Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
American
Bucknell Men's Soccer Drops League Opener at American, 3-1
9/25/2010 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 25, 2010
WASHINGTON, D.C. - American registered the game's first three goals to overshadow the first career score by Bucknell's Brendan Klebanoff (Bethesda, Md./St. Alban's), and the Eagles prevailed 3-1 Saturday in the Patriot League openers for both teams at Reeves Field.
Bucknell defeated American 1-0 in last year's Patriot League championship game, but this one followed the script of the 2009 regular-season meeting between the two teams, when the Eagles raced out to a 3-0 lead before winning 3-1.
Mike Worden and Nick Kapus scored first-half goals, both assisted by Jack Scott, then American tacked on a third when Christobal Soto scored on a 35-foot shot seven minutes into the second half.
Bucknell's lone goal came from Klebanoff, who scored on a high 25-yard attempt off an assist from Andrew Powell (Charlton, Mass./St. John's). It was a rewarding goal for the junior midfielder, who missed all of last season with an injury.
The Bison (2-5) dominated the stat sheet, outshooting American 24-14 while holding a whopping 14-0 edge in corner kicks. Bucknell controlled the run of play for a good portion of the game, but it had a goal waved off and Ross Liberati (Warwick, Md./Tower Hill) hit a post just minutes after the Klebanoff goal.
The Eagles put only five shots on target, but three of them got past starting keeper Tommy Caso (Phoenix, Md./McDonogh). Marc Hartmann (Bradenton, Fla./St. Stephen's) also saw action in the game. Caso finished with two saves, while Hartmann did not face a shot in his 35 minutes.
Freshman midfielder Josh Butzke (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Comsewogue) led all players with seven shot attempts.
Matt Makowski made eight saves for the Eagles, who improved to 4-3 on the season.
Bucknell will be back in action at home on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. against Drexel. The contest can be seen live on Bison Vision via BucknellBison.com.
