Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Visits Army Saturday in Key Patriot League Men's Lax Showdown
4/2/2009 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 2, 2009
Two of the top teams in the Patriot League meet on Saturday afternoon at Michie Stadium, when Bucknell visits Army in a key conference matchup. The Bison enter the contest tied with Colgate atop the Patriot League standings at 3-0. Bucknell is coming off a 17-6 rout of Holy Cross last weekend, and it also has league wins over Navy and Lafayette. The Bison have won four of their last five overall, with the lone loss during the last three weeks an 8-7 nailbiter to Towson in which Bucknell played without two of their most important players in Austin Winter and Jake Clarke, who both sat out with minor injuries. Army has had a hard-luck season so far. Four of the Black Knights' five losses have come by one goal, including three overtime setbacks. In Patriot League play, Army let an 11-3 third-quarter lead get away in a 13-12 overtime loss to Lehigh, and this past Sunday Colgate scored twice in the final minute of regulation and again in double overtime to deal the Black Knights a 10-9 defeat.
With a Win over Army, Bucknell Would ...
Last Time Out
Joe Mele and Charlie Streep scored three goals apiece and Austin Winter handed out five assists to help the Bison run past Holy Cross 17-6 on Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Mike Danylyshyn, Perry Menzies and Tim Brandau added two goals each for the Bison, who used every healthy player, including all three goalies. Holy Cross led 2-1 early, but the Bison tied it up before the end of the first period, then scored six times in the second to open up an 8-3 halftime lead. Three straight tallies to start the second half broke it open, and by the time five minutes had elapsed in the fourth quarter, Bucknell had emptied the bench.
More From Holy Cross
Bucknell improved to 19-0 all-time against the Crusaders ... the Bison finished with a 40-21 shot advantage and a 39-19 edge in ground balls ... junior Ryan Bakker, sophomore Jordan Nies and freshman Tom Thibeault all scored their first career goals ... Thibeault also assisted on Bakker's goal ... sophomore Jason Foreit picked up an assist for his first collegiate point ... senior short-stick defensive middie John Togneri scored his first goal of the year ... the Bison defense allowed only two goals all day in settled situations ... Bucknell won two-thirds of the faceoffs (16 of 24), with Jake Clarke winning 10 of his 15 ... Clarke also posted a game-high seven ground balls ... Bucknell was 2-for-2 with an extra man.
Bison, Black Knights Keep 'Em Close
Bucknell and Army have met 11 times this decade, with the Bison winning six times and the Black Knights five. Amazingly, nine of those 11 games have been decided by one goal, including six in a row during one stretch. Since 2000, the only two games not decided by one goal were three-goal “blowouts” by the Bison in 2002 and 2008.
Bucknell vs. Army Last Season
The Bison and Black Knights met twice in 2008, with Bucknell prevailing 7-4 at home during the regular season and 8-7 over top-seeded Army in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals at West Point.
Tough Schedule to Open Season
Bucknell head coach Frank Fedorjaka put together a very demanding schedule this season, particularly right up front. Five of Bucknell's first seven opponents were nationally ranked at the time of the game, and a sixth (Hobart) was unranked at the time but later joined top 20 after beating Bucknell and Georgetown. The Bison have two wins over ranked foes: 8-7 over No. 12 Navy and 13-8 over No. 18 Denver.
Streep Honored (Again)
Freshman Charlie Streep was named the Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Rookie of the Week for the fourth time in the last six weeks on Monday. The Bison midfielder scored seven goals in the team's two games last week. Last Tuesday, Streep scored four of his team's seven goals in an 8-7 loss to Towson. Two of those tallies came in the fourth quarter of an extremely tight game in which neither team led by more than two goals all night. The four goals were a season high. Streep then tossed in three more goals in Bucknell's 17-6 rout of Patriot League rival Holy Cross on Saturday. Among those tallies was what eventually proved to be the game-winning goal.
Streep Making Quick Mark ...
Charlie Streep has made a quick impact at Bucknell and has made an early push for Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors. A four-time PL Rookie of the Week already this season, Streep leads the team in goals (16) and ranks second to Austin Winter in points (20). He was the hero of the Feb. 28 8-7 win over Navy when he scored the winning goal at the final buzzer after a great one-on-one move. Streep has had a four-goal game (Towson) and three three-goal games (Ohio State, Lafayette, Holy Cross) this season.
... And Other Rookies Are Too
Charlie Streep is not the only freshman playing a significant role so far this season. Billy Eisenreich and Nick Gantsoudes have both seen time on the second midfield unit, and both scored big goals in the Navy win. Eisenrech has four goals so far, while Gantsoudes has two goals and three assists. Jason Neithamer has been one of the top two long-stick defensive midfielders and has 17 ground balls to his credit. Another freshman pole, John Scally, has seen his playing time increase of late, and he has 16 ground balls in eight games.
Offensive Resurgence
Through five games this season the Bison had managed 32 goals (6.4 per game), including just eight in back-to-back losses to Hobart and Notre Dame. But in the five games since then, Bucknell has exploded for 64 scores (12.8 per game). The 18 goals against Lafayette on March 14 was the team's most in a game in five years.
At the X
Bucknell's Achilles heel in recent years has come in the faceoff department, but the Bison have made significant strides in that area in 2009. Sophomore Jake Clarke won the starting faceoff job in preseason, and he has been terrific so far. After going 10-for-15 against Denver, Clarke is up to 60.7% (88-for-145) on the season. He leads the Patriot League in faceoff percentage (based on NCAA minimums) and ground balls per game (5.9).
Clarke No. 7 Nationally in FO%
Bucknell's Jake Clarke ranks seventh among all Division I players in faceoff percentage: Division I FO% Leaders 1. Shane Walterhoefer, North Carolina .654 2. Christopher Mattes, Rutgers .629 3. Matt Francis, Marist .622 4. Tommy Lee, Delaware .609 Adam Rand, Stony Brook .609 6. Bryn Holmes, Maryland .607 7. Jake Clarke, Bucknell .600 8. Joe Britt, Penn State .606 9. John Glynn, Cornell .603 10. Cesar Munoz, Lafayette .603
Winter No. 5 Nationally in Assists
Bucknell's Austin Winter ranks tied for fifth among all Division I players in assists per game: Division I Assist Leaders 1. Ned Crotty, Duke 2.73 2. Kyle Hollingsworth, Brown 2.43 Rob Pannell, Cornell 2.43 4. Kenny Nims, Syracuse 2.25 5. Austin Winter, Bucknell 2.00 Brian Caufield, Albany 2.00 Charley Dickensen, Denver 2.00 Danny Glading, Virginia 2.00 Corey Zindel, Marist 2.00
Also Among the NCAA Leaders
Jake Clarke also ranks No. 12 in ground balls per game (5.89) ... Nick Sciubba is No. 26 in save percentage (.555) and No. 28 in goals-against average (8.73) ... Austin Winter ranks No. 50 in points per game (2.89) ... as a team, Bucknell ranks 10th in faceoff win percentage (.563), No. 11 in man-down defense (.789) and No. 12 in scoring defense (7.50).
Bison Among the Patriot League Leaders
Winter Now No. 4 on Career Assist Chart
Austin Winter, only midway through his junior year, already ranks fourth on Bucknell's career assist chart: Bucknell Career Assist Leaders 1. Pete von Hoffmann, 1976-79 138 Chris Cara, 2002-05 138 3. Jon Romm, 1987-90 82 4. Austin Winter, 2007-pres. 80 5. Todd Streelman, 1990-93 74
Winter also just moved into the top 10 on Bucknell's all-time points list: Bucknell Career Point Leaders 1. Chris Cara, 2002-05 249 2. Pete von Hoffmann, 1976-79 220 3. Justin Zackey, 1991-94 196 4. Jon Romm, 1987-90 179 5. Tom Cusick, 1984-87 143 Tom Walther, 1985-88 143 Pete Keblish, 1987-90 143 8. Jim Ball, 1976-79 136 9. Austin Winter, 2007-pres. 127 10. Todd Streelman, 1990-93 125
Sciubba Among Top 10 Save Leaders
Nick Sciubba ranks among Bucknell's all-time save leaders: Bucknell Career Save Leaders 1. Ken Mangano, 1987-90 703 2. Tom Sanders, 1976-79 664 3. Justin Sussman, 2000-03 572 4. Bryan McAdam, 1982-86 531 5. Colin Barker, 1991-94 501 6. Matt Baran, 2003-06 465 7. Scott Johnson, 1973-76 431 8. Stu Berger, 1978-81 378 9. Nick Sciubba, 2007-pres. 328 10. Matt Wojnovich, 1991-94 287
Next Up
Bucknell plays its final non-conference game of the regular season on Tuesday night when it hosts in-state rival Penn State at 7:30 p.m. The Bison then finish up the regular season with key Patriot League matchups against Lehigh on Apr. 11 and Colgate on Apr. 18.
