Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Soccer Hosts American Saturday in Final Home Game of Regular Season
10/28/2005 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 28, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. - With just two games remaining in conference play there is a logjam atop the Patriot League men's soccer standings with five teams tied for first place with 3-2-0 records. Two of the quintet of squads will square off Saturday at 1 p.m when Bucknell hosts American at Varsity Soccer Field. The match will be the final home game of the regular season for the Bison, who are still in contention to host the Patriot League Tournament, Nov. 11 and 13. The four-team tournament is played at the home field of the highest seed.
Bucknell, which enters the game with a 2-0-1 record over its last three games, is 7-5-3 overall. The Bison are 4-1-2 at home this year and Saturday's contest completes a four-game homestand.
Bucknell has allowed just one goal since Rutgers handed the Bison a 3-1 loss on Oct. 12 to extend their losing streak to three games. The main person behind the strong defensive effort has been senior goalkeeper Adam Edwards (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown). Already Bucknell's career leader in shutouts, Edwards recorded his 26th career blanking last Saturday against Lehigh to tie the Patriot League career standard. Edwards, who made eight saves in that match, has 64 this year and 271 in his career to rank sixth on the Patriot League career charts. He stands third in the Patriot League with a 0.85 goals-against average this year and has allowed more than one goal in a game on just three occasions.
Over its last three games, none of which ended in a loss, Bucknell has spread its goal scoring around to three different players who have each scored one goal apiece. Senior Eric Brunton (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) tallied his team-high third goal of the year during a 1-0 win over Lafayette two weeks ago. Sophomore Kevin Holmes (Pompton Plains, N.J./Pequannock) scored his first career goal to tie the score with less than 20 minutes to play in a 1-1 tie against Saint Francis (Pa.), while senior Scott Visnic (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) scored his first goal of the year, and the 22nd of his career, for the lone tally in last Saturday's 1-0 defeat of Lehigh that was the first Bison win over the Mountain Hawks since 1995.
American, which is 4-8-1 this year, has a balanced offensive attack with three players scoring four goals apiece. Juniors Garth Juckem, Sal Caccavale and Larry Mark have each found the back of the net four times to combine for 12 of the Eagles' 19 goals this season. The trio has also combined for eight assists with Juckem tallying a team-high four.
The American defense has yielded 22 goals, including at least two in a game on seven occasions. Sophomore goalkeeper Chris Sedlak has started 12 of 13 games and ranks eighth in the Patriot League with 38 saves. Sedlak, who has given up 19 goals, ranks seventh in the conference with a 1.52 goals-against average.
The Eagles, who had their game at Penn State scheduled for Wednesday canceled, are coming off a 3-1 home win over Colgate last Saturday. However, they have won just two of their last six contests as they attempt to win the Patriot League regular season title for the second consecutive year.
Since dropping the first three games in the series that began in 1996, Bucknell has defeated American the last two years, including 1-0 in Washington, D.C., last season. The Eagles won the first meeting 3-1 in two overtimes, but the two teams have split four matches since American joined the Patriot League in 2001. The Bison and Eagles have won the last two Patriot League regular season titles.
Saturday's contest marks the final regular season home game for Bucknell seniors Brunton, Edwards, Tim Faneck (Shavertown, Pa./Dallas) and Visnic. The quartet will be honored in a brief ceremony prior to the game.
Bucknell wraps up its non-league schedule with a game at Princeton Wednesday, Nov. 2. The final game of the season is next Saturday, Nov. 5, at Navy. That game could determine if Bucknell advances to the postseason for the third straight year, and if its hosts the Patriot League Tournament for the second time in three seasons.
