Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
#6 Duke
Upset Bid Comes Up Short as Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Falls to No. 6 Duke, 11-7
2/14/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Feb. 14, 2009
DURHAM, N.C. - Joe Mele (Westbury, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) equaled his career high with five goals, including four in the third quarter, and Austin Winter (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes) assisted on four of them, but the Bucknell men's lacrosse team could not overcome a 3-0 first-quarter deficit and dropped its season opener at No. 6 Duke Saturday afternoon by an 11-7 score.
The Bison (0-1), who are ranked 20th nationally in the USILA Coaches' Poll, did not score in the first quarter, and trailed 6-2 at halftime. However, they outscored the Blue Devils (1-0) 4-2 in the third quarter and faced a slim 8-6 deficit entering the final quarter.
Steve Schoeffel led a balanced Duke scoring attack with three goals. A total of seven Blue Devils scored in the contest, while Ned Crotty posted a game-high five assists and six points.
Bucknell had three-minute man-up situations to start both the third and fourth quarters due to illegal equipment penalties on Duke. In the third quarter the Bison capitalized with two goals by Mele, while in the fourth Schoeffel tallied a goal in a man-down situation, marking the first of three consecutive goals for the Blue Devils.
Mele's two goals in the opening minutes of the third stanza brought the Bison to within 6-4, but Crotty and Max Quinzani tallied back-to-back scores 92 seconds apart to extend the Duke lead back to a four-goal margin. Mele responded with the final two goals of the quarter to make it 8-6.
Despite Bucknell outshooting the Blue Devils 15-5 in the fourth quarter, Duke scored the first three goals of the frame to extend its lead to 11-6. Tim Brandau (Owings Mills, Md./McDonogh) rounded out the scoring for the Bison with 2:48 remaining.
Senior Nick Sciubba (Sea Cliff, N.Y./Salisbury School (Conn.)) made eight saves, including five in the first quarter, in goal for Bucknell. His counterpart, Rob Schroeder, registered seven stops.
Winter, who has scored in every game of his career, has now netted a point in 31 consecutive contests, the fourth-longest streak in the nation. He also moved up to sixth on Bucknell's career assists list with 66.
Bucknell outshot Duke 37-27 and had 36 ground balls compared to 39 for the Blue Devils. The Bison won 10 of 19 faceoffs and were 3 of 5 in man-up situations. Duke converted just 1 of 4 man-up opportunities.
Bucknell, which will play four ranked opponents in its first five games this season, will travel to No. 19 Ohio State next Saturday, Feb. 21, for a 12 p.m. game.
