Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Burke Named PL Rookie of Week, Bison Host No. 20 Penn State, Holy Cross this Week on Bison Vision
3/28/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
March 28, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's lacrosse team turned in a strong bounce-back performance after a mid-week loss at Robert Morris, defeating 16th-ranked Albany 11-9 on Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Bison, now ranked No. 17 in the Inside Lacrosse media poll and No. 18 in the USILA coaches' poll, have two more home games this week. Tuesday night's game against No. 20 Penn State (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday's league date with Holy Cross (3 p.m.) will both air live on Bison Vision.
One of the stars of the Albany win, freshman midfielder Peter Burke, earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors on Monday. Burke had three goals and an assist against the Great Danes, including a big insurance goal in the fourth quarter. Coming back from an early injury, Burke made his first career start against Robert Morris and had a goal in that game.
The Bison are now 7-2 on the season and are one of three teams -- Army and Colgate are the others -- off to 2-0 starts in Patriot League play. Bucknell can move closer to clinching a Patriot League Tournament berth with a win Staurday against 0-8 Holy Cross.
But first, the Bison must deal with in-state rival Penn State, resuming an annual series that is almost always decided by a goal or two. Each of the last six meetings have been one or two-goal games, including last season's 11-9 Bucknell win in State College. The teams have split those last six meetings, with Bucknell also winning 7-5 in 2007 and 11-10 in 2006. Penn State won 9-8 in 2009, 8-7 in 2008 and 11-10 in 2005.
Ryan Klipstein tallied three goals and an assist in last year's matchup, while Mike Danylyshyn added two goals and an assist. The game was tied at 7-7 entering the fourth quarter, but the Bison took command with a 4-0 run.
Under the direction of first-year head coach Jeff Tambroni, the Nittany Lions are back in the national rankings for the first time since 2009. Penn State is now 4-3 on the season after producing three straight wins, including Saturday's 14-6 rout of Saint Joseph's. All three of its losses are against ranked foes (6-2 to Notre Dame, 6-5 to Ohio State and 17-5 to Villanova).
The Nittany Lions have been riding the red-hot play of freshman goalie Austin Kaut, who helped steal an 8-7 win over then-No. 10 UMass with a 25-save performance on March 19. Kaut's .667 save percentage is the best in Division I lacrosse, and he is averaging 15.1 saves per game.
Penn State has been balanced offensively, with eight players scoring between four and 10 goals. Shane Sturgis has a team-high 19 points, coming on 10 goals and nine assists. Matt Mackrides (7-6-13), Kyle VanThof (5-5-10), Colton Vosburgh (6-2-8) and Jack Forster (7-0-7) are also major threats.
The Penn State game will be Bucknell's last non-league game of the regular season, and the Bison return exclusively to Patriot League play on Saturday against Holy Cross. Saturday will also be Senior Day, as the team's eight seniors will be honored prior to their final regular-season home game.
The Crusaders are in the midst of a tough season and recently underwent a coaching change, with former Syracuse All-American Jim Morrissey taking over on an interim basis.
Holy Cross fell to 0-3 in the Patriot League with an 11-5 home loss to Lehigh on Saturday. James Kennedy scored three goals in that game, giving him a team-high 16 points on eight goals and eight assists. John Hannan leads the squad with 13 goals. Mike Fisher and Kenny O'Connor have shared time in goal this season, with Fisher sporting a team-best .471 save percentage.
Bucknell is a perfect 20-0 all-time against Holy Cross, including an 11-2 win last season in Worcester. Klipstein had five goals in that game, while Danylyshyn had two goals and three assists. Goalie Kyle Feeney enjoyed his best game of the year with 12 saves and only two goals against.
Klipstein continues to pace the Bison offense with 28 points on 20 goals and eight assists. Now up to 90 career points, Klipstein ranks fourth in the Patriot League in goals, 10th in assists and sixth in points.
The Bison have scored 90 goals in nine games, with five double-digit scorers. In addition to Klipstein's 20 goals, Nick Gantsoudes has 13, Billy Eisenreich and Charlie Streep 12 and Todd Heritage 11. Danylyshyn has eight goals and a team-high 12 assists.
Burke has given the team a big lift in the midfield with five goals and an assist while seeing his playing time increase dramatically since his return from injury.
Jake Clarke bounced back from a tough night at Robert Morris by going 10-for-15 on faceoffs with eight ground balls in the win over Albany. He is 72-for-136 (.529) on the season, while backup Ryan Gutowski has also been strong, winning 27 of 47 (.574).
Bucknell has taken 108 more shots than its opponents (328-220) so far this season, including a 54-22 shot advantage against Albany on Saturday. The Bison have outshot their opponent by at least 10 in each of the last six games.
The Bison have also been taking much better care of the ball in recent weeks. They are 80-for-90 on clears in the last five games after starting 65-for-84 in their first five contests.
The Bison are 5-0 at home this season and have won seven straight on friendly soil dating back to last season, the fifth-longest home winning streak in the nation.
