's leading scorer who had been scoreless in two previous games against the Bison, finally dented the scoreboard with 4:58 left in the third, but just a minute later Chris Cara scored a fastbreak goal on a pretty feed from Sanders to make it 7-4. Less than two minutes later Jim Wagner scored an extra-man goal to cut BU's lead to 7-5.
That set the stage for Army's furious fourth-quarter comeback. Ryan cut it to 7-6 with an unassisted goal 55 seconds into the final stanza, but Sanders finished a Rob Lane feed 1:35 later to restore the two-goal Bucknell lead.
Army's ability to control the faceoff game (16 of 22 draws) paid dividends in a crucial eight-minute stretch in the later in the quarter. The Bison had only two possessions in that span - and turned it over both times - while the Cadets scored three straight goals to take the lead. Bryan set up the next two goals with feeds to Wagner and Walker, the latter knotting the game at 8-apiece with 9:09 to play. Then after another Tony Vozzolo faceoff win, Mike Kamon gave Army its first lead since 1-0 with a transition goal, firing a laser just under the crossbar just 11 seconds after Walker's equalizer.
Bucknell evened the tense contest back up at 9-9 when Sanders darted in from the left side and beat Darak. Army regained the lead when Ryan circled to the left wing and found Walker, who submarined a shot past Justin Sussman with 2:08 remaining. Sussman just minutes earlier had robbed Walker on a point-blank shot.
The Bison twice came tantalizingly close to scoring the tying goal in the closing moments. Lane hit the pipe with 50 seconds to play, then after Army ran out of the box at the other end with 35 seconds left, Bucknell cleared and called timeout with 10 seconds remaining. The Bison worked the ball behind the cage, and Sanders came out to Darak's left and tried to stuff one in with three seconds showing. Darak got just enough of the ball to keep it out of the net, and Cara did not have enough time to score on the rebound.
Darak matched his career high with 15 saves, while Sussman, the national leader in save percentage (.703) entering the contest, finished with nine stops.
Despite Army's edge in time of possession due to its faceoff prowess, the Bison finished with a 41-27 shot advantage. The Black Knights held the edge in ground balls, 38-27.
Bucknell, which has won or shared each of the last three Patriot League titles, including a three-way tie with Army and Hobart last season, is now 19-3 in conference play since the start of the 2000 season. The Bison had beaten Army three straight times, including one-goal victories in 2000 and 2001 and an 8-5 decision last season.
After battling Penn State in a non-league home game on Wednesday night, the Bison face another crucial Patriot League road test next Saturday at Colgate. Army travels to first-place Hobart next Saturday.
