Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Soccer at Charleston Tourney this Weekend
9/16/2010 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 16, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- It will be another challenging weekend for the Bucknell men's soccer squad, which will be taking on a couple of South Carolina programs at the Nike/Aaron Olitsky Memorial Soccer Classic. The Bison, who are 2-2 against a very tough schedule so far, will face tournament host College of Charleston on Friday at 7:30 p.m., then turn around and face Furman on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
Bucknell is coming off another strong showing at the Penn State Classic last weekend. The Bison won that tournament in 2008, and this time they knocked off No. 15 Penn State 2-1 before falling to No. 11 Ohio State by the same score in the championship game on Sunday. Sophomore striker Brendan Burgdorf, this week's Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week, scored the tiebreaking goal late in the game in the win over Penn State, and he also scored Bucknell's goal against the Buckeyes.
So far this season the Bison also have a 3-1 win at La Salle, buoyed by two goals from defender Ross Liberati, and a 2-1 overtime loss to Villanova.
College of Charleston, which beat Bucknell 3-2 last season in Lewisburg, comes into the tournament with a 1-2-1 record. The Cougars have also played Penn State and Ohio State, falling to both by 1-0 margins at the Buckeyes' home tournament in Columbus. Last week College of Charleston played in Furman's tournament, coming away with a 1-1 tie against Stetson and a 3-1 victory over Detroit Mercy.
Furman won that tournament with a pair of overtime wins over Detroit (4-3) and Stetson (2-1). The Paladins also have a 1-0 win over East Tennessee State and a 2-1 overtime loss to Presbyterian and come to Charleston with a 3-1 record.
In addition to the two Palmetto State foes, Bucknell will also get a look at Patriot League rival Lehigh this weekend. The Mountain Hawks, one of the preseason favorites in the Patriot League along with the Bison, will be the fourth team in the tournament and will face Furman on Friday and College of Charleston Sunday.
Coverage
• Click HERE for a live video Webcast of the Bucknell-College of Charleston game. 
College of Charleston Series Notes
• The Bison and Cougars have met three times previously, with College of Charleston winning each time.
• In the first meeting in 2000 at the Iron Kids Soccer Classic, hosted by South Carolina, the Bison were coming off a terrific 2-1 overtime win over the eighth-ranked Gamecocks, which at the time was the highest-ranked opponent they had ever beaten. A day later, however, the Cougars dealt the Bison a 6-0 setback. Bucknell has not allowed six goals in a game since then.
• The two teams squared off again in Columbia, S.C., in 2004, and this time it was much closer, as the Cougars prevailed 2-1. Scott Visnic gave Bucknell a 1-0 lead in the 61st minute of that one, but Scott Milroth scored twice in a 15-minute span later on to give College of Charleston the win.
• Last season No. 24 College of Charleston visited Lewisburg for the first time and secured a 3-2 victory in an entertaining match at Emmitt Field. The Bison went up 2-1 on consecutive goals by CK Kumah and Brendan Burgdorf, but the Cougars came back with goals from Justin Fojo and Zach Prince, the latter coming in the 88th minute. Bucknell outshot Charleston 19-18.
Furman Series Notes
• This will be the first meeting between the Bison and Paladins.
Bison Notebook
• Last Friday Bucknell beat No. 15 Penn State on its home soil for the second straight time. The Bison also won there in 2008 en route to the Penn State Classic championship. The Nittany Lions had not lost at Jeffrey Field since September 2008.
• Bucknell has conceded the first goal of the game in both of its wins this season. The Bison trailed La Salle 1-0 at the half befoer exploding for three in the second half. Against Penn State, the Bison gave up a goal just 1:14 into the contest before rallying. A dangerous free kick and a scramble in the box led to an own goal that tied the game, then Brendan Burgdorf won it on a corner kick header in the 77th minute.
• Burgdorf also scored in the 78th minute against Ohio State, giving him two goals on the season and 11 in his career.
• Burgdorf, defender Ross Liberati and midfielder Ryan Sappington earned all-tournament honors at the Penn State Classic.
• Tommy McCabe collected his team-high fourth assist of the season in the Penn State win.
• Goalkeeper Tommy Caso was only needed for two saves against Penn State, but he made a spectacular one in the final minutes as the Lions were buzzing looking for the equalizer. Caso has 11 saves and six goals against on the season.
• Burgdorf and Liberati are tied for the team lead with two goals each, while Ryan Sappington and Josh Plump have one each.
• Freshman Joe Meyer made his first career start against Penn State.
About College of Charleston
• Francis Twohig took over the Charleston scoring lead with his two-goal performance against Detroit Mercy last time out. Andy Craven and Sean Bateau have one goal apiece.
• Dutchman Kees Heemskerk has seen all the action in goal for the Cougars. He has 24 saves and only four goals against so far for a .857 save percentage.
• College of Charleston finished 11-10 last season. The Cougars were the No. 2 seed in the Southern Conference Tournament, but they fell to Elon 2-0 in the semifinals.
About Furman
• The Paladins have outscored foes 8-6 in four games so far. Fabien Vorbe leads the squad with three goals, two of them coming in the win over Detroit Mercy. Michael Gandier has two goals, while Brooks Duff and Caleb Suri and Talon Stroud have one each. Vorbe (Detroit) and Duff (Stetson) have overtime goals.
• Josh Lietch has a team-high two assists.
• Alec Kann has played every minute in goal so far and has 10 saves with six goals against.
• Furman went 8-8-2 overall and 3-4-0 in the Southern Conference last season.
Looking Ahead
• Bucknell is back on the road on Wednesday, Sept. 22 against Saint Francis (Pa.). That will be the final tuneup prior to Patriot League play. The Bison visit American on Sept. 25 in a rematch of last year's Patriot League Championship game.
