Bucknell University Athletics
Playoff Spot on Line as Bucknell Men's Lax Hosts Colgate Saturday on Bison Vision
4/22/2010 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 22, 2010
The game has been listed on the official schedule all season long, but for all intents and purposes the playoffs begin Saturday for Bucknell and Colgate when the two teams gather at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Bison and Raiders are both in “single elimination” position, as the two teams come in tied for fourth place in the Patriot League standings with 2-3 records. The winner will qualify as the fourth and final seed at next week's Patriot League Tournament at Army, while the loser will miss out on the postseason. Bucknell is coming off a 14-5 rout of Lehigh last Friday, a win that was made all the more impressive when the Mountain Hawks followed with a victory over ninth-ranked Villanova on Tuesday. The Bison are 7-5 overall, with all five losses coming by one goal. Colgate was hit hard by graduation after a four-year run at or near the top of the league. The Raiders are 3-8 overall but seem to be peaking at the right time. They are coming off back-to-back wins over Lehigh (12-4) and Lafayette (14-9), and before that they dropped consecutive overtime games to Army and Navy.
With a Win over Colgate, Bucknell Would ...
• ... improve to 8-5 overall and 3-3 in the Patriot League.
• ... qualify for the Patriot League Tournament as the No. 4 seed and play No. 1 Army in the semifinals on Apr. 30.
• ... defeat the Raiders for the second year in a row and improve to 18-10 all-time against them.
• ... improve to 49-18 in Patriot League play since 2000.
• ... finish the season 4-2 at home.
Scouting Colgate
• Last time out, Colgate knocked Lafayette out of a first-place tie in the Patriot League with a 14-9 rout in Hamilton. That was the Raiders' second straight win after a 1-8 start.
• Similar to Bucknell's season of heartbreak, Colgate has lost four one-goal games, and seven of their eight losses have been by three goals or less.
• Ben McCabe (21-7-28), Peter Baum (25-1-26) and Patrick Campbell (10-11-21) are the team's top scorers. Baum, a freshman middie, is this week's Patriot League Rookie of the Week.
• Colgate has one of the league's top long-stick defensive midfielders in senior Michael Crown, who has four goals and a team-high 46 ground balls.
• Colgate has traditionally been a strong faceoff team, and that has not changed this season. The Raiders are winning 58.9% of their draws, with Jim Carroll (.597) handling the bulk of the faceoff duties. Carroll ranks second in the league in faceoff percentage, trailing only Bucknell's Jake Clarke (.607). Clarke and Carroll rank No. 4 and No. 8 in the nation, respectively, in faceoff efficiency.
• The Raiders have switched goalies this season. Sophomore Jared Madison has made eight starts and is 2-4 with a .572 save percentage and 8.71 goals-against average. Senior Tim Harrington has started three times and played in six games. He is 1-4 with a .478 save percentage and a 10.54 GAA.
• Colgate has been nearly automatic clearing the ball (.903) this season. The Raiders go up against a good riding Bucknell team whose opponents only clear at a 73.6% clip.
• The Raiders have struggled on man-down defense this season. Their opponents are 14-for-29 (.483). Bucknell is converting at a 41.3% rate with a man up.
Bucknell So Far
Bucknell has played 12 games thus far, seven resulting in victories and five in tough one-goal losses. Here are thumbnail sketches of the team's first 12 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.
• Bucknell 14, Lehigh 5: Bucknell turned in a dominant effort against the Mountain Hawks, parlaying an 8-2 halftime lead into a nine-goal win. Austin Winter produced four goals and three assists, and the Bison controlled possession behind a 14-for-22 faceoff performance. Lehigh was held to 17 total shots in the game.
More From the Lehigh Game
Austin Winter continued his domination of Lehigh with four goals and three assists ... in four career games against the Mountain Hawks, Winter had eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points ... other multi-point scorers were Ryan Klipstein (2-2-4), Mike Danylyshyn (2-2-4), Charlie Streep (2-0-2), Tim Brandau (2-0-2) and Chris Palmer (1-1-2) ... Bucknell converted its first three man-up opportunities and finished 3-for-6 ... the Bison were 19-for-20 on clears, while holding Lehigh to 12-for-19 ... Jake Clarke went 12-for-17 at the faceoff X with six ground balls ... long pole John Scally collected five ground balls ... defensemen Alex Lyons and Jason Neithamer were credited with three caused turnovers apiece ... with Lehigh limited to only 17 total shots, Kyle Feeney was needed for only five saves while conceding three goals.
Brandau Back
Senior attackman Tim Brandau returned to the Bison lineup last week against Lehigh. Brandau suffered ankle and knee injuries in the final seconds of regulation in Bucknell's overtime loss to Navy on March 6. After sitting out seven games, Brandau was in the starting lineup against Lehigh last Friday. He took four shots in the game, scoring twice and hitting two posts.
Clarke Breaks Bucknell Career Ground Ball Record
• Bucknell is averaging 35.1 ground balls per game, the top mark in the Patriot League and the eighth-best in the nation.
• The Bison are +79 in ground balls on the season.
• Jake Clarke, who set a school record with 98 ground balls this season, has 67 more in 10 games this year. He ranks No. 1 in the league and No. 4 in the country in GBs per game, and last time out against Lehigh he broke the Bucknell career record for ground balls (see chart below).
• Clarke is one of seven Bison with 20 or more ground balls this season. Jason Neithamer leads the close defenseman with 43, while Mike Danylyshyn tops the attack unit with 31.
Bucknell Career Ground Ball Leaders 1. Jake Clarke (2008-pres.) 176 2. Ryan Goodman (2002-05) 175 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
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. Colgate Last Season
• Bucknell 19, Colgate 11 (Apr. 18, 2009): In a battle of 5-0 Patriot League teams competing for the right to be the No. 1 seed and host the Patriot League Tournament, Bucknell's offense fired on all cylanders and the Bison routed Colgate 19-11 in Hamilton, N.Y. Charlie Streep solidified his Patriot League Rookie of the Year bid with five goals, and Austin Winter, Tim Brandau, Mike Danylyshyn and Chris Palmer scored twice apiece. Jake Clarke had two assists and 10 ground balls, and Nick Sciubba made 13 saves in goal as the Bison emphatically snapped a five-game losing streak to Colgate. Kevin Colleluori had four goals and an assist and Brandon Corp three goals and two assists to lead Colgate.
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, 4/19).
• 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 (6.70) and 1st in faceoff percentage (.607).
• Kyle Feeney ranks 1st in goals-against average (7.38) and 2nd in save percentage (.574).
• Ryan Klipstein ranks 2nd in goals per game (2.50), 5th in points per game (3.08) and T-2nd in EMO goals per game (0.58).
• Charlie Streep ranks T-8th in goals per game (1.83), 8th in points per game (2.75) and T-3rd in game-winning goals (2).
• Austin Winter ranks 3rd in assists per game (1.92) and 3rd in points per game (3.50).
Bison Among the NCAA Leaders (top 20)
• Jake Clarke ranks 4th in ground balls per game (6.70) and 4th in faceoff percentage (.607).
• Kyle Feeney ranks 5th in goals-against average (7.38) and 10th in save percentage (.574).
• Ryan Klipstein ranks 18th in goals per game (2.50).
• Alex Lyons ranks 3rd in caused turnovers per game (2.67).
• Austin Winter ranks 10th in assists per game (1.92).
Senior Speaking
• Prior to the Colgate game, Bucknell will honor its six seniors: co-captains Scott Monfort and Austin Winter, along with Ryan Bakker, Tim Brandau, Brandon Buchmayr and Chris Palmer.
• This is now the winningest senior class in program history. The Class of 2010 has contributed to 37 wins, one more than last year's seniors.
Winningest Bucknell Senior Classes 1. Class of 2010 37 2. Class of 2009 36 3. Class of 2008 35 4. Class of 2003 33 5. Class of 2007 31 Class of 2004 31 Class of 2002 31 Class of 1996 31
Klipstein Scoring Goals in Bunches
Junior midfielder Ryan Klipstein is enjoying a career year. He has scored 30 goals in 12 games, double the 15 combined goals he tallied in 2008 and 2009.
• Klipstein ranks 18th nationally in goals per game, but he is third among midfielders. Only Kevin Crowley of Stony Brook (2.91 goals per game) and Steve Serling of Lafayette (2.55) have scored more often among Division I middies.
• Klipstein tied the Bucknell and Patriot League records 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.
• Klipstein has 20 goals in his last six games.
• In last week's win over Lehigh he became Bucknell's first 30-goal scorer since 2004, when Chris Cara and Patrick Christensen both recorded 38.
• Klipstein is just the second midfielder in program history to score 30 goals in a season, joining Bucknell Hall of Famer Rodney Brown who also scored 30 goals back in 1983. Klipstein would break the school record for goals by a midfielder with his next tally.
Lyons a Takeaway Artist
Junior defenseman Alex Lyons has been one of the nation's top thieves in 2010. With 32 caused turnovers in 12 games, he ranks behind only Brian Karalunas of Villanova (3.55) and Michael Camardo of UMBC (3.20) among all Division I players in that category.
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. 117 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. 74-118-192 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 fourth in assists and seventh in points.
• Winter was named the 2010 Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and an Inside Lacrosse Preseason Honorable Mention All-American.
Bison Are Patriot League's Stingiest on D, Lead Nation in Forced Turnovers
• After holding Holy Cross, Army and Lehigh to 14 combined goals in the last three games, Bucknell has taken over the No. 1 spot in the Patriot League in scoring defense, with a team goals-against average of 7.87 (Navy is right behind at 8.41).
• The Bison rank No. 8 nationally in scoring defense.
• Bucknell is now tied for first in the nation in caused turnovers per game (10.67) alongside North Carolina.
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 60.7% of his faceoffs in 2010 and has 67 ground balls in 10 games.
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 and ranks fifth nationally with a 7.38 goals-against average. His .574 save percentage ranks No. 2 in the league and No. 10 in the nation.
• 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.
Fourth-Quarter Mayhem
• Bucknell has had some big fourth quarters this season, and is outscoring foes 40-24 in the final stanza. Some notable fourth-quarter performances:
• Bucknell outplayed Ohio State 5-1 in the fourth en route to an 11-5 win in the second game of the year.
• A week later, the Bison put away Towson with a 6-0 outburst in the 4th, en route to a 13-9 win.
• Bucknell outscored Navy 5-1 in the fourth to force overtime, but the Mids won it 8-7 on the first possession of extra time.
• At Penn State, Bucknell broke open a 7-7 tie by scoring the first four goals of the fourth period.
Brandau Now Top 10 in Career Goals
• Senior Tim Brandau topped the 100-point plateau earlier this season, and his six goals against Towson moved him into the top 10 on Bucknell's career list.
Bucknell Career Goal Leaders 1. Justin Zackey, 1991-94 138 2. Tom Cusick, 1984-87 117 3. Chris Cara, 2002-05 111 4. Joe Mele, 2006-09 103 5. Jim Ball, 1976-79 98 6. Jon Romm, 1987-90 97 7. Dennis Geraghty, 2000-03 94 8. Patrick Christensen, 2002-05 92 9. Tim Brandau, 2007-pres. 89 10. Jon Methven, 1993-96 88
• Brandau seemed a good bet to become the fifth 100-goal scorer in program history before knee and ankle injuries cost him seven games this season. With his two goals against Lehigh in his return to the lineup last week, he moved into ninth on the career goals list.
Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 48-18 (.727) 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 43-29 (.597) record at Bucknell and an 82-60 (.577) 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
With a victory today, Bucknell would play Army next Friday in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals at Michie Stadium. The game would be televised on CBS College Sports at a time to be announced.
