Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Begins Postseason Push Saturday at Holy Cross
4/1/2010 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 1, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- After absorbing one-goal losses to Navy and Lafayette in Patriot League play so far, the Bison men's lacrosse team will try to make up some ground in the playoff chase beginning Saturday at Holy Cross. Game time is 4 p.m., following the Bucknell-Holy Cross women's game at noon. The Bison, who are 19-0 all-time against the Crusaders, are coming off a mid-week road victory over Penn State and now begin a run of four straight league games to end the regular season. Holy Cross is tied for fourth in the Patriot League at 1-2 (2-7 overall).
Bucknell is 5-4 overall in 2010, with all four losses coming by one goal. The Bison started strong and finished strong in Tuesday's 11-9 victory over Penn State. They jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first quarter, and after the Nittany Lions rallied to tie the game at 7-7 after three, Bucknell scored the first four goals of the fourth quarter to break it open. Ryan Klipstein had three goals in the game, giving him a team-high 23 on the season. Austin Winter recorded his 20th assist, Jake Clarke was again dominant (15-22) at the faceoff mark, and Nick Gantsoudes came up with the tiebreaking goal in the fourth period.
After an offensive hiccup against Albany in which they were held to a season-low six goals, at Penn State the Bison hit double digits for the sixth time in nine games this season.
Holy Cross is starting a five-game homestand on Saturday. Adam Pascal's squad has dropped three in a row, including an 11-5 loss to Lehigh in its most recent outing on Saturday. Both of the Crusaders' victories this season have been historic. They were 0-28 all-time against Dartmouth before beating the Big Green 13-8 on March 9, and only four days later they snapped an 0-for-20 streak with a 9-8 win over Colgate.
Holy Cross features one of the league's top scorers in Edison Parzinese (9-10-19), who 113 career points to his credit. Bucknell's defenders will also have to be mindful of double-digit point-producers James Kennedy (12-5-17), Chris Smirti (14-1-15), Kenny Minor (11-3-14), John Hannan (7-5-12) and Colin McGeehin (6-5-11). Connor Sweeney has played every minute in goal for Holy Cross and has 87 saves and 92 goals against in nine games. The Crusaders have won 41.7 percent of their faceoffs and have converted 40.6 percent of their man-up opportunities.
Bucknell So Far
Bucknell has played nine games thus far, five resulting in victories and four in tough one-goal losses. Here are thumbnail sketches of the team's first nine 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 11, Penn State 9: Bumped out of the national rankings for the first time this season, Bucknell got its offense back in gear, scoring four times in the opening period and four more in succession in the fourth to break open a 7-all tie. Ryan Klipstein had three goals and an assist to lead the offense.
Bucknell-Holy Cross Series
• Bucknell is 19-0 all-time against Holy Cross, including a 10-0 mark in Worcester.
• The two teams first met in 1991, the first year of Patriot League competition.
• In the last meeting on Holy Cross' home turf in 2008, Nick Sciubba made 15 saves and the Bison received goals from seven different players in a 7-2 win over the Crusaders. Chris Palmer, Austin Winter and Mike Danylyshyn all had a goal and an assist in the victory.
• Last season at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, Bucknell rode a six-goal second period to a 17-6 win over the Crusaders. Charlie Streep had a hat trick and Winter passed out five assists. Colin McGeehin scored three goals for Holy Cross. The Bison finished with a 40-21 shot advantage and used every healthy player in the game.
Bison Briefs
• Bucknell picked up 52 of the game's 95 ground balls at Penn State on Tuesday night. It was the team's second 50-ground ball game of the season (it had 50 against Jacksonville), and the Bison lead the Patriot League at 36.9 ground balls per game. That figure also ranks No. 10 nationally. Bucknell has 75 more ground balls than their opponents this season.
• The Bison rank No. 5 in the nation in caused turnovers per game (11.0). Individually, defenseman Alex Lyons averages 2.67 takeaways per game and is tied for second nationally in that category.
• In each of the last two games Bucknell did not have a failed clear until the fourth quarter. The Bison are a solid 83.9 percent on the season.
• Freshman middie Kyle O'Keefe scored his first career goal in the fourth quarter at Penn State.
• Mike Danylyshyn picked up a career-high eight ground balls against Penn State, most of them possession-savers on the offensive end.
• Bucknell has gone back-to-back games without a man-up goal, but the Bison are still converting at a solid 43.8 percent clip. Ryan Klipstein is tied for the Patriot League lead with six man-up goals.
Bison Among the League Leaders
• Austin Winter ranks 3rd in assists per game (2.22) and 5th in points per game (3.67).
• Ryan Klipstein ranks 2nd in goals per game (2.56) and 6th in points per game (3.11).
• Jake Clarke ranks 1st in ground balls per game (7.14) and 3rd in faceoff percentage (.569).
• Charlie Streep ranks 10th in goals per game (1.67), T-8th in assists per game (1.11) and 8th in points per game (2.78).
• Kyle Feeney ranks 2nd in goals-against average (8.64) and 4th in save percentage (.543).
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. 6 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. 114 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. 69-114-183 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.
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 41-28 record at Bucknell and an 80-59 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 concludes the regular season with three straight home Patriot League games, beginning Saturday, Apr. 10 against Army at 8 p.m.
