Bucknell University
#12 St. Francis (N.Y.)
Regular Season Concludes with 10-4 Loss to No. 12 St. Francis (N.Y.) for No. 20 Bucknell Men's Water Polo
11/2/2008 7:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 2, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Despite a strong defensive showing early, the No. 20 Bucknell men's water polo team was unable to snap a lengthy losing streak to St. Francis (N.Y.) on Sunday as the 12th-ranked Terriers defeated the Bison 10-4 at Kinney Natatorium. Junior goalie Nick Donahue (Brooklyn, N.Y./Lawrenceville) paced the Bucknell defense with a career-high 16 saves as the Bison limited St. Francis to just three goals in the first 13 minutes of play.
Bucknell, which completed its regular season with a 14-13 record, overcame a 3-0 first-half deficit and trailed by a 6-4 margin late in the third quarter. However, the Terriers tallied the last four goals of the game, all of them in man-up situations.
The physical game featured a combined 20 six-on-five opportunities. The Bison converted just 1 of 9, while St. Francis was 6 of 11. Nemanja Pucarevic drew a team-high five ejections for the Terriers and also led them with a game-high five goals as they improved to 15-5 this season.
Donahue was the standout for the Bison, who played much of the game without starters Richie Hyden and Sean Coghlan. Donahue eclipsed his previous high of 14 saves to up his season total to 167. He now has 83 saves in his last nine starts and he eclipsed the 200-save plateau for his career with his third save Sunday.
Johnny Stupp (St. Louis, Mo./Mary Institute) led Bucknell's offense with two goals 90 seconds apart in the second quarter. He helped narrow the Bison deficit from 3-0 to 3-2. His second score came on a five-meter penalty shot. Single goals by Howie Kalter (Durham, N.H./Phillips Academy Andover) and Alex Lampley (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin) rounded out the Bucknell scoring.
A pair of freshmen accounted for all three of the Bison assists as Spencer Richley (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor) dished out a career-high two and two-time CWPA Southern Division Rookie of the Week Beau Caillouette (Newport Beach, Calif./Sage Hill School) added one.
Bucknell has now lost 18 consecutive games to St. Francis. Its last victory over the Terriers came in 1998.
The Bison will begin the championship portion of their schedule next weekend at the Southern Championships, which will be held at Princeton this year. Bucknell is the third seed in the 10-team field and will take on Gannon in its first-round contest Saturday at 9 a.m. The top four teams at Southerns earn automatic berths to the Eastern Championship two weeks later.
ST. FRANCIS 1 4 2 3 -10
BUCKNELL 0 2 2 0 -4
Goals: Stupp (2), Kalter, Lampley.
Assists: Richley (2), Caillouette.
Ejections Drawn: Heiber (3), Lampley (3), Hyden, Kalter, Ang, Stupp.
Saves: Donahue (16 svs., 10 ga., 32:00 min.).
Steals: Ang (2), Nelson, Heiber, Stupp.
Sprints: Stupp (1-2), Ang (0-2).
Record: 14-13
