Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh
Bucknell Men's Soccer Stunned by Lehigh in Double Overtime, 2-1
11/6/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 6, 2009
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LEWISBURG, Pa. - Adam Welch scored on a header in the second overtime period, sending Lehigh to a 2-1 victory over Bucknell Friday night at chilly Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium. The Mountain Hawks clinched a Patriot League Tournament berth with the win, while the first-place Bison missed a chance to clinch the regular-season title and home-field advantage for the league playoffs.
Despite the loss, Bucknell can still finish first if Colgate wins or ties at American on Saturday afternoon. The Bison have a two-point lead over American, but the Eagles can swipe the top seed with a victory at home against Colgate.
With both sides having plenty at stake, Bucknell (14-5-0, 5-2-0) and Lehigh (9-5-3, 4-2-1) engaged in an entertaining battle that featured both strong defense and good scoring chances throughout.
Bison keeper Tommy Caso (Phoenix, Md./McDonogh) was terrific in the first half, when he made four saves. The best was a diving stop on a blast from Adam Gazda with just over 11 minutes left in the half. Caso went vertical to tip away a shot that was ticketed for the upper left corner of the goal.
Both teams had free-kick opportunities just outside the box in the final eight minutes of the half. On Lehigh's attempt, Welch's low shot through traffic skipped wide of target, and later Conor O'Brien (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./St. Anthony's) bent a shot around the wall but Lehigh keeper Jonathan Nydell was in the right spot to corral it.
Caso made another tough save on Gazda's free kick just two minutes into the second half, but the Mountain Hawks finally broke through in the 51st minute. Gazda took a free kick from about 40 yards out and sent it deep into the box, where James Graf headed it into the left side netting.
Bucknell amped up the pressure after falling behind and generated plenty of action inside the 18. With 22 minutes to play Josh Plump (Millburn, N.J./Millburn) made a great run down the right side and beat his man into the box, but his last-second centering pass was just broken up by a defender. Two minutes later CK Kumah (Accra, Ghana/The Hotchkiss School) settled a lob pass in the right side of the box, then barely missed the top left corner with his shot.
Finally, with 10:07 remaining in regulation, Bucknell pocketed the equalizer when Brendan Burgdorf (Westfield, N.J./The Pingry School) headed in an in-swinging corner kick from Tommy McCabe (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney).
Lehigh tried to answer right back, as Austin Decker hit a bicycle kick that Caso tipped off the top of the crossbar, then pulled the ricochet high out of the air. Only a minute later Bucknell was back on the attack as O'Brien walked in alone from the right flank, but Nydell made a spectacular save on the Patriot League scoring leader to keep it a 1-1 game.
In the first minute of overtime Burgdorf was taken down just outside the box, but O'Brien's free kick slipped by the left post.
Bucknell seemed to control the run of play in the overtime periods, but Lehigh was able to punch in the golden goal in the 102nd minute. Gazda took the ball to the end line to the right of the goal and flipped a high pass inside the six-yard box. Welch and Caso collided going for the ball, but Welch got enough head on the ball to send it over the line.
It was only the fifth loss of the season for the Bison, who were trying to equal Lehigh's Patriot League-record 15 regular-season victories.
Lehigh finished with a 15-13 shot advantage. Caso made seven saves for the Bison, while Nydell had two for Lehigh.
The Patriot League Tournament begins next Friday at either Bucknell or American, depending on the result of Saturday's American-Colgate game.
