Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
American
Bucknell Men's Soccer Clinches Postseason Berth with 3-0 Shutout of American
11/10/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 10, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell men's soccer team clinched its fourth Patriot League Tournament berth in the last five years as it exploded for three goals against American and defeated the Eagles 3-0 Saturday afternoon at Varsity Soccer Field. The Bison, who improved to 9-5-4 overall and 4-2-1 in Patriot League play, needed to win to earn a postseason invitation.
Bucknell will be the third seed in next weekend's Patriot League Tournament, which will be held at either Colgate or Holy Cross, pending the outcome of Saturday night's contests. One of those two teams will be the semifinal opponent for the Bison, who won the Patriot League Tournament title last year as the fourth seed.
Bucknell, which has now scored three goals in back-to-back games for the first time since 2004, continued its strong year on offense against American as three different players netted goals, including senior Justin Wolf (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett), who was one of eight seniors honored in pregame Senior Day festivities.
Wolf got the scoring started, netting his fifth goal of the season exactly 14 minutes into play. He took a pass from Chris Hennings (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) and rolled a shot from the right side of the box towards the left post and out of the reach of goalie Chris Sedlak, who totaled two saves in the contest.
Conor O'Brien (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./St. Anthony's) put the Bison up 2-0 in the 62nd minute when a shot he fired toward goal, bounced off defender Jamie Davin's leg and past Sedlak, who was unable to change directions quick enough. It was the team-high seventh goal of the season for O'Brien, who leads the Bison with 18 points.
Freshman Ross Liberati (Warwick, Md./Tower Hill) capped the scoring in the 77th minute when he headed in his fourth goal of the season off a free kick from Mark Schmiegel. Liberati has scored all four of his goals at Varsity Soccer Field against Patriot League foes.
In addition to the strong offensive showing, Bucknell also registered its eighth shutout of the season as senior goalkeeper Joey Kuterbach (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood) registered four saves. He now has 18 shutouts in his stellar career and is now tied with Kevin Meyer for seventh place on the Bison career saves list with 232.
American did hold a 10-9 advantage in shots in the contest, but Bucknell held a hearty 7-2 lead in corner kicks, including 5-0 in the first half.
The Eagles, who finished their season 6-9-3 and 3-2-2 in Patriot League play, needed a win or a tie in the contest to qualify for the Patriot League Tournament.
By picking up its ninth win of the season, Bucknell has now won at least nine games in back-to-back years for the first time since 2002 and 2003. The Bison also finished the campaign with four conference wins for the first time since 2004.
The Patriot League semifinals will take place Friday, Nov. 16, at either Holy Cross or Colgate. The championship match is slated for Sunday, Nov. 18, at the home field of the top seed.
