BUCKY'S BLOG
9/2/2008 8:00:00 AM | General
Hello Bison Fans!
Bucky Bison here, your favorite lovable furry mascot and No. 1 Bucknell sports fan. I've been attending Bison sporting events since I was a wee calf, and I've always wanted to write about the neat things that I am fortunate to see and hear throughout the year. So now that the new BucknellBison.com Web site has launched, I have decided to start my very own blog.
There will not be a set format or defined subject matter for the blog, except that I will make every attempt to update it as often as possible, especially now that the athletics calendar is in full steam. Sometimes I may reflect back on a big victory, or look ahead to an upcoming event of interest. The blog will also be a chance to pass along bulletins and tidbits that may not warrant a full-blown press release by the athletic communications staff, but may be of interest nonetheless.
I also want my fellow fans to have input on the blog. If you have a question or comment, please use the "Feedback" link at the bottom of the page. The best submissions will be published.
GO BISON!!
December 13, 2008
As you may have noticed, the lead stories on the front page of BucknellBison.com have stayed the same for the longest time since before the site was redesigned this past summer (keep an eye out for a release recognizing the 1935 Orange Bowl team and some information on the upcoming Dirk Sojka Slam Dunk with Bison Basketball in the upcoming week). That can only mean the final exam period has arrived at Bucknell. During this time, there is a 10-day break where no Bison teams are in action so the student-athletes can concentrate on their various projects, papers and tests.
While the slower pace of the final exam time is welcomed throughout the Bucknell Athletics world, it does not mean the coaches and staff are kicking back and relaxing during this unofficial midpoint of the academic year. In fact, on a day when most people are browsing the quaint shops of Downtown Lewisburg or hitting a local mall as they try to find the perfect gift, I saw a member of the men's lacrosse staff showing a recruit around the KLARC and a softball assistant winding her way through the halls to her office.
Additionally, coaches are hitting the recruiting trail hard. Football head coach Tim Landis and his staff were planning their recruiting itineraries at last Saturday's year-ending awards banquet, while field hockey frontman Jeremy Cook recently spent some time at a large tournament in California trying to find the next players to don the Orange and Blue.
Cook was not the only Bison coach in California as volleyball mentor Cindy Opalski regrettably missed the latest Women's Sports Luncheon
due to a recruiting trip out West. Water polo head coach John Abdou, who has 18 Californians on his two rosters, has spent the last couple of weeks in his home state working camps and recruiting even with the start of the women's season just over a month away.
While that is just a sampling of the coaches that have been hard at work during this time, the rest of the Bucknell Athletics staff has been putting in the hours as well. Doug Birdsong has continued to churn out regular videos for Bison Vision, while the Athletic Communications staff is hard at work on the spring media guides. I have also seen the lights on in the training room at odd hours, as is the norm for that hard-working contingent.
Speaking of hard working, members of the men's and women's basketball teams have been keeping their shots sharp as they prepare for home games next weekend. The women host Wofford Friday at 7 p.m., while the men welcome Drexel to Sojka Pavilion Saturday at 5 p.m. Additionally, I hope the wrestlers have been avoiding the holiday sweets since they host Cleveland State, Drexel and Wagner Friday starting at noon. I heard there will be a pair of mats set up in Davis Gym so matches can be wrestled side-by-side.
Good luck wrapping up your shopping this week so you can cheer on the Bison on Friday and Saturday!
December 10, 2008
Yesterday was a busy day for me. During the lunch hour I ventured to Bostwick Dining Hall to drum up some fan support for last night's men's basketball game against Binghamton. Along with my friend, Voice of the Bison Doug Birdsong, I handed out nearly 200 tickets to students. It was a difficult game for students to attend with final exams commencing tomorrow, but I saw a number of dedicated students in the crowd during the Photo Store page.
GO BISON!
November 24, 2008
For the second year in a row, the Bison football team heads into the offseason with good vibes. And why not, after Saturday's amazing comeback win over Fordham Saturday at frigid Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. You can read all of the details here, but suffice it to say that it was a heck of a way for the seniors to go out. What an emotional scene at the end when senior kicker Will Carney -- who will be serving our country in the military next year -- got mobbed by his teammates after booting the winning 36-yard field goal in overtime. That Bucknell scored the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter in four of its five victories this season says something about the team's mental toughness and the way it was coached.
And while the senior class took center stage Saturday in their final game, the play of the underclassmen bodes well for the future. After some rough moments early in the game when two errant pitches were returned for touchdowns, QB C.J. Hopson hardly looked like a freshman in the fourth quarter, when he blocked out those negative plays and engineered two long touchdown drives to get the game tied. The final drive in particular was Elway-like. Hopson, who was playing in only his third collegiate game, went 8-for-9 on the final drive, connecting with six different receivers. The clock management was perfect, and he found Justin Pulgrano open in the end zone with four seconds left to send it to OT.
The Bison won Saturday's game with only two senior starters on either side of the ball, and also consider that they knocked off the defending champs without QB Marcello Trigg, LB Sam Nana-Sinkam and RB/KR A.J. Kizekai, who were all out with injuries.
And finally, a shout-out to sophomore WR Shaun Pasternak, who simply had one of the best years by any player in program history. Bucknell did throw the ball considerably more this season than in the past several years, but it was still a run-oriented offense. So for Pasternak to finish the year with 72 catches for 1,083 yards and 12 touchdowns, all while being the focus of the defense, is incredible. It was only the second 1,000-yard receiving season in Bucknell annals, and Pasternak broke Dave Kucera's 24-year-old school record for receiving yards in a season. Here are Shaun's game-by-game totals:
- Duquesne: 7 catches, 166 yards, 1 TD
- Robert Morris: 3-60
- Cornell: 11-117-2
- Marist: 6-100-1
- Hofstra: 3-46
- Georgetown: 6-81-2
- Colgate: 8-150-1
- Holy Cross: 3-28-1
- Lafayette: 7-82-2
- Lehigh: 9-97-1
- Fordham: 9-156-1
Wow.
November 17, 2008
One of the coolest sporting scenes at Bucknell in quite some time happened yesterday in front of a huge crowd of wrestling supporters in Davis Gym. The Bison were taking on fifth-ranked Missouri, and in the second bout of the afternoon, Bucknell's nationally ranked 165-pounder Andy Rendos was taking on the Tigers' Nick Marable, the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the nation at that weight class. Rendos used a dramatic reversal in the final seconds of the first 30-second tiebreaker period, then he rode out Marable in the second tiebreaker period to win the match 3-1.
Rendos has been an NCAA qualifier in each of his first two years at Bucknell, but he has had a number of near-misses against the elite 165-pounders in Division I. This win, against a junior who finished third at last year's NCAA Championships, may have gotten Rendos over that proverbial mental hurdle where he now knows he can match up with anyone in the country. Rendos is unafraid to admit that he wants to win a national championship, and this win has to boost his confidence.
Coach Dan Wirnsberger said that Rendos will have a few more tests coming up, including a matchup in two weeks with No. 7 Trevor Stewart of Central Michigan at the Northeast Duals. EIWA foe Mack Lewnes of Cornell is ranked No. 2 at 165, and they could meet at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas next month.
And what's more, Rendos wasn't the only Bison matman in top form in the first dual of the year. David Marble, another two-time NCAA qualifier, stacked up his man and picked up one of those blink-and-you-missed-it pins. Lewisburg's own Derek Reber, a freshman in his very first collegiate dual, dominated former high school nemesis Troy Dolan in a 10-0 win at 125. Kevin LeValley also won at 149.
Missouri prevailed 25-16 in the dual, but the atmosphere in Davis Gym and Rendos' stirring win made the afternoon a victory for the Bison.
November 13, 2008
I woke up this morning thinking that I can't believe the winter sports season is here already, then I was greeted by cold rain when I walked outside, and that was proof that indeed, winter is here.
Tonight I'll be making an appearance at the second installment of "Bison Now!" over at the Country Cupboard, where the winter sports coaches and student-athletes will take center stage and preview their seasons. The men's and women's basketball teams will both exit the Country Cupboard and hop right on their busses to travel south for tomorrow's season openers -- the guys to Maryland and the women going on a litte further to Fairfax, Va., to play George Mason.
Tomorrow is sure to be a special night for Dave Paulsen, who makes his Bucknell head coaching debut looking for Division I victory No. 1 (on the other bench, Gary Williams has 604!). Coach Paulsen is just hoping at this point that he has all of his troops available tomorrow. Darryl Shazier and G.W. Boon have both been hobbled by injuries this week, and Jason Vegotsky just got back about a week ago. A fast, athletic ACC team is tough to beat when you're 100 percent healthy, but the injuries have made for a tough preseason for the new staff. Despite those struggles, Coach Paulsen commented last week that he can't wait to go to battle with such a smart and classy group of student-athletes. We'll be cheering them on no matter what!
Meanwhile the Bison women's team has a championship to defend, and they will start with a George Mason squad that Bucknell defeated in double overtime last year. We bid adieu to a large and talented senior class last year, now seniors Amanda Brown and Lauren Schober are the veterans on a relatively young team. The Bison will probably have two sophomores (Taylor Phillips and Joyce Novacek) in the starting lineup, and the bench will consist of a sophomore and four freshmen. Still, head coach Kathy Fedorjaka has been very pleased with her team's development in the preseason and has high hopes in 2008-09.
There should be quite a scene in Davis Gym on Sunday, as the fifth-ranked Missouri Tigers come to town to take on the Bucknell wrestling team. It's not often that top-10 teams come to Bucknell in any sport, but when they do it's always an event (remember the scene in Sojka Pavilion when No. 4 Villanova visited in 2005?). The meet starts at 1 p.m., and at 10 a.m. 2008 U.S. Olympian and two-time NCAA champion Ben Askren will be the special guest at a free wrestling clinic. Once the Bison and Tigers get going, the featured match will be at 165 pounds, where Bucknell's two-time NCAA qualifier Andy Rendos will go up against Missouri's Nicholas Marable, the No. 1 ranked grappler in the country at that weight class. Marable edged Rendos 3-2 in last year's dual in Columbia, Mo. Davis should be packed for this one, so get there early. And if you can't make it, the meet will air live on Bison Vision.
There's also home volleyball matches on Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m.) in Davis Gym. The Bison enter the final weekend of the regular season in fourth place in the Patriot League, and they have some work left to do to make the PL Tournament.
And not to be forgotten is the football team, which is trying to end an 11-year losing streak to Lehigh. Kickoff is 12:30 p.m. at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, with live audio available here on BucknellBison.com.
I'll be in College Park on Friday, Bethlehem on Saturday and Davis Gym on Sunday for wrestling. Hope to see you there!
GO BISON!
November 11, 2008
Congrats to Jeremy Cook and the Bison field hockey team for their great showing at the Patriot League Tournament this weekend! Bucknell jumped all over Lafayette in the semifinals on Friday, scoring on four of their first six shots en route to a 4-2 victory and a berth in the championship game. Taking on the host American Eagles, a team that has won six straight titles and has not lost to a league opponent since 2002, Bucknell came out strong and took a 2-1 lead at halftime. It was the first time American trailed at any point in a conference game all season. The Eagles roared back in the second half and prevailed 5-2, but the loss did not dampen an exciting and promising year for the Bison. They finished with 11 wins, their most since 1999 and tied for second-most in program history. A large senior class graduates this year, but the future still looks bright for Bison field hockey.
While Friday's field hockey's win over Lafayette was a big spirit-lifter, later that night the women's soccer team suffered a heartbreaking loss to Army in their Patriot League Tournament semifinals. The Bison had the better scoring chances in regulation but could not get one in the net against the league's top-ranked defensive team, and the game went to overtime tied at 0-0. After another scoreless 20 minutes, a penalty kick shootout was required to determine the winner. The Bison had the ball on their feet to win it in the final round of the shootout but unfortunately could not convert, and Army eventually prevailed in seven rounds. It was a crushing loss for the team's three seniors -- Nicole Marotta, Jennifer Dervarics and Kelly Boswell -- who wanted desperately to avenge a championship-game loss to Navy from the previous year. That is the most successful senior class in program history, and their accomplishments over four years will overshadow Friday's loss, but it was a tough way to end. Army went on to beat Navy in overtime in the final, sending the Black Knights to the NCAA Tournament in head coach Gene Ventriglia's final year before retirement.
How about A.J. Kizekai's day on Saturday? The junior do-it-all back had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Lafayette -- it was really 101 yards, but in college the most you can get is 100. Justin Brumbaugh in 1929 and Terence Parham in 1996 both had 99-yard returns, which was the school record until Saturday. At today's football luncheon, A.J. was asked what was going through his mind when he decided to bring the ball out of the end zone. His answer: "The first thing that went through my mind was that coach is going to kill me!"
A.J. also broke single-game and career kickoff return records against the Leopards. Lafayette prevailed 38-21, but it was an exciting game filled with big plays. In addition to the Kizekai return, the Bison also scored on a halfback option pass, with Justin Pulgrano finding a wide-open Shaun Pasternak to make it a 24-21 game in the second half. Lafayette had a 51-yard TD pass to their tight end, and the Leopards scored a big insurance TD on a flea flicker in the fourth quarter. The Bison are now under .500 for the first time all year and have two games remaining, at Lehigh this week and home against Fordham in the final on Nov. 22.
November 4, 2008
Here's a quick shout to all of our alums in the Maryland/DC/Northern Virginia area. The Bison are coming your way this weekend! The field hockey and women's soccer have qualified for their respective Patriot League Tournaments, and the timing works out so that fans can check out a neat postseason doubleheader on Friday. American is hosting the field hockey tournament, and Bucknell opens Friday at 1:30 p.m. against Lafayette. Navy is the women's soccer tourney host, and the Bison face Army at 7 p.m. on Friday night. The field hockey championship game is Saturday at 1:30, while the women's soccer title tilt is Sunday at 1 p.m. Also, the Bucknell men's soccer team will be at American on Saturday at 1 p.m. That is their regular-season finale, and the Bison need a victory and a Holy Cross win over Lafayette to make their playoffs.
I'll be making the trip down on Friday for both games. Hope to see you there!
October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween everyone! Anyone going out dressed as Bucky Bison tonight?
A few items of note heading into a big weekend of sports action.
- Bison men's basketball player Patrick Behan is going to be contributing to the New York Times college sports blog called "The Quad" this season. Patrick's first entry went up this morning, with more to come throughout the season.
- Kansas basketball coach Bill Self has a new book out, titled "At Home in the Fog." The tome obviously focuses on the Jayhawks' 2008 national championship run, but it might be worth a read to see what Self has to say about the 2005 NCAA Tournament loss to Bucknell. Here's an excerpt.
- Former Bucknell assistant men's lacrosse coach podcast on TarHeelBlue.com, and Pat had some nice things to say about Bucknell and his former boss, Frank Fedorjaka.
- We normally don't get to throw many shoutouts to the parents of Bison student-athletes, but year's one for Jim Antkiewicz, the father of women's golfer Leah Antkiewicz. Jim was recently named the PGA Golf Professional of the Year, which is billed as the association's highest annual honor. Jim is the director of golf at The Club at Nevillewood in Presto, Pa. Congrats!
- Big weekends coming up for football, both soccers, field hockey and volleyball. Each of those teams' games have postseason implications. After giving up 52 points to Colgate last week, the football team is going to have to find a way to slow down high-flying Holy Cross on the road on Saturday. At 1-1 in the Patriot League, the Bison probably can't affort another loss if they hope to contend for the league title.
- Women's soccer has a clear path to the playoffs. Win or tie at home tomorrow against American in the regular-season finale and they are in the Patriot League Tournament. The Bison can still go with a loss (if Navy beats Colgate), but they control their own fate with a win. Prior to the game the outstanding senior class of Kelly Boswell, Jennifer Dervarics and Nicole Marotta will be honored on Senior Day. Dervarics and Marotta are arguably the best offensive player and best defensive player, respectively, in the Patriot League. They are part of the winningest senior class in program history.
- Field hockey is in a similar circumstance to women's soccer. A win over Holy Cross tomorrow puts Jeremy Cook's team in the postseason. A loss and they need some help, namely for Colgate to lose to Lafayette.
- Men's soccer has two league matches left, but the Bison are in sixth place, two points out of the final playoff spot. A loss at Lehigh elminates them from the postseason, but a victory keeps them in the hunt. Bucknell and Lehigh have played some classics in recent years. Remember, the Bison won 3-1 last season in a game televised on the Fox Soccer Channel, and two years ago Bucknell knocked off the then-14th-ranked Mountain Hawks in penalty kicks in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals.
- At 5-4 in the league, the volleyball team is tied for third place with Colgate and has a two-game lead on fifth-place Lehigh and Lafayette. Still, Cindy Opalski's team would love another win over Colgate tonight in Hamilton. That would make a season sweep and give Bucknell the tiebreaker over the Raiders if needed.
- The men's and women's basketball teams held their on-campus media luncheons on Thursday. Click HERE for some video coverage and interviews. Not much new to report from either side. Men's coach Dave Paulsen said his team is working hard, but depth remains a concern due to the injury situation. The assistant coaches have been playing some in practice, and two of them even got hurt last week! Kathy Fedorjaka admitted that Bucknell's fifth-place pick in the preseason coaches' poll will go up on the bulletin board. Preseason polls don't mean a thing, unless you're the defending champs and feel a bit slighted, then they can be a source of motivation.
- Last weekend's Hall of Fame ceremony was one of the best in a long time. Every speech was fantastic and heartfelt. It was a banner day for the swimmers, as three were inducted into the Hall of Fame, then they got to see the current Bison teams sweep Boston College in Kinney Natatorium. In his speech, Steve Winings lamented the fact that this was his first trip back to campus in 30 years. Jay Gross and Jen Myers Keating talked about their former coaches, Dick Russell and Lynn Kachmarik, and how much they enjoyed their days in the old (emphasis on "old") Freas-Rooke Pool. J.R. Holden's brother, Darius, talked about how much it meant to the family for J.R. to be so successful at Bucknell, and then he read a long letter from J.R. himself, penned in Moscow where his pro season has just begun. Almira Baldwin Arnold noted that with four kids in the house, most of her modern-day kudos surround her cooking, but when she opened her Hall of Fame letter she was truly taken aback. And Judy Perry West was by far the most enthusiastic human being I've ever seen in my life before 9:30 a.m. She was great. And any time one of the track and field alums comes back and begins talking about Art Gulden, well let's just say it gets a little dusty in the room. All in all, it was a fun Homecoming, despite the football score and the miserable weather.
- GO BISON!
October 23, 2008
The Patriot League held its annual Media Day event at the ESPN Zone at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore this afternoon. Bucknell was picked fifth in the Patriot League preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors. Defending champion American got the first-place nod with 98 points, followed by Lehigh (75), Holy Cross (68), Colgate (67), Bucknell (47), Navy (46), Army (29) and Lafayette (18).
American's Garrison Carr was picked as the Preseason Player of the Year and was joined on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team by teammate Derrick Mercer, Lehigh's Marquis Hall, Navy's Chris Harris and Lafayette's Andrew Brown.
In his comments to the media, Bison head coach Dave Paulsen said his biggest concern this preseason has been depth. With Stephen Tyree out for the year with a knee injury, and fellow guards G.W. Boon (shoulder) and Jason Vegotsky (thumb) also sidelined with injuries, the Bison have been very thin in practice with only eight scholarship players in uniform. While teams can get away with going only eight deep in a game, giving the starters good "live" looks in practice has been an issue early in the preseason. And remember, of those eight, three are freshmen, who coaches are typically nervous about throwing into the fire too quickly.
Best of luck to the football team on Saturday. The Bison have a huge contest against Colgate at 1 p.m. on Homecoming Day. A win would put Bucknell at 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the Patriot League, and suddenly they would be right in the thick of the playoff race. The Raiders will be no easy opponent, however. They are 5-2 and coming off a 38-22 drubbing of Cornell on the road last week. You might remember that the Big Red edged the Bison 21-20 in Lewisburg earlier this season. Colgate also has wins over Coastal Carolina, Dartmouth, Princeton and defending Patriot League champion Fordham.
Colgate is also in town for field hockey, which gets underway at noon on Saurday at Graham Field. The Bison will honor their eight seniors prior to the game. Every league contest is big at this time of year, but this one is especially so for the field hockey team, which is 1-2 in Patriot League play, but only a game behind third-place Colgate. Bucknell's next win will be its 10th of the season, quite an achievement for first-year head coach Jeremy Cook.
October 17, 2008
EXCELLENT spirit tonight at our two home events, starting in Davis Gym, where the volleyball team staged "Dig Pink Night" to raise awareness (and donations) for breast cancer. The east grandstand was packed with pink-clad students, including some fellows with "Ray Bucknell" splashed in pink paint on their bare chests. The volleyball team dyed some old, out-of-cycle white uniforms pink, all of the coaching and support staff wore pink, and pink volleyballs were used in the match. Davis was as loud as I can remember for a volleyball match, too. Especially in the first set when the Bison played powerful American point-for-point before bowing 32-30. Unfortunately the Bison had two set points disappear on service errors, but buoyed by the big crowd, the Bison played great against a great team, even thought they came up on the wrong end of the final score.
Over in Kinney Natatorium, a terrific standing-room-only crowd watched the Bison men's water polo team take apart No. 12 Princeton 11-6 in the best win of John Abdou's young coaching career. Nick Donahue's 14 saves and five more points from scoring machine Richie Hyden sent the Orange & Blue on their way. This is Bucknell's only home weekend of the season, and the Bison play four more times, so come check them out if you can. And if you're not in the area, both of Sunday's games (Johns Hopkins at 11 a.m. and Navy at 4:30 p.m.) will be broadcast live on Bison Vision.
There was considerably less fanfare next door on Sojka Pavilion on Friday night, as the Bison men's and women's basketball teams officially kicked off preseason practice. Both teams had been staging individual workouts and conditioning for several weeks, but tonight was the first "official" practice as we count down to the Nov. 14 season openers.
I caught about a half-hour of the men's practice tonight, and let's just say new head coach Dave Paulsen is not lacking in spirit himself. It was certainly a fast-paced workout, with not a second of standing around during the few minutes I was able to eavesdrop. I couldn't help but feel for Stephen Tyree, who was shouting encouragement from the front row of the bleachers. If you hadn't heard, Stephen, the reigning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year who was going to be counted on for big things in 2008-09, suffered a season-ending knee injury in a pickup game several weeks ago. Stephen's injury is going to present someone else with the opportunity to make an impact. The coaches are paying particularly close attention to Bryan Cohen, who was impressive in the individual sessions. First impressions of Bryan are that he might not average 20 ppg as a rookie, but he seems well-versed in the fundamentals and will be effective in all phases of the game. Another guy to watch is Jason Vegotsky, who didn't get to play much in the preseason because of an offseason thumb injury, but despite some tape on his right hand, the injury does not seem to have impacted Jason's smooth stroke. In a tandem shooting drill tonight, he shot the lights out. At one point he made about 10 straight left-corner jumpers without even scratching the rim. Jason had an injury-plagued 2007-08 season, and I know he really wants to have a big senior year. It's certainly premature to project things like starting lineups and playing time at this point, but we'll try to keep you posted on the team's progress (and the women too) in this space in the coming weeks.
Hope to see you in Washington, D.C., for the Bucknell-Georgetown football game tomorrow (finally, a league game!), or if you're back on campus, at the Bucknell-Colgate soccer doubleheader (men at 4, women at 7), the water polo games at 12:30 and 7, or the Bucknell-Navy volleyball match at 5 in Davis Gym.
October 12, 2008
Well this was one of those "thrill of victory/agony of defeat" weekends at Bucknell, with quite a few contests coming down to the wire.
On Saturday, the Bison field hockey team pulled out a dramatic 2-1 Patriot League win over Lehigh after trailing for much of the game. Sophomore Corinne Raczek tie the game 13:45 into the second half, then classmate Kelly Bruvik won it with just 1:27 left on a penalty corner play. Raczek also assisted on the winning goal, giving her a school-record 10 assists on the season. Jeremy Cook has done a magnificent job in his first year at Bucknell. His team is 8-4 overall and 1-1 in the league heading into Tuesday night's showdown with No. 13 Penn State at Graham Field.
The Bison men's soccer team has had a flair for the dramatic all season. The team played its fifth consecutive overtime game on Saturday night against Army, and in a very physical affair the Bison prevailed 1-0 on Mark Schmiegel's goal 2:20 into OT. Conor O'Brien and Chris Hennings were officially credited with assists on the winning goal, but Alex Russo had a big part in it, and it won't show up in the box score. Hennings' centering pass from the right side of the box was directed at Russo, and two defenders went at him. But Russo alertly dummied it, letting pass by him to a wide open Schmiegel on the weak side for the easy goal.
Unfortunately, the women's soccer and men's water polo teams were on the heartbreaking side of things on Sunday afternoon. The women's soccer team had not let a ball anywhere close to its goal for 90 minutes, but the Bison could not solve Army's stingy defense and went to overtime in a scoreless tie. In the second overtime period, the first and only defensive lapse of the day led to an Army breakaway goal and the 1-0 result for the Black Knights. Army and Navy are both 3-0 in Patriot League play and both have overtime wins over Bucknell. The two-time defending regular-season champions have lost twice in the league for the first time since 2005, but remember that was the year the Bison won the PL Tournament and went to the NCAAs.
The water polo team played a bevy of highly ranked West Coast teams at the SoCal Tournament over the weekend and held its own against the likes of No. 2 UCLA, No. 10 Long Beach State and No. 11 Pacific. In the latter game against Pacific, the Bison trailed 9-8 in the final minute and had two good shots stopped by the Pacific netminder. Bucknell bounced back to rout Pamona-Pitzer 14-5 in the final game of the tournament, as Richie Hyden hit the 50-goal mark for the season.
Congrats also go out to the volleyball team, which breezed past Colgate in three sets on Friday night, and to the golf teams, which also had good showings this weekend. In particular, Minjoo Lee of the women's team shot an even-par 72 in the final round of the Rutgers Invitational. That is not only a school record, but it is the first time in the 11-year history of the program that a Bison shot even par or better. Well done Minjoo! Head coach Kevin Jamieson thinks his young team, which is currently starting three freshmen, is close to being very, very good. Andrew Cohen and Brian Bartow both finished in the top 10 for the men, who took third at the ECAC Championship.
And finally, I'm sure I saw many of you at the football game on Saturday, which was played in about as perfect weather as you could imagine ... about 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. With the fall foliage starting to come out in the Susquehanna Valley, it was a brilliant weekend. The Bison football squad had a tough time stopping Hofstra's powerful running game. The Pride, who play in one of the best conferences in the nation (the CAA), had some behemoth's up front, including a left tackled that went about 380 pounds. Bucknell's effort was terrific, and it was great to see the offense clicking again. The Bison appear to have a stellar passing quarterback in Marcello Trigg and a stellar running QB in Andrew Lair, who really had the option game clicking after Trigg left in the second half with a sprained ankle. It's all Patriot League play from here on out for the Bison, beginning Saturday at Georgetown.
October 6, 2008
I wanted to alert all Bison fans to a new feature on BucknellBison.com ... an electronic newletter featuring all of the top BucknellBison.com headlines e-mailed directly to your inbox each week. To sign up, simply fill out this quick and easy registration form.
Fall break is coming up this weekend at Bucknell, which for most students means a nice relaxing trip home. For our fall student-athletes, however, it's business as usual on the playing fields. This year's fall break schedule is a bit quirky, as many Bison squads are playing at home this weekend. With the student-athletes' peers off campus, they will be relying on the local communities to help them maintain their home field advantage.
One of the highlights of "Community Weekend" is the Bucknell-Hofstra football game at 1 p.m. There will be free admission -- repeat, FREE ADMISSION!!! -- to come see the 3-1 Bison take on a strong Hofstra team from the powerful Colonial Athletic Association. As an added perk, the renowned Hawthorne Caballeros drum and bugle corps will be performing at halftime. And did I mention that admission is free?
Soccer fans have three chances to see a game this weekend. The women are home Friday against Holy Cross (7 p.m.) and Sunday against Army (1 p.m.), while the men face Army on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Holmes Stadium. All of those games are key Patriot League contests.
Also home against league foes this weekend are volleyball (Friday, 6 p.m. vs. Colgate) and field hockey (Saturday, 2 p.m. vs. Lehigh).
Hope to see you there!
October 1, 2008
Many Bison student-athletes devote part of their precious time giving back to their community. Most do so in relative anonymity. After all, these athletes derive great personal pleasure simply from the act of giving, and they aren't looking for any public kudos. But three times in the last 24 hours we have seen examples of Bucknell student-athletes getting involved in their community, and I thought I'd share them with you.
- Last night at the Bucknell-St. Francis (N.Y.) volleyball match, the Bison team sponsored EEK Night at Davis Gym. EEK stands for "Empowering Everyone's Kids," and the event was designed to allow members of the volleyball team to serve as role models and to teach their young fans about the positive energy surrounding athletics and the game of volleyball. A nice turnout of elementary school children came out and received free t-shirts and pom-poms to cheer on the team, and some of them even had their picture taken with me! The night finished on a positive note, as the kids saw the Bison win in straight sets.
- This afternoon, the featured speaker in the "In Her Own Words" segment of the monthly Women's Sports Luncheon, sponsored by Evangelical Community Hospital, was senior Nicole Falcaro of the women's cross country/track & field team. In addition to being an All-Patriot League runner and a double major in math and Spanish, Nicole is the vice-president of the Bucknell Environmental Club, the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a volunteer at the Mostly Mutts animal shelter in Sunbury. Nicole gave a very thoughtful talk on her concerns about the environment and global warming, and shared some of the activities that the Environmental Club has planned to raise awareness on the issue. Particularly touching was Nicole's revelation that she often thinks about the environment during her runs, whether it's in an urban Detroit setting at the Detroit Titan Invitational earlier this month, or the more pastoral locales of Central Pennsylvania. Great job by Nicole. To watch the video recap of today's luncheon, click HERE.
- Then later in the afternoon, senior Justin Castleberry and freshman Enoch Andoh of the men's basketball team visited Amy Matukaitis' first-grade class at Kelly Elementary School to read with her students. The Bison hoops squad is participating in the Dream to Read program this week and next, with twosomes visiting nine different classes of first-through-fourth graders at Kelly and Linntown Elementary Schools. Justin and Enoch were both fantastic with the kids as they read them stories about basketball. One little girl even asked Enoch if he could wait around until the end of the day so she could introduce him to her dad!
Volunteerism like this happens all the time here at Bucknell, and throughout the year we'll try to share more stories such as these.
The kids at EEK Night cheer on the Bison.  |
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Justin Castleberry reads to first-grade students at Kelly Elementary. |
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September 29, 2008
A few miscellaneous items from a fun weekend in Lewisburg:
The Bucknell soccer teams went a combined 3-0 this weekend, with all three winning goals coming in the late stages, but the most clutch performance of the weekend goes to Mother Nature, for giving us a break in the rain just long enough for the pregame tailgate and Holmes Stadium dedication ceremony prior to Saturday night's Bucknell-Navy men's game. Both soccer teams, the field hockey team and the women's lacrosse team were all on hand to play tribute to the Holmes Family, who led the charge in making that beautiful stadium a reality. With a stadium-record crowd of 1,202 in attendance, and Mark Schmiegel scoring in overtime to give the Bison a 2-1 win, it was about as perfect a night as you can imagine. And amazingly, it rained heavily for most of the day, stopped just in time to set up for the tailgate, and about 20 minutes after the stadium cleared out after the game, it began raining again.
One of my favorite moments of the night came during the postgame interviews on Bison Vision, when Schmiegel was deflecting all the credit for the win to his teammates, even though he scored both Bucknell goals. Doug Birdsong asked him what it felt like to be mobbed by his teammates after the winning goal, and Mark replied that it was a great feeling, something he had never experienced before. Um, hello! Apparently he forgot that he was the one who scored the OT winner in the NCAA Tournament against George Mason in 2006. Just trying to be humble, I guess.
Bison Vision All-Access subscribers can go back and watch the archive of the entire broadcast, including the pregame festivities.
The Bucknell women's soccer team is starting to make a habit of making the customers watch the full 90 minutes. Just like in the movies, you don't put the best stuff in the first few minutes, right? Well three times in the last week the team has dominated an opponent, only to find itself in a scoreless game late. On Sept. 19, Bucknell outshot Temple 24-5, winning on Christa Matlack's goal with 29 seconds left. Exactly a week later the Bison had a 27-10 shot advantage over Robert Morris, with the only goal of the match coming from Nicole Marotta in the 72nd minute. Then on Sunday, Bucknell and Marist were locked in a scoreless duel in the rain in Poughkeepsie, until Matlack scored in the 83rd minute. The dramatics have been fun for the fans, but probably not so much for coach Ben Landis' stomach.
The field hockey team has taken the opposite tactic. In home wins over Saint Francis (Pa.) and Siena this week, Bucknell outscored their foes 13-1, and in both games the Bison put a goal on the board in the first three minutes. Congrats to Kelly Bruvik, who notched the program's first hat trick in nine years in the Siena game. Quietly, first-year head coach Jeremy Cook has his team sitting at 6-3, a half-game shy of the best record in the Patriot League.
Head coach Jim Cotner and the Bison men's golf team I'm sure were frustrated by the rain at the Cornell Invitational this weekend. The 54-hole tournament was shortened to 18 holes. After a first and a third to start the season, this was an event that Cotner felt the Bison had a great chance to win. Bucknell's three outstanding juniors -- Brian Bartow, Andrew Cohen and Jeff Pike -- all played their senior year high school state championship on Cornell's Robert Trent Jones Golf Course. In the one round they did get in, Cohen shot 1-under and Pike was just 2-over and also in contention. Bucknell shot 298 as a team, a little high than they had hoped, who knows what might have happened with two more rounds. Bartow, Cohen and Pike, by the way, all went to rival high schools in Westchester County. That was quite a "one stop shopping" recruiting coup for Cotner.
In terms of home events, this weekend coming up is one of the lightest this fall, with only the three-day men's and women's tennis Bucknell Invitational on tap. You know what that means ... road trip!!!
I'll be making the trek to Poughkeepsie for the Bucknell-Marist football game. If you've never been to Marist, it is a very scenic campus overlooking the Hudson River, and the Red Foxes have a brand new football stadium to call home. If you're thinking of making a trip to catch the Bison on the road, this would be one to recommend. And the weather is supposed to be beautiful.
For Bison fans to the south, the place to be is Annapolis -- always one of my favorite Patriot League stops anyway. This Saturday at noon is a rematch of the 2007 Patriot League women's soccer championship with Bucknell facing Navy.
September 23, 2008
The football bye week is upon us, but that doesn't mean Bucky Bison has the weekend off! I'll be on duty Saturday night at the big Bucknell-Navy men's soccer game. There is plenty going on prior to the 7 p.m. contest. At 6:45 p.m. there will be a special ceremony officially dedicating Holmes Stadium - the wonderful new stadium facility that services both the Bison Varsity Soccer Field and Graham Field.
University President Brian Mitchell and Director of Athletics & Recreation John Hardt will make presentations to the Holmes family, as well as officially dedicate Holmes Stadium. At 6 p.m., there will be a tailgate reception just outside the stadium. The event is free of charge and open to the public. I hope you can join us!
By the way, the game will be pretty big too. Both the Bison and Midshipmen want to get off to a good start in the Patriot League, which top to bottom appears tougher than ever this fall.
Also this weekend, the Bison women's soccer team hosts Robert Morris on Friday evening at 7 p.m., and the field hockey squad is home on Saturday at noon against Siena.
All three of those games at Holmes Stadium will air live on Bison Vision All-Access (and GameTracker too). I guess Doug Birdsong, the "Voice of the Bison," doesn't get the football bye week off either. He has three games to call in 24 hours. Rest up those pipes Doug!
September 20, 2008 (evening edition)
Well tonight's football game sure was a heartbreaker. It's amazing how quickly the emotions can change in college football. Last week the Bison blocked a field goal on the last play of the game to win 17-14, and tonight they had their own extra point blocked in the fourth quarter, and that proved to be the difference on the scoreboard in a 21-20 loss to Cornell.
Even the momentum within this single game seemingly changed about a thousand times. Todd Rinaldo's big interception on the first series of the game set up the first touchdown, but then Cornell scored 14 unanswered to take the momentum back. Bucknell scored and picked up a two-point conversion in the last minute of the first half to tie it back up, and the Bison had the opening possession of the second half. But they went three-and-out and Cornell came right back and scored to take the momentum, and the lead, right back. Later in the quarter the Bison thought they had the tying touchdown but it was called back on a holding penalty, and Bucknell fumbled on the very next play. Another momentum swing. In the fourth quarter Bucknell scored to make it 21-20, but then the PAT went awry. Then Cornell drove into the red zone late in the game trying to put the game away, but Sam Nana-Sinkam's interception on the goal line took the mo' back, but Bucknell could not make a first down, punted the ball away and never got it back as the Big Red ran out the clock.
Bucknell head coach Tim Landis has never been much of a "silver lining" guy after a tough loss, but for Bison fans there were many in this one. Most notable was the play of Nana-Sinkam at linebacker and Shaun Pasternak at wide receiver. Both were absolute studs tonight. Pastnernak caught 11 balls for 117 yards and two touchdowns, he caught the two-point conversion pass, and he also had the TD -- a spectacular one at that -- that was called back by the holding penalty. Nana-Sinkam had a career-high 18 tackles as well as the huge interception in the fourth quarter. He was seemingly involved in every defensive play for the Bison.
QB Marcello Trigg had another very good night, completing 19 of 27 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns, and A.J. Kizekai had some big plays catching the ball out of the backfield.
The Bison coaches and players will now have two weeks to chew on this loss. They have their bye week coming up, before returning to action on Oct. 4 at Marist.
Hope to see you at the Bucknell-Loyola women's soccer game tomorrow!
September 20, 2008 (afternoon edition)
Nice job by head basketball coach Dave Paulsen and his staff and team, who staged a free clinic today in Sojka Pavilion. For a first-time event, the turnout of about 100 elementary and middle school kids was outstanding. The kids rotated through six stations of fundamentals, with Bison players waiting at each stop. An autograph session followed, and suffice it to say the kids left Sojka very tired, but with smiles on their faces. Stay tuned for a photo gallery and some video coverage on BucknellBison.com in the next few days.
Elsewhere, great win for the men's water polo team over No. 18 Brown today!
September 18, 2008
Isn't the Internet age cool? Never has it been easier to follow your favorite Bison teams from far away, thanks to the advent of live Webcasts and live statistics.
With the launch of the newly redesigned BucknellBison.com Web site, almost every home contest is now available on GameTracker, a very neat service that allows fans to follow along statistically right from their PCs. Many of our opponents have the same or similar live stats interfaces, so for almost every Bucknell football, soccer, field hockey and volleyball game this fall, home or awat, you won't have to wait for the game story to get posted to find out what happened.
Imagine that! Just 15 years ago fans had to wait until the next day to get scores in the newspaper. Five years ago they had to wait until a recap was posted an hour or so after the conclusion of a game. Now, many times even that is outdated because you can track the games in real time.
This Friday night is a perfect example. A Bucknell fan with an internet connection anywhere in the world can sit down at 4 p.m. and follow the Bucknell-La Salle field hockey game on GameTracker. Then at 7 p.m., the women's soccer home game vs. Temple, the men's soccer away game vs. Binghamton and the volleyball away match at Villanova will all air live on video Webcasts (check the visiting team's Web sites for their subscription plans). So for a few bucks you can either bounce around among the three Webcasts, or if you have a particularly strong connection, you could even have as many as six different windows open -- the three Webcasts plus the three GameTracker boxes. Talk about sensory overload!
The Bucknell-Cornell football game will also air live on Bison Vision (and GameTracker) on Saturday night, as will two soccer games and a field hockey game next weekend.
So tune in and enjoy the action!
September 16, 2008
It's time for the annual "Battle of the 'Nells" on the gridiron this week, as Bucknell hosts Cornell Saturday at 6 p.m. at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The weather is supposed to be beautiful (74 and sunny, according to Weather.com) and Penn State plays at noon, so no excuses for football fans in the area not come and cheer on the undefeated Bison Saturday night!
Actually, we hope you'll come to campus a bit earlier in the day on Saturday. From 2-3:30 p.m., new Bucknell men's basketball coach Dave Paulsen and his staff will be hosting a free instructional clinic in Sojka Pavilion for boys and girls in the third through eighth grades. At 3:30 p.m., the members of the Bison team will be present to sign autographs. This is a great time to come meet Coach Paulsen and his new staff. Hope you can make it!
At 4 p.m., members of the campus community are invited to the All-Campus Picnic under the tent on the football practice field adjacent to the stadium. There will be food & drinks, activities and even a live band. I'll be making an appearance there too, so please come say hello!
Remember kickoff is at 6 p.m., and it should be a good one. In recent years the Bucknell-Cornell matchup has provided an interesting dynamic, because it has been Cornell's first game, while the Bison have already played twice. In some ways Bucknell will be at a disadvantage because the Big Red coaches will have two games worth of film on the 2008 Bison, while the Bucknell coaches will be relying on year-old film. But on the other hand, Bucknell has had two games to get comfortable with their timing, get acclimated to the speed and contact of live action, and get over any of those opening-day jitters that Cornell might be dealing with. Ultimately, the game will come down to which team executes better for three hours on Saturday night, and all the pregame prognostications will be moot.
The Bison have won the last four series meetings in Lewisburg, including a 20-5 decision here two years ago, and a win this week would make them 3-0 for the first time since the 1997 team started 10-0. The team is playing very hard, and a huge crowd Saturday night would provide a major boost. Hope to see you there!
GO BISON!!
September 12, 2008
When traveling across America with various Bison sports programs, one of the most frequently-asked questions I get from those unfamiliar with Bucknell is, "who is your most famous alum?" And the answer is easy: Christy Mathewson.
Much has been documented about Christy Mathewson through the years, particularly regarding his Hall of Fame baseball career. At Bucknell, Mathewson was so much more than just an athlete (he was then best-known as a football player, and he also played baseball and basketball). Mathewson was a member of the band and glee club, he served as historian of his freshman class and as president of his junior class. He was also a member of the Eupian Literary Society and Theta Delta Tau, a men's honorary leadership society.
Mathewson left Bucknell in 1901 to pursue his burgeoning baseball career, and he went on to help the New York Giants win four pennants during his 14-year tenure with the club. His performance in the 1905 World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics is still considered one of the most remarkable pitching feats of all time. He pitched three shutouts in a five-day span to lead the Giants to the title. With a lifetime record of 373-188 to go along with 79 shutouts, 2,502 strikeouts and a career earned-run average of 2.13, Mathewson was elected as one of five original members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Mathewson, who married a Lewisburg native (the former Jane Stoughton), went on to serve in the U.S. Army's chemical warfare division during World War I. His tour in France severely damaged his health, and upon returning home he spent many years battling tuberculosis in Saranac Lake, N.Y. He passed away in 1925 and is now buried in the Lewisburg cemetery, just a few paces from Bucknell's athletics center. Bucknell's football stadium – Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium – was rededicated in his honor in 1989, and the brick and iron Mathewson Memorial Gateway greets visitors to campus, along with the bronze tablet that reads: “Christopher Mathewson: Athlete, Soldier, Gentleman.”
For those who are interested in reading more about the life of Christy Mathewson, I recommend finding a copy of The Player: Christy Mathewson, Baseball and the American Century, by Philip Seib. The 198-page book is so much more than a sports biography. It juxtaposes Mathewson's life against the social and polical climate of the early 1900s.
From a sports vantage point, it was interesting to read about the struggles of the professional athlete in that era. In baseball, the more noble players were the amateurs who stayed at home, and after work played ball for their town teams. Professional ball players we thought of as illiterate vagrants who could not hold down a "real" job. Mathewson, a scholar and a gentleman, helped change that notion, and Seib does a wonderful job portraying those qualities.
After one pass through this quick read, you will have a whole new appreciation for the most famous of all Bucknellians the next time you pass by the Mathewson Memorial Gateway at the entrance to campus.
September 11, 2008
Hi everyone. I'm busy gearing up for one of the busiest weekends of the entire fall season, with the first away football game and four Bucknell teams playing at home, including three that are hosting tournaments.
Before letting you know what I'm going to be checking out this weekend, I hope everyone today has taken a few moments to reflect on the horrible events that happened seven years ago today. Even though seven years have passed, the tragedy still affects our daily lives. The Bucknell community was certainly impacted by 9/11, and today on campus a number of remembrances are scheduled, including a moment of silence before the women's soccer game.
On happier topics, Tim Landis and his football team is about 24 hours away from boarding their buses for the trip out to Pittsburgh to take on Robert Morris Saturday afternoon. Remember, there is no Bison Vision videocasts when the team is on the road, however, you can still listen to the audio of Doug Birdsong's play-by-play and Kevin Herr's color analysis online for free on SportsJuice.com.
In case you missed it yesterday, Daily Item sports editor Bill Bowman wrote a nice column on Bucknell's young offensive line, and how it held up nicely in the week-one victory over Duquesne. In the last 25 years, only one other time (1986) has Bucknell started two freshmen on the offensive line. Anthony Carter and Ian Dal Bello were the first-year players who started at the guard positions. Sophomores Nick McLeod and Paul Brazinski started at the tackles and junior James Phelan played center. That group is short on experience but appears to be long on toughness. With no penalties and no sacks allowed, they were certainly the unsung heroes of Bucknell's opening-night win.
As for the on-campus happenings this weekend, well, where do we begin. It actually all starts tonight (Thursday) with the women's soccer team hosting Mount St. Mary's in the first match of the year at Varsity Soccer Field. Then things heat up quickly on Friday. Jim Cotner's men's golf team is hosting the Bucknell Invitational, and that 54-hole tournament gets underway Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. The teams will be playing 36 holes on Friday and 18 more on Saturday.
After checking out the golf in the morning, I'm going to head over to Davis Gym for the start of the Bucknell Invitational volleyball tournament. Our hosts will be playing Montreal at 4 p.m. Friday in the very first contest of the tourney. Bucknell will also play Saint Francis (Pa.) at 8 p.m. Friday, then the Bison tackle Canisius at noon and FDU at 5:30 on Saturday.
When the Bucknell-Montreal match is finished, I'm headed back out to the Varsity Soccer Field, where the Bison men are hosting the Days Inn Classic. New Hampshire and Hartwick warm things up at 4 p.m., then the Bison will take on Cornell at 7. There will be another doubleheader on Sunday at noon and 3 p.m., with the Orange & Blue battling Hartwick in the second game.
On Saturday, the Bison field hockey team hosts Cornell at 1 p.m., making this an awfully exciting weekend to be on campus. Now, if only that rain will hold off ...
GO BISON!!
September 9, 2008
Hey gang. I wanted to make a quick clarification on the note in the recap of Sunday's men's soccer victory over Penn State that stated that Bucknell's last win in State College was in 1968. Actually, it was in 1974, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. One of Bucknell's record books had that listed as a neutral site game, but as a few members of the '74 team have pointed out, that NCAA victory was at Jeffrey Field on Penn State's campus.
That 1974 team was arguably the best in program history. That year the Bison went 10-0-2 in the regular season, with one of the ties coming at Penn State. They outscored their opponents 34-3 during their first-ever unbeaten regular season. Bucknell won the East Coast Conference West title, then defeated La Salle 2-1 in the ECC Championship game, earning an NCAA berth for the first time. Back at Penn State for the NCAA game, Hall of Famer Scott Strasburg's goal in the final seconds of the first half held up as the game-winner, with Ted Petersen making eight saves to preserve Bucknell's record-setting 10th shutout of the season. Five days later in Philadelphia, the Bison lost to Philadelphia Textile 1-0 in double overtime. It would be their only blemish in a 12-1-2 season.
Bucknell would be ranked No. 14 in the final Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America poll, three spots ahead of Penn State. (Coincidentally, another team nicknamed the Bison -- Howard University -- won the national championship in 1974.)
The Bison would return to the NCAAs in each of the next two seasons, falling in penalty kicks to Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round in 1975, then dropping a 4-0 decision to powerful Temple in 1976.
The Strasburg brothers -- Bruce and Scott -- along with standout defender Gary Toubman are players from that era who are now in the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame. Bruce Strasburg scored 14 goals during that 1974 season. Scott Strasburg, Peter DiPasquale and Rob Kurz all scored five each, remarkable considering Bucknell's 15 opponents totaled five goals for the season.
September 8, 2008
Well that sure was an exciting weekend! Outstanding performances up and down the dial for the Bison. I had the pleasure of watching three teams in person this weekend, starting with football on Saturday night.
After a daylong rainstorm, the clouds broke just before kickoff, and by the middle of the first quarter Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium was bathed in bright sunshine. It actually turned out to be a perfect evening to watch a football game. And speaking of perfect, how good was that start for the Bison? The defense forced punts on Duquesne's first five possessions (the Dukes did not have a first down until the second quarter), and the offense piled up 42 points before halftime. Another score on the opening drive of the second half made it 48-7, but the Bison had to withstand a furious fourth-quarter rally and held on for the thrilling 48-42 victory. At one point in the third quarter, junior QB Marcello Trigg was 14-for-14 for 290 yards passing, and he had also rushed for two scores. No wonder he was picked for Patriot League Player of the Week and Damon's Bison Athlete of the Week honors today.
Next week brings another test against Robert Morris, a scholarship program from the Northeast Conference. The Colonials, who are coached by former New York Jets coach Joe Walton, were 27-13 winners over Morehead State last week.
Sunday afternoon brought delightful weather to Central Pennsylvania, temperatures in the mid-70s with a breeze and no humidity. The roam out Rt. 192 to Centre Hall was especially scenic, as I must have passed at least 40 Amish buggies, with their passengers clad in their Sunday finest. I was tempted to stop at the historic machinery festival in ... well, I'm not exactly sure what "town" it was in, but there were hundreds of cars parked in an open field by the side of the road. I passed it by, however, since I was more interested in getting to Penn State to see both Bucknell soccer teams in action in a rare road doubleheader.
The Bison men had not won in State College in 40 years, but two second-half goals (both of the highlight-reel variety) from Mark Schmiegel and Chris Hennings and a clean sheet for freshman goalie Tommy Caso and the defense put an end to that drought. After the 1-1 tie with 10th-ranked Ohio State on Friday and the Sunday blanking of Penn State, Bucknell went home as co-champions of the Penn State Classic ... a tournament that featured two top-20 teams (No. 10 OSU and No. 18 Tulsa) and two Big Ten programs.
Dean Linke and Richard Broad were especially complimentary of Bucknell's superb performance on the Big Ten Network broadcast, which I skimmed through on my DVR later that night. The Bison and their bright orange uniforms looked especially resplendent in high-definition. HDTV has existed in the Bucky household for a little over a year, and that was the first Bucknell sporting event I have seen in HD. It was fantastic!
Following the men's game, the Bison women were in action against No. 10 Penn State. Bucknell has never beaten PSU in women's soccer, but things have tightened up in recent years. Last night, the Bison and Lions were locked up in a 1-1 tie in the middle of the second half, when the hosts scored twice just a minute apart. But scoring machine Jennifer Dervarics put one in on a breakaway to make it 3-2, and Bucknell had some excellent looks in the final 10 minutes before Penn State countered with an insurance goal with just over two minutes to play. The 4-2 loss was very disappointing to coach Ben Landis and his players, who lamented a handful of plays (and a non-call on a clear hand ball in the penalty area) that might have made for a different result. That the Bison expected to be in the match against a top-10 program, and were distraught when they fell short in the end, speaks volumes about where this program is right now.
Still, plenty to be proud of for all three Bucknell "football" programs. As an aside, how good has Patriot League soccer become? Already this season, PL men's programs have wins over Penn State, North Carolina State, #13 UMass, #15 West Virginia and Princeton, and ties against #10 Ohio State, #16 Northwestern, Syracuse and Providence. On the women's side, Bucknell has a marquee win over Maryland, and a week later American tied Maryland. Should make for some interesting matchups once the league schedule arrives.
We should also give some weekend shoutouts to the cross country teams, who fared well in Detroit, with the men winning the Running-Fit Detroit Invitational and the women finishing second only to No. 2 Michigan. Andrew Huebner led the men with a fifth-place overall finish, while freshman sensation Caitlin Cavanaugh (from just down the road in Danville) was sixth in the women's race.
It was also a good weekend for field hockey, which dumped Ball State 4-2 and on short rest dropped a close 2-1 game to a very good Towson team. And congrats to Cindy Opalski and the volleyball team for spiking their way to their first two wins of the season, and to John Abdou, who earned his first victories as men's water polo coach with a 3-1 showing in Annapolis, Md., over the weekend.
More to come this week, including the first-ever Bucky's Blog book review, and a look ahead to a very busy week of home action.
September 6, 2008
We're coming up on six hours until the opening kickoff of the 2008 football season! I can hardly wait! I've been dropping by practices from time to time throughout the preseason, and let me tell you, this team is excited and ready to go. Coach Tim Landis said the other day that he's never had a team with better chemistry heading into a season, and hopefully that will pay dividends when the Duquesne Dukes come to town tonight.
Remember it's a 6 p.m. kickoff. Sure it's been a rainy day, but the weather forecast calls for some clearing by early evening. And besides, you've probably been bottled up inside all day, so why not come out and release some energy at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium and cheer on the Bison. Bring an umbrella just in case, and come join me at the game!
Thanks to all of you who participated in the first "Bison Now!" event on Thursday night. The program was a rousing success. Damon's Grill provided a fantastic spread, dozens of Bison student-athletes and coaches were on hand to mingle and sign autographs, and friends and families from all over town seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. We're going to do it again on Nov. 13 at the Col. John Kelly Room at the Country Cupboard. Hope to see you there!
Bison Now! Photo Gallery
And congrats to Brendan Nash and the Bucknell men's soccer team! In the last entry we talked about the program facing a tough schedule, and last night in State College the Bison played the 10th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes to a 1-1 tie. They will try it again on Sunday against Penn State (3:30 p.m., Big Ten Network) at Jeffrey Field.
I just roamed past the Bucknell Golf Club, and saw many of the participants in today's Bucknell Invitational women's tournament on the practice range. I wish I had a camera, because the rainbow of colors from the various team umbrellas was cool looking. Depending on how the greens are holding the water, they may try to give the first round a go this afternoon. The weather should cooperate for day two on Sunday.
And finally, kudos to Jeremy Cook and the field hockey program, a 4-2 winner over Ball State this morning. Senior Amanda Faust broke the Bucknell career assists record with a pair in the victory. Well done Amanda!
September 4, 2008
Hello again Bison fans. Hope you're enjoying the new blogs. A quick entry before I head down to the Country Cupboard for my appearance at the debut of "Bison Now!"
The Bucknell soccer teams sure aren't afraid to "schedule up" are they? This weekend the Bison men take on Ohio State and Penn State in the Nittany Lions' home tournament (be sure to catch Sunday's BU-PSU game on the Big Ten Network at 3:30 p.m.), and the women are also at Penn State on Sunday evening. Last weekend, the women's team played Maryland and Rutgers on the road, and the Bison came away with a HUGE 3-2 win over a Maryland team that was sitting just outside the top-25.
Here's a suggestion for new Bison head men's basketball coach Dave Paulsen, whose Bucknell coaching debut will take place at Maryland on Nov. 14: let's see if the Terps would be willing to move the game outside. Already, three different Bison teams have won games at one of Maryland's outdoor facilities in the last five years. Men's lacrosse beat the No. 1 ranked Terps at their lacrosse/field hockey stadium in 2006. Men's soccer beat No. 2 Maryland at Ludwig Field in 2003, and women's soccer won there on Friday.
The win over a major conference foe was yet another in a long list of them in recent years. The men's basketball team garnered most of the headlines for beating Kansas and Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament (and Pitt, Syracuse, DePaul and St. Joe's in the regular season), but they have not been the only "Giant Killers" out there. Think about women's lacrosse beating Ohio State last season; or men's lacrosse beating No. 1 Maryland in 2006 and No. 2 Navy in 2005; or men's soccer stunning No. 1 Maryland in 2003 and winning an NCAA Tournament match in 2006; or the lightweight eight winning an IRA national championship in 2007.
Just last year alone, men's lacrosse, women's water polo, men's water polo and women's rowing were all nationally ranked.
Both soccer teams -- and also let's not forget the men's water polo squad opening up against No. 1 ranked and two-time defending national champion Cal on Saturday afternoon -- will have tough tests upcoming. An upset victory or two would certainly be wonderful, inspiring and impactful on the program, however at this point in Bucknell's athletics history it would not be a new phenomenon.
Cheers!
Bucky
September 2, 2008
My first submission of Bucky's Blog is going to be a bit of a hodgepodge ... a few of the notes I've been keeping on my desk throughout the summer that I've wanted to share with you. Here goes:
- First of all, this summer the Bucknell athletics department had a serious outbreak of Olympics fever. Practically every morning for two weeks the halls were abuzz with Olympic chatter, particularly during the swimming competition. In case you hadn't noticed, that Phelps kid is pretty good. Since most of Bucknell's fall sports were in their preseason training camps during the Olympics, many coaches took the time to gather their teams to watch Olympic competitions. Field hockey coach Jeremy Cook hosted a special 5 a.m. viewing of one of Team USA's matches, and the Bison men's water polo team was very much in tune with the inspiring silver medal performance from the U.S. men's team. It was a banner Olympic Games for the U.S. volleyball programs, both indoors and on the beach, and the Bucknell volleyball players were often overheard talking about matches they had just seen on TV.
- Congratulations to Bucknell cross country and track and field coach Kevin Donner, who got to watch one of his own former student-athletes compete in the Olympics. Brian Sell, who ran for Coach Donner at Saint Francis (Pa.) University (he is a 2001 grad), qualified for the Beijing Olympics in the marathon, where he finished 22nd in 2:16:07 in a field of nearly 100 runners. At the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in November, Sell edged out a Patriot League alum -- former Army standout Dan Browne -- for the final spot on the team.
- Former Bison basketball coach Pat Flannery also got to experience watching one of his former pupils compete in the Olympics, and he even got a first-hand look. Coach Flannery traveled all the way to Beijing to watch J.R. Holden play point guard for the Russian team. J.R. played great, averaging just under 18 points per game, but Russia, which won the European championship last summer, did not make it to the medal round. I hope to share some of Coach Flannery's Beijing experiences in a future entry.
- As for Bucky's favorite Olympic sport ... let's just say that if the Patriot League ever sponsored team handball, count me in for season tickets! I guess that sport is too close to some other popular sports to really catch on the U.S., but it's got all the ingredients -- speed, athleticism, contact -- to be really fun. It's got hints of basketball, soccer and lacrosse, although 7-year-old Bucky Jr. had the best description of team handball: it's like water polo but if they drained all the water out of the pool.
- Speaking of coaches and the Olympics, Bucknell's athletics staff is truly made up of sports fans. There is always banter going on about baseball, the NFL, etc. With many New York and New England natives on the staff, there has been plenty of baseball chatter through the years ... although the Yankees fans have been a bit quieter recently. Where did they all go?
- Hey, did you see where the new Oklahoma City NBA franchise has narrowed its choice down to six nicknames: Thunder, Energy, Wind, Marshalls, Barons and Bison. That's right ... Bison! How fitting would that be, considering the Bucknell Bison scored the biggest basketball win in program history -- the 2005 NCAA Tournament upset over Kansas -- in Oklahoma City at the Ford Center, which will be the new home of the still-unnamed NBA franchise. The new nickname is schedule to be revealed on Sept. 3. Word is that Thunder is the leading candidate, but there's still time for a late e-mail campaign for Bison!
- Here's a quick plug for the brand new "Bison Now!" event that will be debuting Thursday evening at the Country Cupboard in Lewisburg. Sponsored by Damon's Grill, the tri-annual event will kick off each season of Bucknell Athletics. It is meant to be both a meet-and-greet with all of Bucknell's fall sports coaches and many student-athletes, and it will also be a live radio show, hosted by Doug Birdsong on WMLP radio from 7-8 p.m. Free appetizers and drinks from Damon's will be served, and there will even be a special appearance by ... ahem ... Your's Truly! Hope you can make it out from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Col. John Kelly Room at Country Cupboard.
- I hope everyone is enjoying the new BucknellBison.com Web site. The athletic department has received a tremendous amount of positive feedback. Remember, the first live video event is coming this Saturday for the football season opener against Duquesne. Be sure to sign up for Bison Vision if you can't make it out to the game.
- My favorite note on the Bucknell-Duquesne season opener is that this will be a matchup of Orange Bowl champions. Most Bison fans are aware that Bucknell defeated Miami (Fla.) 26-0 in the very first Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1935, but you may not have known that two years later Duquesne defeated Mississippi State 13-12 in the third Orange Bowl contest.
- A reminder to everyone that Sunday's men's soccer game at Penn State will be televised live on the Big Ten Network at 3:30 p.m. What a day that will be for soccer fans in Central PA. Prior to the Bucknell-Penn State game, Ohio State will face Tulsa as part of the Penn State Classic tournament, then the soccer tripleheader at Jeffrey Field concludes at 6 p.m. with the Bison women taking on the Nittany Lions.
Well that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed edition No. 1 of Bucky's Blog. More to come soon!
Yours Truly,
Bucky Bison