Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Soccer Begins Patriot League Play Saturday Against Holy Cross
9/23/2005 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 23, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell men's soccer team opens its Patriot League schedule Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. when it hosts Holy Cross at Varsity Soccer Field. The Bison will be attempting to end the Crusaders' five-match winning streak.
Since jumping out to a 3-1-0 start to the season, Bucknell has posted a 0-1-2 mark over its last three games. Over that three-game span the Bison have allowed just three goals, but have netted only two of their own.
As it was earlier in the season, the defense is the strength of the team as Patriot League play commences. Senior goalkeeper Adam Edwards (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown) leads the Patriot League with four shutouts and 34 saves, while his 0.85 goals against average ranks fourth in the league. He is just two shutouts shy of tying the Bucknell record, while he is four away from the Patriot League mark. His next shutout will vault him into second place on the conference's career list. Edwards also has 241 career saves to stand sixth in league history.
Veterans Tim Faneck (Shavertown, Pa./Dallas) and Andrew Loia (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) have keyed the strong defense in front of Edwards.
The Bison, who have been shut out just twice, have spread the offense around with four different players scoring at least one goal. Loia, who is tied for the Patriot League lead with two game-winning goals, leads the squad with two goals. Eric Brunton (Carmel, Ind./Carmel), Faneck and Andy Kummer (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Mendon) have scored one goal apiece. Faneck scored Bucknell's most recent goal, finding the back of the net with nine seconds remaining in regulation and forcing overtime against NJIT Wednesday night. The two teams eventually tied 1-1 after a scoreless 20 minutes of play in overtime.
Bucknell, which is just 1-4-0 all-time in Patriot League openers against Holy Cross, will be trying to win its first league game for the third consecutive year. Each of the last two seasons the Bison edged Army in their opener. Overall, Bucknell is 6-8-1 all-time in Patriot League openers.
The Crusaders enter Saturday's game on a five-match winning streak and have outscored their opponents 15-2 during that stretch. Junior forward Josh Trott and freshman forward Felipe Castrillon have been the best one-two punch in the Patriot League so far this season. Trott leads the league with five goals, while Castrillon is tied for second with four goals. With 14 goals this year, Holy Cross leads the Patriot League.
Holy Cross' defense has also been strong, with senior goalkeeper Richard Whipple largely to thank. He has posted three shutouts and owns a 0.86 goals against average while starting all seven of the Crusaders' contests.
Bucknell will continue its two-game homestand Wednesday night when it returns to non-league play against Binghamton at home at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on WVBU 90.5 by Doug Birdsong, the play-by-play voice of the Bison Sports Network.
