Live Webcast on Tap for Friday's Bucknell-Army Men's Lax Showdown
4/3/2008 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 3, 2008
Complete Media Notes in PDF Format 
One of the biggest games on the Patriot League schedule takes place Friday night at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, when 14th-ranked Army visits 13th-ranked Bucknell. Both teams are 7-2 on the season and have NCAA Tournament aspirations, and this game has major implications on Patriot League Tournament seeding. A loss would eliminate the Bison from contention for the No. 1 seed and the right to host the PL tourney in three weeks, but a victory would keep them in the hunt for at least a share of the regular-season title. This has been an incredibly close matchup in recent years, with each of the last six meetings decided by one goal. The Black Knights come in on a five-game winning streak, including Saturday's 13-9 home win over Colgate. Army also boasts a dramatic 8-7 win at Hofstra on Jason Peyer's last-second goal, as well as one-goal wins over Rutgers and Lehigh. The Black Knights' only two losses are one-goal setbacks to Syracuse (8-7) and Cornell (9-8), who are currently ranked first and seventh in the nation, respectively.
With a Win over Army, Bucknell Would ...
• ... improve to 8-2 overall and 3-1 in the Patriot League.
• ... move into second place in the Patriot League standings and remain alive for a share of the Patriot League regular-season title.
• ... defeat the Black Knights for the second straight year and sixth time in 29 meetings.
• ... improve to 6-0 at home this season and extend its home winning streak to a school-record-tying nine games.
• ... reach the eight-win mark in consecutive seasons for the second time in school history (2000 & 2001).
Live Webcast Available
A video Webcast of Friday night's game will be aired live on BucknellBison.com via SportsJuice.com. "Voice of the Bison" Doug Birdsong will call the play-by-play. Visit the Live Audio & Video button on the front page of BucknellBison.com to get connected. A small subscription fee is required.
Bison Trying to Tie Record for Longest Home Win Streak
Bucknell won its final three home games last season and has captured all five at home in 2008. The school record for longest home winning streak is nine games, which spanned the 1995, 1996 and 1997 seasons. The Bison can tie that mark with a win over Army on Friday.
Longest Bucknell Home Winning Streaks: Games Dates Streak Ended By 9 4/26/95 through 3/29/97 Hobart 8 3/31/07 through present ? 8 3/16/02 through 4/5/03 Penn State 7 4/5/00 through 3/31/01 Georgetown 7 4/26/69 through 4/25/70 Delaware
Nail-Biters
Of Bucknell's last eight games, four have been decided by one goal (two in overtime) and two have been decided by two goals. The Bison dropped a tough 4-3 overtime game at No. 8 Navy on March 19, but they won all the rest of those close games. Bucknell defeated Ohio State 8-7 in triple overtime and also has one-goal decisions over Hobart (10-9) and Fairfield (9-8). The Bison are now 10-4 in one-goal games in head coach Frank Fedorjaka's three seasons.
Bison Now No. 13 in Coaches Poll
After defeating Towson and Holy Cross on the road last week, the Bison moved up two spots to No. 13 in the USILA Coaches Poll. Bucknell has been ranked in the national poll every week this season, with a high-water mark of No. 12. Also this week, the Bison are ranked No. 15 in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and No. 13 by LAXnews.com.
Last Time Out
Nick Sciubba made a season-high 15 saves while allowing only two shots to get past him, leading Bucknell to a 7-2 Patriot League victory at Holy Cross last Saturday. Bucknell, now 19-0 all-time against the Crusaders, allowed only one even-strength goal all day, that coming with 29 seconds left in the first half. Bucknell was balanced offensively, receiving goals from seven different players. Sophomore Chris Palmer registered his first two career points with a goal and an assist, while Austin Winter and Mike Danylyshyn also had one of each. Joe Mele, Tim Brandau, Doug Buckley and Ryan Klipstein also scored goals for the Bison.
Bison End Long Drought vs. Towson
Bucknell and Towson were once rivals in the now-defunct East Coast Conference, and the two teams met every year from 1981-95. The Tigers won 14 of those 15 meetings, including the last 10 before the series went on hiatus until last week. Bucknell's 12-10 victory at Johnny Unitas Stadium was its first victory over Towson since 1985, and it was its first win ever on the Tigers' home field.
Quick Starts
Bucknell has outscored its six opponents 24-7 in the first quarter of games this season and has been outscored in every other quarter. In three of their victories, the Bison have jumped out to big leads, only to have to hold on for dear life down the stretch. Against Fairfield, Bucknell built an 8-3 lead in the third quarter, only to see the Stags score three goals in 49 seconds to get back in it. Bucknell never relinquished the lead but prevailed by a slim 9-8 margin. Against Lafayette, the Bison were up 6-0 in the third quarter and completely dominating play, when all of the sudden the Leopards struck four times in a little over five minutes. Lafayette never got closer than two despite throwing a second-half scare into the Bison. At Towson last week, Bucknell had a 10-6 lead trimmed to 10-9, but again the Bison never lost the lead and went on to prevail 12-10.
Ride Like the Wind
Prior to the season, Inside Lacrosse picked Bucknell as the No. 1 riding team in the nation, and through nine games the Bison have lived up to the billing. Opponents have been successful clearing the ball only 72.1% of the time against Bucknell's 10-man ride. Conversely, Bucknell is clearing at an 84.7% clip, including a 20-for-21 showing against Lafayette. Bucknell leads the Patriot League and ranks in the top 10 nationally in both categories. The only other teams in the country in the top 10 in both clearing and riding are ACC powers Duke and Virginia.
NCAA Clearing Leaders NCAA Riding Leaders 1. Duke .874 1. Hobart .651 2. Siena .870 2. Duke .680 3. Cornell .852 3. Quinnipiac .691 4. Bucknell .847 4. Brown .714 5. Albany .844 5. Virginia .720 6. Loyola .838 6. Bellarmine .721 7. Virginia .836 7. Bucknell .721 8. Johns Hopkins .833 8. VMI .723 9. Maryland .830 9. Robert Morris .733 10. St. John's .830 10. Canisius .743
Playing by the Rules
Bucknell is the least-penalized team in the Patriot League. The Bison are averaging only 2.0 penalty minutes per game, tied with Navy for the low mark in the league. The Bison have been flagged only 20 times in nine games, leading to 18 extra-man opportunities for their opponents.
In the Crease
Junior goalie Nick Sciubba led the nation in both save percentage (.641) and goals-against average (6.24) in 2007, and after struggling early in the year he bounced back very well last week and was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the first time this season. In Bucknell's March 19 game at Navy, Sciubba was replaced by junior Matt Antonelli early in the second quarter with the Bison trailing 2-1. Antonelli, a native of nearby Arnold, Md., had the best game of his career with 11 saves and only two goals against. Sciubba went back in the crease for the Towson game and made 12 saves in a winning effort, then he had 15 stops and only two goals against in the team's most recent outing at Holy Cross.
At the X
Bucknell's Achilles heel in recent years has come in the faceoff department, and the Bison have strugged there at times again in 2008. As a team, the Bison are winning 44.6% of their draws. Their best effort of the year at the X came in the Towson game last week, when Christian Tucker and Rick Carolan combined to win 19 of 26. On the season Tucker is at 45.2% and Carolan 44.9%, and both will be tested on Friday by Army senior Roy Ragusa, who is winning 52.7% of his draws.
Patriot League Success
Bucknell is now 38-14 (.731) in the Patriot League since the start of the 2000 season. Bucknell has won or shared PL titles in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. The Bison won outright championships in 1996 and 2001. In 1996, despite a 12-0 overall record, they were passed over for an NCAA Tournament bid, but in 2001 Bucknell received its very first NCAA invitation.
Bison Still Young at Attack
Bucknell's attack unit was affectionately dubbed the "Baby Bison" last season, with two freshmen starting every game up front. Well, in 2008 the Bison are starting sophomore-sophomore-junior (Austin Winter-Tim Brandau-Joe Mele) at attack, with freshman Ryan Klipstein playing with the EMO team and as the fourth attackman. The three starters have combined for 45 goals and 26 assists thus far, while Klipstein has been a pleasant surprise with seven goals and five assists, with four of the goals coming in the 10-9 win over Hobart.
Winter Wonderland
Austin Winter enjoyed a nine-point game in Bucknell's 12-10 win over Towson last week and was rewarded with Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week honors on Monday. Winter had three goals and six assists, giving him a hand in 75% of Bucknell's goals. Winter's previous scoring high was seven points when he had four goals and three assists against Holy Cross in 2007. The last Bison to score as many as nine points in a game was Chris Cara in 2005 against Marist. Cara also had three goals and six helpers in that one. The nine points and six assists were both tied for the second-highest single-game totals in Division I lacrosse this season at the time.
Winter, Sciubba on Tewaaraton Watch List
Austin Winter and Nick Sciubba have both been named to the watch list for the Tewaaraton Trophy, presented to the college lacrosse player of the year. Winter and Sciubba are two of 51 players on the list. The winner will be announced on May 29 in Washington, D.C.
Bison Foster Soldiers In Iraq
While Bucknell and Army have become big rivals on the lacrosse field, the members of the Bison program have tremendous respect for the men and women who protect our nation. In conjunction with America Supporting Americans, the Bucknell team has sent care packages, T-shirts and letters to soldiers in the 82nd Airborne Division B-troop, 3-73 Cavalry, who are stationed in Iraq. With junior goalie Matt Antonelli spearheading the effort, the Bison have sent specially designed Bucknell T-shirts to the unit, along with personal letters written to each soldier. "As a team, we're really excited about doing this," Antonelli said. "The guys serving over there are the same age as us, and we're here getting to play a sport at a dream school while they're over there fighting. It makes us feel good that we can help them out." In October and December the team sent two packages containing food, drink mixes, magazines, sports equipment, and games to the 82nd Airborne, who are also known as "The Bounty Hunters." Sid Jamieson began Bucknell's efforts to help soldiers in Iraq through his partnership with America Supporting Americans, an organization that encourages corporations, teams, and whole communities to "adopt" troops in Iraq as a way to raise their morale. Bucknell was the first athletic team to foster a unit, and since then Jamieson has influenced more than 50 teams across the nation to get involved. Bucknell has previously fostered the 101st Airborne and the 73rd Cavalry Regiment. Many of the Bison players currently have the Airborne logo adorned on the back of their helmets.
Bison Tracks
Defensemen Tom Izard and Billy Haire were named Patriot League Defensive Players of the Week in back-to-back weeks last month ... Haire leads the team in ground balls with 34, including a season-high seven at Navy ... despite a limited role as a fourth attackman and EMO specialist, freshman Ryan Klipstein has a point in all but two games ... Austin Winter has the team's longest current scoring streak at 24 games, which is also tied for the 11th-longest in the nation ... Bucknell's top single-game point totals of the season: Winter (3-6-9) at Towson, Joe Mele (5-2-7) vs. Mount St. Mary's; Tim Brandau (5-1-6) vs. Mount St. Mary's; Winter (2-4-6) vs. Ohio State; Klipstein (4-1-5) vs. Hobart ... senior d-middie Patrick Keeney suffered a broken wrist in the Holy Cross game and is likely lost for the year.
Next Up
The Bison have another big Patriot League game next Friday night at Lehigh. Game time is 7:30 p.m. in Bethlehem, Pa. Bucknell was an 11-5 winner against Lehigh last season, but the Mountain Hawks upset the Bison 7-5 in 2006 in the last meeting in Bethlehem.