Blue-Collar Bison
10/22/2007 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Oct. 22, 2007
Blue-Collar Bison
From the October 2007 edition of Inside Lacrosse, by Philip Caulfield
Link to Original Story
Relying on a lunch pail mentality, Bucknell is ready to surprise in '08
Never before have so many non-traditional teams impacted the NCAA Tournament. With UMBC shocking Maryland in the first round, Albany coming within an overtime goal of the final four and Delaware making its first championship weekend, 2007 could be looked upon as a landmark year in lacrosse's evolution.
So the question now is, who's next?
First in line might be Bucknell. The Bison captured attention last season by winning 11 games with a talented young roster that featured two of the NCAA's top freshmen and a defense that ranked second in the nation (6.33 GAA). Two straight losses to Colgate ended Bucknell's hopes of making the '07 postseason, but that's provided plenty of motivation for '08.
"My roommate [attackman Tim Brandau] has twin younger brothers and even they were crying after the games because they had invested so much into it," says sophomore attackman and '07 Patriot League Rookie of the Year Austin Winter.
Bucknell hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since '01, but of the seven players in double digits in scoring last year, all but one (Brian Gargan) return, led by sophomores Winter (20G, 29A) and Brandau (27, 10). Nick Sciubba was the NCAA's statistical goalie leader last year as a freshman, and he returns with two starters on D: first-team all-league performer Evan Burns and junior Billy Haire.
Then there's the Bison's recruiting class, which includes Under Armour All-America and U.S. U-19 team defenseman Alex Lyons and attackman James Danylyshyn, a Top 100 IL recruit.
"We feel like the sky's the limit. If these guys work hard, they can accomplish whatever goals they set for themselves, whether it's the Patriot League Tournament or the NCAA Tournament," says assistant Pat Myers. "They all know we're young, they all know it's out there for them. It's great to see [teams like UMBC and Delaware] go to the tournament because you can make believers out of your own guys."
Winter, the only freshman named to the All-Patriot League First Team, leads the offense with Brandau, a talented middie-attackman, and junior Joe Mele, a former Patriot League Rookie of the Year that missed six games last season with a torn ACL but still made second team all-league. Mele will miss fallball but should participate in workouts come October. Head coach Frank Fedorjaka expects big things from Danylyshyn, a versatile lefty that can open things up for Winter's rangy 6-foot-5 frame.
Lyons was IL's No. 9 defensive recruit this year, but he'll get competition to start right away from classmate John Collett, a Delbarton grad who was recruited to play linebacker in college.
More help comes on face-offs, Bucknell's Achilles Heel last year. After expected starter Andrew Alexanderson was sidelined with a broken back, coaches converted second-line midfielder Rick Carolan to a full-time face-off middie despite his lack of experience.
The junior won 47% of his draws, cutting his teeth in a league that featured two of the country's top face-off teams last year. In a crucial regular season game against Navy, William Wallace shredded the Bison on 12 straight face-offs. In the PL Tournament against Colgate, the Raiders won 20-of-25 draws.
Incoming freshman Christian Tucker will be expected to shoulder the load this season.
"Tucker will probably be our biggest impact player," Fedorjaka says. "He's a face-off-get-off guy, and he knows it. He lives for the face-off."
So could Bucknell be 2008's version of Delaware?
"It would be disrespectful to other teams in our league to talk about the final four right now," Myers says. "We're just trying to keep that blue-collar mentality; we tell our guys 'Let's just roll up our sleeves and get the job done.' "
