Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
#18 James Madison (JMU Invitational)
Bucknell Men's Soccer Upsets 18th-Ranked James Madison, 1-0
9/2/2005 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 2, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. - A goal in the waning moments of the first half by junior Andrew Loia helped lead the Bucknell men's soccer team to a thrilling 1-0 upset victory over 18th-ranked James Madison Friday night in the season opener for both teams on the first day of the James Madison Invitational at the JMU Soccer Complex.
The win over the Dukes, ranked 18th nationally in the College Soccer News preseason poll, is the first victory over a ranked opponent for Bucknell since its 1-0 win over second-ranked Maryland in 2003.
Loia netted the only goal of the match when he headed in a free kick off the foot of freshman Alex Russo at the 42:25 mark. It was the third goal of Loia's career.
Senior Adam Edwards made three saves in goal, all in the second half, for the Bison to record his 19th career shutout and his first since that win over Maryland in 2003. The 19 career shutouts ranks second on Bucknell's career list, just five behind Ted Peterson's standard of 24.
"I watched a good soccer team play tonight," commented seventh-year Bucknell head coach Brendan Nash. "We played a good game and our freshmen played well."
Despite picking up the victory, the Bison were outshot by an 11-9 margin by the Dukes in a tight game statistically with James Madison holding the slight edge in corner kicks (2-1) as well. Both teams recorded three saves with Matt Glaeser registering all three for the Dukes, who returned nine starters from a 15-3-1 team a year ago.
The season-opening win was the first for the Bison since 2002 and just the second during Nash's tenure as head coach.
Bucknell wraps up play at the James Madison Invitational Sunday, Sept. 4, with a match against Towson at 1 p.m. The Tigers (0-1-0) lost to Virginia Tech 2-1 in the first game Friday evening.
