Bucknell University
#11 St. Francis (N.Y.)
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Falls 14-6 to No. 11 St. Francis (N.Y.) in First Round of Eastern Championship
11/16/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 16, 2007
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Bucknell men's water polo team gave No. 11 St. Francis (N.Y.) everything it could handle for more than three quarters, but the Terriers tallied the final seven goals of the game as they defeated the Bison 14-6 in the first round of the Eastern Championship Friday afternoon at Blodgett Pool. Bucknell will play the loser of Friday's Johns Hopkins-Harvard matchup in the consolation bracket on Saturday at 5 p.m.
The Bison, who have lost 15 straight times to St. Francis, including once at Kinney Natatorium earlier this year, were in position to pull off the upset over the second-seeded Terriers. Bucknell scored the first two goals of the game and trailed just 5-4 at halftime. St. Francis extended its lead to 7-5 at the end of three quarters, but the Bison scored first in the final period before the Terriers ran off seven consecutive goals to end the game.
Kyle Roslyn (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter) led Bucknell with two goals and three assists for a season-high five points. Jason Rechel (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) and Richie Hyden (Riverside, Conn./Greenwich) added one goal and one assist apiece, while Mark Masterson (Kihei, Hawaii/Marin) and Peter O'Keefe (Philadelphia, Pa./William Penn Charter) each contributed one goal.
Freshman Miles Gilhuly (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte) equaled his career high with 12 saves in goal for the Bison.
Rechel's points pushed him past Masterson's 2006 team-leading total of 93 points and he now has 94 this year. That is the most by a Bison player since 2000.
With the first-round loss, seventh-seeded Bucknell (18-13) can now only finish as high as fifth in the eight-team field. The Bison had finished fourth each of the last two years, and have not finished lower than fifth since a seventh-place showing in 2003.
Bucknell will play either third-seeded Johns Hopkins or sixth-seeded Harvard Saturday at 5 p.m. The Bison are 2-0 against the division rival Blue Jays this year and are 1-0 against the Crimson.
BUCKNELL 2 2 1 1 -6
ST. FRANCIS (N.Y.) 2 3 2 7 -14
Goals: Roslyn (2), Hyden, Masterson, Rechel, O'Keefe.
Assists: Roslyn (3), Hyden, Rechel.
Ejections Drawn: Roslyn (3), Heiber (2), Hyden, Lampley.
Saves: Gilhuly (12 svs., 14 ga., 32:00 min.).
Steals: Masterson, Anderson.
Sprints: Rechel (1-3), Hyden (1-2).
Record: 18-13
