Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Hosts Princeton and Salem International Sunday
9/30/2005 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 30, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Sunday Kinney Natatorium will serve as the host venue for its final two water polo games before the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship in early December when Bucknell squares off against league foes Princeton and Salem International. The Bison will take on Princeton at 12 p.m. and Salem International at 3 p.m.
The first game will feature a pair of ranked teams with Bucknell (5-12) jumping into the latest national rankings as the 20th-ranked team. Princeton (8-2) stands 12th. The Tigers, who defeated the Bison 6-5 in sudden death overtime in the semifinals of the ECAC Championship last weekend, will be the 11th ranked team Bucknell has faced this year.
The second contest of the day will take place between the Bison and Salem International (4-5). The two teams met at the Bucknell Invitational in early September and the host Bison came away with a 13-11 victory in overtime.
Prior to its two home games Sunday, Bucknell will travel to Princeton, N.J., to face George Washington Saturday at 10:45 a.m. That skirmish opens up the league portion of the Bison schedule. Bucknell is currently 1-1 in Southern Division play, but it will close out the regular season with its next eight games against league opponents.
Newcomer Mark Masterson (Kihei, Hawaii/Marin), a transfer from UC Irvine leads the Bison in scoring with 27 goals and 40 points this season. Five of his teammates have also scored at least 10 goals, with sophomore Jason Rechel (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) and senior captain Brad Roslyn (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter) tallying 19 goals apiece. Brad's brother, Kyle Roslyn (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter), ranks fourth on the squad with 15 goals, which is just two shy of his career high set as a freshman in 2004.
In addition to the potent offense, which is averaging more than seven goals per game, Bucknell's defense has been strong. Leading that defense have been seniors Trevor Mullins (Orinda, Calif./Palo Alto) and Aaron Platshon (Menlo Park, Calif./Menlo). Mullins, the starting goalie in all 17 games this season, has 121 saves. He currently ranks sixth on the Bison career saves list with 579 stops. With one more save he will tie Rupert deVink for fifth place.
Platshon, a center back, leads the team with 22 steals and stands fifth on the Bucknell all-time list. The physical Platshon, who has 26 ejections, also leads the team in assists with 15 and is one of four Bison to start all 17 games.
Following this weekend of three league contests, Bucknell will travel to Princeton, N.J., Oct. 11 to face the same Princeton team it will battle Sunday. That Tuesday night game is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
