Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Hosts Lehigh Friday Night on Bison Vision
4/15/2010 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 15, 2010
The race for the postseason begins Friday evening for the Bucknell men's lacrosse team, as the Bison host Lehigh in a key Patriot League matchup. Bucknell is 6-5 on the season, with all five losses coming by one goal, including three in overtime. The most recent of those heartbreakers was a 7-6 overtime setback to Army last Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. That dropped the Bison to 1-3 in the Patriot League, tying them with Lehigh and Colgate for the all-important fourth spot in the Patriot League standings. The good news for Bucknell is that it still has both Lehigh and Colgate remaining on the schedule, and both at home, so the Bison still have control over their postseason fate. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 12-4 loss at Colgate last weekend. That snapped a three-game winning streak for Kevin Cassese's squad. Like Bucknell, Lehigh's lone conference win so far has come against Holy Cross.
With a Win over Lehigh, Bucknell Would ...
• ... improve to 7-5 overall and 2-3 in the Patriot League.
• ... defeat the Mountain Hawks for the fourth straight year and 10th in last 11.
• ... maintain at least a share of fourth place in the Patriot League standings.
• ... improve to 48-18 in Patriot League play since 2000.
• ... make this year's senior class the winningest in program history.
Scouting Lehigh
• The Mountain Hawks are 6-6 overall, 1-3 in the Patriot League. They had a three-game winning streak snapped last Saturday at Colgate (12-4).
• Lehigh's lone league win was an 11-5 decision over Holy Cross. In their three league losses, the Mountain Hawks have averaged only 4.0 goals per game against Navy (8-3), Army (9-5) and Colgate (12-4).
• Lehigh averages 9.0 goals per game on the season, while allowing 9.7.
• The Mountain Hawks boast two 20-goal scorers in Dante Fantoni (20-11-31) and Cameron Lao-Gosney (20-7-27). David DiMaria (8-17-25) is the assist leader, while Brian Bienemann (16-8-24), Adam Johnston (16-3-19) and Roman Lao-Gosney (11-8-19) are also top point-producers.
• Conor Murphy appears to have taken over the starting goalie duties. After coming on in relief in the 16-15 overtime win against Binghamton on March 30, Murphy started each of the last two games, making 12 saves in a win over Sacred Heart and 13 in the loss to Colgate. Murphy has a .567 save percentage and an 8.30 goals-against average in five appearances. Dan Carr had been handling the bulk of the action in goal, playing to a .492 save percentage and 10.15 goals-against average in 10 appeareances.
• Lehigh has been a very good faceoff team this season, winning 55.3%, and this game will feature the top two faceoff men in the Patriot League. Lehigh's Will Scudder at 59.0% ranks No. 2 in the Patriot League, behind only Bucknell's Jake Clarke at 59.6%.
• The Mountain Hawks have been deadly with an extra man this season. They lead the Patriot League in EMO efficiency at 48.6%. Their man-down unit has been strong as well, holding opponents to only 25.0% success, also the best mark in the Patriot League.
• While Bucknell is 0-5 in one-goal games this season, Lehigh is 3-1. The Mountain Hawks have beaten Saint Joseph's 7-6, Air Force 14-13 and Binghamton 16-15 in overtime. Their only one-goal loss was an 8-7 setback at Denver.
• A number of Bucknell and Lehigh players were teammates in high school: Bucknell sophomore Billy Eisenreich and Lehigh senior Brian Bienemann both attended Chatham (N.J.) High School; Lehigh freshman Carlton Fisher went to St. Ignatius Prep in San Francisco, the alma mater of Bucknell sophomore Spencer Kaplan and freshman Billy Mattimore; Lehigh freshman Baxter Lanius and Bison freshman Kyle O'Keefe both attended the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut; Bucknell sophomore Nick Gantsoudes attended Avon Old Farms along with Lehigh sophomores Cameron and Roman Lao-Gosney; Lehigh junior Will Scudder and Bucknell freshman Wills Miller both attended the Haverford (Pa.) School.
Bucknell So Far
Bucknell has played 11 games thus far, six resulting in victories and five in tough one-goal losses. Here are thumbnail sketches of the team's first 11 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: Last Saturday 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-unbeaten (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 11, Holy Cross 2: Ryan Klipstein pumped in five more goals to lead the offense, and Kyle Feeney backstopped a terrific defensive effort with 12 saves as the Bison improved to 20-0 all-time against the Crusaders.
• Army 7, Bucknell 6 (OT): Army stunned the Bison with a Garrett Thul goal with 0:05 left in regulation and then a man-down goal from Tyler Seymour in over time to rally for a 7-6 win. The Bison led 4-1 early and 5-3 in the fourth quarter. After Army knotted the game at 5-all, Charlie Streep's third goal of the night put the Bison up 6-5 with 1:16 to play. Bucknell won the faceoff and had the ball behind the Army goal with less than 30 seconds left, but a turnover led to the tying goal.
More From the Army Game
Bucknell's five-game winning streak against the Black Knights was snapped ... it was the 10th time in the last 14 series meetings that Bucknell and Army played a one-goal game ... Charlie Streep led the Bison with three goals, while Austin Winter, Nick Gantsoudes and Chase Bailey added one each ... the Bison won 12 of the 17 faceoffs, with Jake Clarke going 12-for-16 with eight ground balls ... goalie Kyle Feeney finished with 10 saves ... Army finished with a 31-26 shot advantage ... Bailey's goal was his second of the season and second in as many games.
Heartbreak Hotel
• All five of Bucknell's losses this season have come by one goal. That is a new school record for one-goal losses in a season.
• Dating back to last year, each of the team's last eight losses and nine of the last 11 have come by a single goal.
• Three of Bucknell's five losses in 2010 have come in overtime against quality competition in Duke, Navy and Army.
Bucknell vs. Lehigh Last Season
• Bucknell 18, Lehigh 10 (Apr. 12, 2009): Bucknell's offense was in top form, scoring 18 goals on 39 shots against Lehigh on a chilly night at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Mike Danylyshyn and Perry Menzies scored four goals apiece, Tim Brandau tallied three goals and Austin Winter had two goals and four assists to lead the offense. Bucknell led 9-7 at the half after both teams scored five second-quarter goals, then the Bison outscored Lehigh 9-3 in the second half.
2010 Honors
The following Bison have been honored this season:
• Tim Brandau: Patriot League Offensive Player of Week (3/2).
• Jake Clarke: PL Defensive Player of Week (2/23).
• Kyle Feeney: PL Goalie of Week (4/5); PL Rookie of Week (2/23).
• Ryan Klipstein: PL Offensive Player of Week (3/22, 4/5).
• Alex Lyons: PL Defensive Player of Week (3/15, 4/5).
Bison Among the League Leaders
• Jake Clarke ranks 1st in ground balls per game (6.78) and 1st in faceoff percentage (.571).
• Kyle Feeney ranks 1st in goals-against average (7.75) and 2nd in save percentage (.572).
• Ryan Klipstein ranks 3rd in goals per game (2.55), 6th in points per game (3.00) and 4th in EMO goals per game (0.55).
• Charlie Streep ranks 9th in goals per game (1.82), T-9th in assists per game (1.00), 7th in points per game (2.82) and T-2nd in game-winning goals (2).
• Austin Winter ranks 3rd in assists per game (1.82) and 5th in points per game (3.18).
Bison Among the NCAA Leaders (top 20)
• Jake Clarke ranks 5th in ground balls per game (6.78) and 6th in faceoff percentage (.596).
• Kyle Feeney ranks 7th in goals-against average (7.75) and 10th in save percentage (.572).
• Ryan Klipstein ranks 20th in goals per game (2.55).
• Alex Lyons ranks 3rd in caused turnovers per game (2.64).
• Austin Winter ranks 14th in assists per game (1.82).
Klipstein Scoring Goals in Bunches
Junior midfielder Ryan Klipstein is enjoying a career year. He has scored 28 goals in 11 games, almost double the 15 combined goals he tallied in 2008 and 2009.
• Klipstein ranks 20th nationally in goals per game, but he is third among midfielders. Only Kevin Crowley of Stony Brook (3.10 goals per game) and Steve Serling of Lafayette (2.70) have scored more often among Division I middies.
• Klipstein tied the Bucknell record with eight goals in a 16-15 loss to Lafayette on March 20. The only other Bison to net eight goals in a game was Jim Ball against Penn State in 1979.
• Klipstein also had five goals against Holy Cross. His streak of five straight multi-goal games ended against Army last week.
• Klipstein has 18 goals in his last five games.
• He is bidding to become Bucknell's first 30-goal scorer since 2004, when Chris Cara and Patrick Christensen both recorded 38.
• Klipstein is also close to becoming the highest-scoring midfielder in program history. That distinction currently belongs to Bucknell Hall of Famer Rodney Brown, who scored 30 goals in 1983. John Morris also had 28 from the midfield position in 1981.
Winter Wonderland
• Senior 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.
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. 70-115-185 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.
• On the Patriot League career leaderboard, Winter ranks tied for fourth in assists and eighth in points.
• Winter was named the 2010 Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and an Inside Lacrosse Preseason Honorable Mention All-American.
Ground Ball Guys
• Bucknell is averaging 35.6 ground balls per game, the top mark in the Patriot League and the eighth-best in the nation.
• The Bison are +72 in ground balls on the season.
• Jake Clarke, who set a school record with 98 ground balls this season, has 61 more in nine games this year. He ranks No. 1 in the league and No. 5 in the country in GBs per game, and he is within five of the Bucknell career mark for ground balls in a game (see chart below).
• Clarke is one of seven Bison with 20 or more ground balls this season. Jason Neithamer leads the close defenseman with 39, while Mike Danylyshyn tops the attack unit with 29.
Bucknell Career Ground Ball Leaders 1. Ryan Goodman (2002-05) 175 2. Jake Clarke (2008-pres.) 170 3. Billy Haire (2006-09) 166 4. Mark Juelis (1998-01*) 152 5. J.C. Metivier (1998-01*) 146 * Ground balls have been kept officially at Bucknell since 1999
Lyons a Takeaway Artist
Junior defenseman Alex Lyons has been one of the nation's top thieves in 2010. With 29 caused turnovers in 11 games, he ranks behind only Brian Karalunas of Villanova (3.50) and Michael Camardo of UMBC (2.89) among all Division I players in that category.
Bison Now Patriot League's Stingiest
• After holding Holy Cross and Army to nine combined goals in the last two games, Bucknell has taken over the No. 1 spot in the Patriot League in scoring defense, with a team goals-against average of 8.13 (Navy is right behind at 8.54).
• The Bison rank No. 8 nationally in scoring defense and No. 8 in caused turnovers per game (10.3).
At the X
• Prior to last season, Bucknell's Achilles heel had come in the faceoff department. The Bison made significant strides in that area in 2009, when former walk-on Jake Clarke won the starting faceoff job in the preseason and proceeded to break school records for faceoff wins (187) and ground balls (98) in a season. He ranked fourth nationally in ground balls per game (6.53) and sixth in faceoff percentage (.578).
• Clarke, who had a 20-for-21 game against Penn State last season, has won 59.6% of his faceoffs in 2010 and has 61 ground balls in nine games.
• Clarke is 34-for-45 (.756) at the X in his three games against Army.
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.
• Junior Sam Finnell started the first two games of the season, but freshman Kyle 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.
• Feeney has since commandeered the starting job, and he has excelled in that role. He leads the Patriot League with a 7.75 goals-against average, and his .571 save percentage ranks No. 2.
• Feeney was named the Patriot League Goalie of the Week after making 12 saves with only two goals against in the 12-2 win over Holy Cross. He has also won a PL Rookie of the Week honor this year.
• Feeney made a season-high 19 saves against Lafayette. That is tied for the ninth-highest total in the nation this season.
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 converting 40.0% of the time, while the man-down crew is killing 70.6% of its penalties.
Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 47-18 (.723) 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 42-29 record at Bucknell and an 81-60 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 finishes up the 2010 regular season next Saturday at home against Colgate. That will be Senior Day at Christy Mathweson-Memorial Stadium, and the 1 p.m. game will be carried live on Bison Vision.
