Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Visits Hobart Saturday
3/5/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
March 5, 2009
Bucknell continues its difficult early season slate on Saturday afternoon at former Patriot League rival Hobart. Bison head coach Frank Fedorjaka goes up against his alma mater in this one, and he will be trying to lead his Bucknell team to a second straight victory following Saturday's thrilling 8-7 win over No. 12 Navy. Freshman Charlie Streep ultimately played the starring role in the victory when he scored the winning goal with no time left on the clock. Of Bucknell's first five opponents, Hobart will be the only one not listed in the national rankings at the time of the game, however the Statesmen are off to a strong start at 3-0, with each victory coming on the road. On Saturday Hobart won 8-6 at Providence, and it also has victories over Saint Joseph's (12-7) and Binghamton (8-4) to its credit. Hobart has mostly done it with defense so far, as it ranks third nationally in goals against at 5.67 per game. First year head coach T.W. Johnson's offense is led by Jeff Colburn (3-8-11) and Tyler Cassell (8-0-8).
With a Win over Hobart, Bucknell Would ...
Tough Schedule to Open Season
Bucknell head coach Frank Fedorjaka put together a very demanding schedule this season, particularly right up front. Bucknell's first five games come against Duke, Ohio State, Navy, Hobart and Notre Dame, with only the Navy game at home. Hobart is the only one of those five not currently nationally ranked, with Notre Dame (7), Duke (13), Ohio State (15) and Navy (16) all ranked in the top 16.
Last Time Out
Freshman middie Charlie Streep scored just before the final buzzer, lifting the Bison to a wild 8-7 victory over No. 12 Navy on Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Bucknell seemed to be in complete control with a 7-3 lead through three quarters, but the Midshipmen came storming back in the final period. Navy scored four straight goals, the last tying the game at 7-7 with 1:30 to play. But Jake Clarke won the critical faceoff for the Bison, and after three shots missed the net in closing seconds, Streep took possession of the ball on a restart in the deep right corner with 0:05 showing on the clock. With standout short-stick defensive middie Geoff Leone — a Preseason First Team All-American — marking him, Streep sprinted to the goal and scored in traffic while taking a wallop from a defender, setting off a jubilant celebration from the Bucknell bench.
More From Navy
Bucknell received half of its eight goals from freshmen midfielders, as Charlie Streep scored twice and Nick Gantsoudes and Billy Eisenreich both recorded their first career goals ... sophomore Ryan Klipstein also registered two goals, including a highlight-reel, behind-the-back shot in the first quarter that gave the Bison a 2-1 lead ... senior Joe Mele scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season ... junior attackmen Tim Brandau and Austin Winter combined for five assists, with a career-high three coming from Brandau ... senior goalie Nick Sciubba bounced back from a tough outing at Ohio State and stopped 13 shots in the win over Navy ... Bucknell won six of the 18 faceoffs, but it captured three big ones in the fourth quarter ... the Mids held a 27-26 shot advantage and won the ground ball game 32-23 ... sophomore Jake Clarke led the Bison with six ground balls, while senior Billy Haire had three.
Coach Fed vs. His Alma Mater
Bison head coach Frank Fedorjaka is 2-1 against Hobart as a head coach, with both victories coming by a single goal in each of the last two seasons. Fedorjaka graduated from Hobart in 1989 after a stellar career in both lacrosse and football. He was a starting long-stick defensive midfielder on three NCAA Division III national championship teams. He was also a three-year starter at wide receiver for the Statesman football team and earned All-America honors in 1988.Fedorjaka broke all of the school's reception records and was Hobart's all-time leading receiver until 2004. He was named Hobart's Athlete of the Year in 1989.
Buchmayr Back in Collegiate Lacrosse, Faces Old Team
Junior middie Brandon Buchmayr has joined the Bison program in 2009, and his story is an inspiring one. Buchmayr was a midfielder for Hobart as a freshman in 2006, but he left the school after one season. After a short stint at Fairfield, he enrolled at Marymount College in Palos Verdes, Calif., a two-year school with no varsity athletics program. Buchmayr himself founded a club lacrosse program there, where he raised funds, coached the team (only a handful of players on the team had ever picked up a lacrosse stick before) and was the star player. After being named the school's student of the year in 2008, he enrolled at Bucknell and landed a spot on the team, where he is currently a member of the second midfield unit.
Bucknell vs. Hobart Last Season
Ryan Klipstein scored his first four career goals and Nick Marks tallied the tie-breaking goal with 5:49 to play, leading 15th-ranked Bucknell to a tense 10-9 victory over Hobart at sunny Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on Feb. 24, 2008. Klipstein also had an assist, giving him a five-point day for the Bison. Tim Brandau added two goals and Austin Winter had a goal and two assists. Bucknell led for most of the game, until Hobart rallied from a three-goal deficit to tie it in the fourth quarter. But Marks, who had not attempted a shot all day, dodged a defender and fired low past Statesman goalie Max Silberlicht to snap a 9-9 deadlock. Hobart took two penalties in the final six minutes, allowing the Bison to kill some clock after taking the lead. The second of those infractions, a slash on defenseman Justin Hager, was officially whistled with 1:31 to play, but with Winter as the primary ballhandler, Bucknell stalled for about 90 seconds during the delayed penalty before the ball hit the ground, then ran the clock down inside 30 seconds left while man-up. Just after the penalty expired, however, Hobart's Sean Murphy stole a pass and ran the length of the field before firing, but Bison goalie Nick Sciubba came up with the last of his 14 saves with 17 seconds left. Mike Suits then fired a low shot just wide with three seconds left. With one final chance on a re-start from behind the cage, Jamie Kirk's pass in front could not connect and time expired.
Three Bison Honored
In the wake of Bucknell's 8-7 win over Navy on Saturday in the first Patriot League game of the season, three Bucknell players earned weekly honors from the Patriot League office on Tuesday. Senior defenseman Billy Haire was named the defensive player of the week, senior Nick Sciubba was the goalie of the week, and freshman middie Charlie Streep was the rookie of the week. Streep garnered top rookie honors for the second week in a row.
At the X
Bucknell's Achilles heel in recent years has come in the faceoff department, but the Bison appear to be making significant strides in that area in 2009. Sophomore Jake Clarke won the starting faceoff job in preseason, and he has been terrific so far. Clarke won 8 of 14 draws against Duke and 13 of 22 against Ohio State, and he leads the team with 17 ground balls in three games. Sophomore Christian Tucker backs up Clarke. Hobart has won 50.0% of its faceoffs this season.
Veteran Attack Unit
The Bison are fortunate to have the same starting attack trio for the third consecutive season. Senior Joe Mele, now almost two full years removed from his ACL injury suffered in the Navy game at home, is healthy and looking sharp. He equaled his career-high with five goals in the Duke game and had one more against both Ohio State and Navy. Junior Austin Winter is a perennial All-America and Patriot League Player of the Year candidate who already has 10 points in three games this season. And junior Tim Brandau has been the least-decorated of the bunch but has 59 goals and 78 points to his credit already.
Two-Thirds of Close D Back
Bucknell has two very experienced close defensemen in seniors Billy Haire and Tom Izard. Haire is an Inside Lacrosse Preseason Honorable Mention All-American and the 2009 Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He has been named to the All-Patriot League team in each of the last two seasons. Izard is in his second season with the starting unit and is coming off a strong junior year. Sophomore John Collett is the new man on that unit, as he has replaced four-year starter Evan Burns.
More Seniors in the Midfield
Bucknell is also senior-laden at the midfield and defensive midfield positions. Seniors Perry Menzies and Doug Buckley are stalwarts at offensive midfield, while freshman Charlie Streep and sophomores Mike Danylyshyn and Ryan Klipstein lend an infusion of youth. Menzies was a Second Team All-Patriot League pick last season, and he scored both the tying and winning goals in Bucknell's 8-7 win over Army in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. At short-stick defensive midfield, seniors Michael Cooke and John Togneri offer a veteran presence, and junior Scott Monfort has been a regular at long-stick d-middie for two seasons.
New Faces on the Sideline
Fourth-year head coach Frank Fedorjaka has two new assistant coaches at his side this season. Judd Lattimore came to Bucknell from North Carolina, where he replaced Pat Myers (who is now with the Tar Heels) as offensive coordinator. Lattimore has coached in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last six years: two with North Carolina, one with Penn, one with Delaware and two with Limestone College, a Division II powerhouse. Also new to the Bison sideline is Eric Genova, who came to Bucknell from Cornell. Genova works will all phases of the program, with an emphasis on the faceoff unit.
Patriot League Success
Bucknell is now 41-15 (.732) in the Patriot League since the start of the 2000 season. Bucknell 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.
Captains Named Next Up
Bucknell faces yet another top-notch foe on Thursday afternoon, when the Bison and Notre Dame meet up at Georgetown Prep in Bethesda, Md. It will be the first meeting between the Bison and Fighting Irish since the 2001 NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame won that postseason contest 12-7 at West Point, N.Y.
