Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Soccer Hosts Buffalo and Niagara this Weekend
9/20/2007 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 20, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - After concluding a season-opening stretch where it played five of its first six games away from home, the Bucknell men's soccer team returns to Varsity Soccer Field this weekend where it will play a pair of games and begin a segment of its schedule where it plays four of five matches at home. The Bison host a pair of teams from New York this weekend as Buffalo visits Lewisburg Friday at 5 p.m. Niagara will be the opponent on Sunday at 12 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader with the Bison women's team, which plays Cornell at 3 p.m. that afternoon.
Live video of Friday's match with Buffalo will be available through SportsJuice.com for a fee. Coverage will begin at 4:50 p.m.
Bucknell Men's Soccer Notebook
Bucknell Recently (1-3-2 Overall, 0-0-0 Patriot League)
- Sept. 15: 2007\ Bucknell\ Men\'s\ Soccer\ Statistics
Bucknell Notes
- Bucknell owns a 2-2-0 all-time record against Buffalo. The teams last met in 2002 with the Bison coming away with a 2-0 win at the Buffalo Fall Classic. Eric Brunton and Chris Beekman netted goals for Bucknell.
- Bucknell is 3-1-0 in its series against Niagara that dates to 1998. The Bison have won the last three meetings by a combined 9-1 score, with the last contest between the two teams coming in 2003.
- Bucknell has had great success playing on its home field since 2000, the second year of head coach Brendan Nash's tenure at the helm of the Bison. The squad has posted a 35-12-9 regular-season record in Lewisburg since the beginning of 2000. The Bison compiled a 5-1-2 mark last year. Among the 35 wins and nine ties have been 29 shutouts for the Bucknell defense.
- Thanks to goals by three different players, Bucknell defeated Rider 3-0 Tuesday afternoon for its first win of 2007. Corey Curnutte, Alex Russo and Justin Wolf each netted goals, while Russo also picked up an assist to become the first Bison player with an assist and a goal in the same game this year.
- Wolf had his first goal of the season Tuesday at Rider to tie him with Curnutte for the team lead in points with four. Wolf has one goal and two assists this year. In his four-year career, the co-captain has three goals and 10 assists. He is just three assists shy of tying Steve Goldenring for 10th place in Bucknell history.
- With its 3-0 win at Rider on Tuesday, Bucknell tallied three goals in a match for the first time since a 3-1 win over the same Rider team last Sept. 9 at Varsity Soccer Field. The Bison last scored more than three goals in October 2003 in a 6-3 win against Philadelphia.
- After scoring just one goal in the first 61 games of his career, Curnutte has tallied goals in back-to-back contests. He is the first Bison player to register goals in back-to-back games since Russo accomplished the feat last September in consecutive shutout victories over St. Peter's and Army.
- Senior goalkeeper Joey Kuterbach made a pair of saves Tuesday against Rider to record his second shutout of the season, and the 12th of his career. He ranks fifth on Bucknell's career list in that category, just three behind Kevin Meyer, who played from 1980-83. Kuterbach also has 20 saves this year to bring his career tally to 181. He ranks third in the Patriot League in saves this season, just three behind American's Chris Sedlak for first place.
About Buffalo
- Buffalo enters Friday's match on a five-game winning streak and is 5-2-0 overall. The Bulls first win of the season was a 2-0 victory over Niagara, Bucknell's Sunday opponent.
- Buffalo has had eight different players tally its eight goals this season. In fact, with three assists, sophomore midfielder Alex Marello is the only Bull to have more than one goal or assist on the season. He also has one goal and has posted a team-high five points.
- In goal, junior Robert Shuttleworth has a goals-against average of 0.48 and has three shutouts to his credit.
About Niagara
- Niagara enters its weekend with an 0-3-1 record and has a game at Duquesne on Friday night. The Purple Eagles' lone win was a 1-0 shutout of St. Francis (N.Y.) last Friday.
- Niagara has been outscored 6-2 this year with junior Matthew Durand and freshman Desmond Betteto netting one goal apiece.
- Sophomore goalkeeper John Fiutowski has started all four games and has made 40 saves and has a goals-against average of 1.50.
Up Next
- Bucknell will return to the road and open Patriot League play next Saturday, Sept. 29, with a 7 p.m. contest at Navy. The Bison will then return home for a pair of contests against La Salle and Holy Cross the following week.
Weekend Schedule
Friday, Sept. 21
Bucknell vs. Buffalo, 5 p.m. (Live Video: SportsJuice.com)
Sunday, Sept. 23
Bucknell vs. Niagara, 12 p.m.
Bucknell Women's Soccer vs. Cornell, 3 p.m.
