Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Soccer to Play No. 14 Lehigh in PL Tournament Friday
11/2/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 2, 2006
- Bucknell vs. Lehigh Game Notes
- Patriot League Men's Soccer Championship Page
LEWISBURG, Pa. - After a one-year hiatus, the Bucknell men's soccer team makes its return to the Patriot League Tournament Friday when it faces host and top-seeded Lehigh at 7:30 p.m. at the Ulrich Sports Complex in Bethlehem, Pa. The Bison will be making their third postseason appearance in the last four years and sixth overall since joining the Patriot League in 1990.
In each of its last three trips to the Patriot League Tournament Bucknell has faced Lehigh in the semifinal round and lost each time. In 2000, the Mountain Hawks shut out the Bison 1-0, while 2003 featured a 2-0 upset for the fourth-seeded Lehigh squad in Lewisburg. In 2004, the Bison fell to the Mountain Hawks in a shootout, 6-5, after playing to a 0-0 tie.
With a victory Friday, Bucknell will advance to the championship game of the Patriot League Tournament for the second time in program history. The Bison won a shootout over Colgate in 1993 before falling to eventual champion Army in the championship.
Bucknell qualified for the Patriot League Tournament on the final day of the regular season with a 2-0 shutout of Navy coupled with a 3-2 Army win over American. The Bison completed the regular season with an 8-7-4 overall record, including 3-3-1 in Patriot League play.
Despite yielding 11 goals in a difficult four-game road stretch late in the season that featured a pair of ranked foes, Bucknell has had a solid defense this year. In the other 15 games this season the Bison have given up just 10 goals and totaled six shutouts. Junior goalkeeper Joey Kuterbach (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood) has recorded all six of those shutouts to bring his career total to eight, which ranks eighth in program history. The Patriot League leader in saves with 92 this year, Kuterbach has played every second in goal this season for the Bison.
Bucknell's offense has been led by freshman forward Nathan LaGrave (Okinawa, Japan/Kadena) and sophomore midfielder Alex Russo (Middletown, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy). LaGrave leads the team with six goals and 16 points, while Russo has tallied five goals and 13 points despite missing the last four contests.
The Bison starting lineup Friday will feature a pair of All-Patriot League selections in senior Andrew Loia (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) and junior Corey Curnutte (Waterford, Mich./Detroit Country Day), who both earned second-team honors for the first time in their careers.
Lehigh enters the postseason having breezed through the league schedule with a 7-0-0 mark and is 15-1-1 overall. The Mountain Hawks have won 11 consecutive matches and top the NCAA in goals-against average (0.29) and shutout percentage (0.76). Lehigh, which is ranked 14th in the nation according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, defeated Bucknell 2-0 in their meeting nearly three weeks ago. A total of five Mountain Hawks players earned All-Patriot League recognition.
Live audio and video of Friday's contest will be broadcast online at lehighsports.com for a small fee, with streaming provided by Yahoo! Sports.
Sunday's championship game, which will also be held at Lehigh, is slated for 1 p.m. The winner of that contest earns the Patriot League's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Bucknell has made three NCAA Tournament appearances in its history (1974, 1975, 1976).
