Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
#15 Penn State
Burgdorf's Goal Lifts Bucknell Men's Soccer Past #15 Penn State, 2-1
9/10/2010 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 10, 2010
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Brendan Burgdorf (Westfield, N.J./Pingry School) scored the go-ahead goal with 13:45 left in the game and the Bucknell defense held strong in the waning minutes in a 2-1 victory over 15th-ranked Penn State on Friday night at Jeffrey Field. The Bison, who have now beaten the Nittany Lions two straight times on their home turf, will play No. 11 Ohio State on Sunday for the championship of the Penn State Classic.
The Bison also defeated Penn State in this tournament here in 2008, snapping a 25-match losing streak to their in-state rivals. Despite conceding a goal before most of the 1,836 spectators had even found their seats, Bucknell repeated that result with an inspired performance on Friday. After last week's 3-1 win at La Salle, the Bison have now won two straight to get to 2-1 on the season.
Penn State, which had outscored their first two opponents 6-0 and outshot them 41-7, fell to 2-1 on the season.
The Nittany Lions stunned the Bison with a goal just 1:14 into the contest. A Bucknell defender tried to dribble the ball out of trouble in his own end and was tackled from behind. Mackenzie Arment pounced on the loose ball, carried to the end line and slipped a perfect pass across the six-yard box to Jordan Tyler, who had plenty of room to tap in his first career goal.
Bucknell settled in after the tough start and generated a number of good chances later in the first half. In the 14th minute Ryan Sappington (Barboursville, Va./Shattuck-St. Mary's) played a perfect through ball to a streaking Burgdorf, but Burgdorf was bumped off by a defender at the last minute before he could launch a shot.
Ten minutes later Burgdorf put Bucknell's first shot on frame with a try from 15 yards out, but Nittany Lions keeper Warren Gross was in good position for the save. Only three minutes after that Luke Joyner (Dallas, Texas/J.J. Pearce) missed the right post by a matter of inches after a great individual maneuver and pass by Tommy McCabe on the right wing.
The Bison finally cashed in with 8:49 left in the half when Josh Plump (Millburn, N.J./Millburn) drew a foul just outside the penalty box. Sappington bent the free kick through the wall and on goal. Gross made the save but could not control the rebound, and a Penn State defender trying to clear put the ball in his own net.
Bucknell created the first good scoring chance of the second half just seven minutes in. Tommy McCabe (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney) sent a long throw-in into the penalty box and Gross got caught off his line trying to break up the play. That left an open net for Andrew Powell (Charlton, Mass./St. John's), but his header just sailed over the bar.
Penn State controlled possession for the next 15 minutes or so but never really created many scoring opportunities. Then inside 15 minutes to play, Bucknell got something going on a counter attack. The Bison played the ball into the box, and Plump made a great play to earn his side a corner kick by hustling down a loose ball on the end line and banging it off a defender.
That proved big moments later when McCabe placed a corner kick perfectly on to the head of Burgdorf, who put it home for his first goal of the season. The assist was McCabe's fourth in the last two games, and it was the 10th goal of Burgdorf's young career.
The contest was hardly decided at that point, however. Content to defend for the last 10 minutes, Bucknell had to fend off a number of good scoring chances.
Penn State sniper Corey Hertzog, who led all players with 10 shot attempts in the match, just missed with a header and a low strike off a set piece in a span of only two minutes. With 4:30 left in the game, Bison keeper Tommy Caso (Phoenix, Md./McDonogh) came flying out to graze Tyler's shot after he had snuck in behind the defense. On the ensuing corner kick, Tyler just missed the crossbar after Bucknell had trouble clearing.
The Bison finally breathed a sigh of relief after Penn State earned a corner kick with 30 seconds to go. Ross Liberati (Warwick, Md./Tower Hill) got to the loose ball and sent it over a pressed-up back line and out of harm's way, and Nader Sawtarie (Bethany, W.Va./Linsly School) was able to drain the clock.
It was a very entertaining match despite relatively few shots on goal. Penn State outshot the Bison 22-11, but only three of the Nittany Lions shots were on target. Caso finished with two saves for the Bison, while Gross had four for Penn State.
Burgdorf's goal on the header was indicative of strong play in the air all night by the Bison. Joyner, Liberati and Burgdorf did well in the air, and center backs Liberati and Travis Rand (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) both had good nights as well.
With the win, Bucknell cut Penn State's all-time series lead to 58-8-3 dating back to 1930.
Bucknell and No. 11 Ohio State will meet on Sunday at noon at Jeffrey Field. The Buckeyes (3-0) used a penalty kick to defeat Binghamton in the first game of the tournament. Bucknell and Ohio State have met just once previously, a 1-1 draw in this event in 2008 when the Buckeyes were ranked No. 10 nationally.
