Bucknell University Athletics
Men's Soccer's Chris Hennings Named Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week
9/1/2008 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 1, 2008
LEWISBURG, Pa. - On the heels of his record-setting four-goal outburst on Sunday, Bucknell junior forward Chris Hennings (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) has been named the Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week, the first of the 2008-09 academic year. Hennings scored Bucknell's final four goals in the team's 5-4 victory at Canisius, tying the school and league records for goals in a match.
Hennings did not start Sunday's game in Buffalo, N.Y., but when he came on at the 20-minute mark he quickly made his presence felt. He scored his first goal in the 38th minute, giving the Bison a 2-0 lead. He scored twice in succession in the second half, the latter providing Bucknell a seemingly commanding 4-1 lead with just under 14 minutes to play.
Canisius came alive, however, stunning the Bison with three goals in five minutes to tie the game. But only 3:23 after the Golden Griffins evened the match, Hennings blasted a shot from the top of the box. His fourth goal of the afternoon came with only 4:28 remaining on the clock, and it gave Bucknell the wild 5-4 victory.
Hennings became only the fifth player in the 79-year history of Bucknell men's soccer to net four goals in a game, and he was the first since Glenn Mars accomplished the feat in a 1969 game against Gettysburg. Art Raynor (1948 vs. Delaware), Lyman Ott (1961 vs. Muhlenburg) and Bill Dahl (1962 vs. Lafayette) are the only other Bison to ever record four goals in a match.
He is also just the third player in Patriot League history to score four goals in a game, joining Jon Cook of Colgate (2003) and Andrew Mittendorf of Lehigh (1998).
Bucknell as a team had not scored four goals in a match since a 6-3 win over Philadelphia on Oct. 14, 2003, but Hennings, who had just one career goal coming in, tallied four by himself against Canisius.
Now 1-1 on the season, the Bison have a tough weekend ahead at the Penn State Classic, where they will play Ohio State on Friday night and Penn State on Sunday. The later game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network beginning at 3:30 p.m.
