Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh
Bucknell Men's Soccer Posts 3-1 Win Over Lehigh on National Television
11/2/2007 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 2, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - In front of nearly 1,200 fans at Varsity Soccer Field and a national television audience on Fox Soccer Channel, the Bucknell men's soccer team posted a 3-1 victory over Lehigh Friday night at chilly Varsity Soccer Field. Conor O'Brien (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./St. Anthony's) tallied one goal and one assist to continue his recent strong offensive play and Justin Wolf (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) registered a pair of assists to give him a career-high five this season.
O'Brien, who has netted four goals in his last five games, put Bucknell (8-5-4, 3-2-1 Patriot League) up 1-0 just 1:45 into the contest when he put a line drive into the left side of the goal. Wolf, who is now tied for 10th on the Bison career assist list with 13, had passed the ball to O'Brien from the right corner.
The Bison, who have outscored opponents 14-5 in the second half this season, kept that lead until the opening minutes of the second half when Alex Russo (Middletown, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) scored his second goal of the season off a pass from Wolf. Wolf was again in the right corner and he found a cutting Russo who scored on a diving header from the senior co-captain.
O'Brien, who now has team highs in goals (6) and points (16), was again involved on Bucknell's final goal as he picked up his fourth assist of the season. Taking a free kick, O'Brien found freshman Ross Liberati (Warwick, Md./Tower Hill) in a crowd in front of the goal. Liberati headed the ball past Lehigh goalkeeper Jonathan Nydell, who was making just his third start of the season. It was the third goal of the season for Liberati. All three scores have come at home on headers.
It appeared as though Joey Kuterbach (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood) would earn his second consecutive shutout in goal for Bucknell, but Lehigh (6-7-2, 2-4-0 PL) produced its first goal of the game with just 2:44 showing on the clock when Patrick Cucci knocked in his third score of the season.
Kuterbach ended the contest with five saves and had to work for his near-shutout. He made a pair of diving saves on back-to-back shots by Kyle Evans and Matthew McNeil with 15 minutes remaining in the first half that brought the orange-clad crowd to its feet. Evans' shot brought a diving Kuterbach outside the goal box on the right side and the senior hurried back to the other side of the goal to make another diving save of McNeil's shot just seconds later.
Despite winning by a hefty 3-1 margin, Bucknell was outshot in the contest 15-6. The Mountain Hawks also produced three corner kicks, compared to two for the Bison.
With its fourth home win of the season, and third league victory, Bucknell moved into a tie for third place in the Patriot League standings with American, which also has 10 points. The Eagles host first-place Colgate on Sunday, while Lafayette, the team the Bison jumped over, hosts last-place Navy on Saturday.
Bucknell's three-goal output was its most in a home match since defeating Rider 3-1 at Varsity Soccer Field last Sept. 9.
With the loss, Lehigh, the defending Patriot League regular-season champions, were eliminated from contention for the Patriot League Tournament.
The Bison are now idle until next Saturday, Nov. 10, when they host American at 4 p.m. Senior Day festivities will highlight the pregame activities.
