Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Looks to Get Back on Winning Side Tuesday at Penn State
3/29/2010 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
March 29, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- For the first time in 2010 the Bucknell men's lacrosse team has a losing streak to stop, and they will try to do just that on Tuesday night against in-state rival Penn State at Jeffrey Field. The Bison are now 4-4 on the season, with all four losses coming by one goal. Following a tough 16-15 setback against Lafayette, they improved their defense considerably but their red-hot offense suddenly cooled off in Saturday's 7-6 loss at Albany. On Tuesday Bucknell takes on a 1-6 Penn State squad that is coming off its first win of the season, 13-11 over St. John's on Saturday.
The Bison had scored 32 goals in its previous two contests and was averaging nearly 12 goals per game before being held to six goals on 39 shots against Albany. Still, Bucknell has seven players with 10 or more points, including a 30-point man in Austin Winter (11-19-30) and a 20-goal scorer in Ryan Klipstein (20-4-24). Winter ranks sixth in the nation in assists per game. The Bison have scored double-digit goals five times and have outscored foes 89-72. In the Albany game Bucknell benefitted from the return of No. 1 faceoff man Jake Clarke, who went out and won 9 of 15 with eight ground balls after missing two games with an injury. Clarke is fourth in the nation in ground balls per game at over 7.8 per game.
Penn State has plenty of offense as well. The Nittany Lions average 10 goals per game, with Matthew Mackrides (21-5-26) leading the squad in goals, assists and points. Other top scorers include Billy Gribbin (15-5-20), Nick Dolik (11-4-15) and Chris Hogan (10-4-14). Dave Baker has taken over as the Nittany Lions starting goalie this season and has a .442 save percentage and a 12.28 goals-against average. Penn State has been terrific in the faceoff department, winning 58.4 percent of its draws behind Danny Henneghan (17-31), Charley Henneghan (57-87) and Joe Britt (32-64).
Bucknell So Far
Bucknell has played eight games thus far, four resulting in victories and four in tough one-goal losses. Here are thumbnail sketches of the team's first eight contests:
• Duke 12, Bucknell 11 (OT): The Bison opened the season against No. 2 Duke at McEachern High School near Atlanta, and the Orange & Blue seemed poised for the upset after sprinting out to a 7-2 lead. They were up 8-5 at the half, but Duke slowly chipped away, tying the game for the first time at 9-9 midway through the fourth quarter. Chris Palmer and Austin Winter scored 12 seconds apart to put the Bison back up 11-9 with 5:03 left, but goals by Max Quinzani and Will McKee tied it back up with two minutes to play. Bucknell won the final faceoff of regulation and fired off four good shots in the closing seconds, but missed the cage on each of them. There was a heated scramble for the overtime faceoff, but eventually Duke's Parker McKee nabbed the loose ball and started a fastbreak, which Zach Howell finished 15 seconds into the extra period to give the Blue Devils their only lead of the day and a wild 12-11 win.
• Bucknell 11, Ohio State 5: On Feb. 20, in the home opener at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, the roles were reversed this time, as the Bison got off to a slow start but finished strong in an 11-5 win over Ohio State. Bucknell fought off 2-0 and 4-2 deficits, then outscored the Buckeyes 9-1 over the final 37:08.
• Bucknell 13, Towson 9: At Johnny Unitas Stadium, the Bison outscored Towson 6-0 in the fourth quarter to rally for a 13-9 victory. Tim Brandau, playing back in his hometown, was the story for Bucknell. Brandau finished with six goals and two assists, and he had four goals and one assist in the fourth quarter alone. The Bison trailed 9-7 after three periods, but Brandau scored three straight only 4:40 apart to put them up 10-9. Later, he assisted on one insurance goal and scored another to help his team avenge a loss to the Tigers last season.
• Navy 8, Bucknell 7 (OT): After Bucknell rallied from a four-goal deficit with a huge fourth quarter, Patrick Moran scored 1:20 into overtime to lift Navy to an 8-7 win. Ryan Klipstein's third goal of the day tied the game at 7-7 with 1:25 left in regulation, then Jake Clarke won the faceoff and the Bison played for the final shot. Charlie Streep, who beat Navy at the buzzer in Lewisburg last season, shot wide inside five seconds remaining, but Austin Winter grabbed the loose ball behind the goal and made a great feed in front to middie Chris Palmer. Navy goalie RJ Wickham made a great spawling save, however, and the Mids scored on the first possession of overtime.
• Bucknell 9, Hobart 7: In his first game as an attackman, Charlie Streep scored four goals and Austin Winter had a goal and three assists to lead the Bison to a home win over their former Patriot League rivals. The game was tied at 3-3 at the half, but the Bison took control with a four-goal third quarter.
• Bucknell 17, Jacksonville 8: In the first-ever college lacrosse game played in Forsyth County, N.C., Bucknell sprinted to a 7-0 lead, withstood a second-quarter rally by Jacksonville, and eventually pulled away for a 17-8 win. Bucknell's starting attack unit of Charlie Streep (4-3-7), Austin Winter (4-2-6) and Mike Danylyshyn (1-2-3) combined for nine goals and seven assists.
• Lafayette 16, Bucknell 15: The 11th-ranked and still-unbeadten (6-0) Leopards broke a 15-all tie on Stefan Bauer's goal with 2:13 left and defeated the Bison for the first time since 1993. The classic game featured five lead changes and was tied at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 14 and 15. The loss overshadowed a record-setting day for midfielder Ryan Klipstein, who tied the Bucknell record with eight goals. Austin Winter assisted on five of Klipstein's eight tallies, and Winter finished with nine points on two goals and five assists.
• Albany 7, Bucknell 6: Bucknell connected on only six of 39 shots, including two misses in the final 12 seconds of the game. The Bison finished with advantages in shots (39-22), ground balls (39-20) and faceoffs (11-6), but John Carroll's 14 saves helped the Great Danes overcome Bucknell's statistical domination.
Bucknell-Penn State Series
• Penn State leads the all-time series 34-9, dating back to Bucknell's first season of lacrosse in 1968.
• Penn State has won the last two meetings by a goal each, 8-7 in 2008 and 9-8 in 2009.
• The last time Bucknell traveled to State College it was ranked No. 9 in the nation, equaling its highest ranking ever. But the Nittany Lions pulled off the upset behind goalie Drew Adams, who scored a goal and made a point-blank save with six seconds remaining.
• Last season at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, Jake Clarke set school records by winning 20 of 21 faceoffs and collecting 13 ground balls, but Adams made 20 saves and the Nittany Lions scored the final three goals of the night to stun the 19th-ranked Bison.
Bison Among the League Leaders
• Tim Brandau ranks 2nd in goals per game (2.75) and T-3rd in points per game (4.14). • Austin Winter ranks 2nd in assists per game (2.38) and T-3rd in points per game (3.75).
• Ryan Klipstein ranks 4th in goals per game (2.50) and T-8th in points per game (3.00).
• Jake Clarke ranks 1st in ground balls per game (7.83) and 5th in faceoff percentage (.541).
• Charlie Streep ranks 9th in goals per game (1.88), T-9th in assists per game (1.00) and 10th in points per game (2.88).
• Billy Eisenreich ranks T-9th in assists per game (1.00).
• Kyle Feeney ranks 2nd in goals-against average (8.59) and 4th in save percentage (.557).
In the Crease
• Bucknell graduated two senior goalies following the 2009 season, Patriot League Goalie of the Year Nick Sciubba and Arnold, Md., native Matt Antonelli.
• This year, junior Sam Finnell and freshman Kyle Feeney have both seen time time in goal, and in an odd twist, the backup goalie earned the decision in each of the first three games.
• Finnell started the first two games, but Feeney came on and was excellent in relief in both games. He made four fourth-quarter saves against Duke and had nine saves with only two goals against in the win over Ohio State.
• That earned Feeney the start against Towson, but he was pulled in the second quarter in favor of Finnell, who went on to make six fourth-quarter saves en route to his first career win.
• Feeney went the distance in the Navy game and had a strong game, posting 12 saves with only eight goals against. He also performed well against Hobart and Jacksonville, and he made a career-high 19 saves in the loss to Lafayette. Feeney ranks third in the Patriot League in save percentage at .573.
• Bucknell has faced some outstanding goaltending at the other end of the field. Bison opponents are averaging 13.0 saves per game, and in their four losses the opposing goalies combined for 59 saves. Duke's Dan Wigrizer made 17 stops against them on opening day; Navy's RJ Wickham stopped 18, including the potential game-winner as time expired; and Albany's Brian Carroll made his 14th save with 0:02 left to preserve the Great Danes' 7-6 win.
Truly Special Teams
• Bucknell's special teams units were fantastic last season. The Bison ranked No. 5 nationally in man-down defense (.800) and No. 6 in man-up offense (.444).
• This season, Bucknell's EMO unit is 14-for-28 (0-for-5 against Towson, 14-for-23 against everyone else), while the man-down team has killed 16 of 24. The EMO unit ranks 12th in the nation.
Winter Wonderland
• Austin Winter ranks high among Bucknell's all-time scorers. With his three assists against Towson, he became only the third player in program history to record 100 career assists, and he now ranks No. 4 nationally in assists per game.
Bucknell Career Assist Leaders 1. Pete von Hoffmann, 1976-79 138 Chris Cara, 2002-05 138 3. Austin Winter, 2007-pres. 113 4. Jon Romm, 1987-90 82 5. Todd Streelman, 1990-93 74Bucknell Career Point Leaders 1. Chris Cara, 2002-05 111-138-249 2. Pete von Hoffmann, 1976-79 82-139-220 3. Justin Zackey, 1991-94 138-58-196 4. Austin Winter, 2007-pres. 67-113-180 5. Jon Romm, 1987-90 97-82-179
• Winter last season became the fifth two-time All-American in Bucknell lacrosse history, and this year he is aiming to become the program's first-ever three-time All-American.
• Winter has moved into the top 10 on the Patriot League career points list.
• Winter was named the 2010 Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and an Inside Lacrosse Preseason Honorable Mention All-American.
• For the second straight year, Winter was named to the Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List.
Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 46-17 (.730) in the Patriot League since the start of the 2000 season, including a perfect 6-0 mark in 2009.
• Prior to the advent of the Patriot League Tournament, 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. • The Bison have lost in the Patriot League Tournament championship game in each of the last two seasons.
"A Bison Never Forgets"
• Bucknell juniors Ryan Klipstein and John Collett have launched "A Bison Never Forgets," a program with a mission to collect donations for supplies to be sent to former college lacrosse players now serving overseas in the armed forces.
• Donors receive a bracelet printed with "A Bison Never Forgets." Donations will be accepted at all Bucknell home games this season.
• Collett's brother, Mike Collett, was a four-year member of the Navy lacrosse team before graduating last spring. He now serves on the USS Ashland.
Head Coach Frank Fedorjaka
• Reigning Patriot League Coach of the Year Frank Fedorjaka is in his fifth season as Bucknell's head coach after succeeding the legendary Sid Jamieson.
• Fedorjaka, who is only the second head coach in the 43-year history of the program, has a 40-28 record at Bucknell and a 79-59 overall record, including a five-year stint at Franklin & Marshall.
• He had been an assistant coach under Jamieson before taking over as head coach in 2006.
• Frank's wife, Kathy Fedorjaka, is Bucknell's head women's basketball coach.
Next Up
Bucknell returns to Patriot League competition on Saturday at Holy Cross at 4 p.m. That will be a doubleheader, with the Bison women also playing at the Crusaders at noon.
