Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Takes Three Patriot League Honors, Team Now Ranked 12th Nationally
4/11/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 11, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's lacrosse team, now ranked No. 12 in both major national polls after Saturday's 8-7 win at 13th-ranked Army, took three of the four Patriot League weekly awards on Monday afternoon. All three of the Bison award winners were first or second-year players from the state of Connecticut, as sophomore Chase Bailey (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Prep) was named offensive player of the week, sophomore Kyle Feeney (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) was picked as the goalie of the week, and freshman Todd Heritage (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) was named rookie of the week.
Feeney was also named the Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week.
In their lone action last week, the Bison took the lead for good 5-1 run in the middle of the game and held on for an 8-7 win over the Black Knights. With the win, Bucknell moved to 10-2 overall and 4-0 in the Patriot League. The Bison are tied for first place with Colgate with two regular-season games remaining, two games clear of Army and Lehigh. Bucknell and Colgate will meet in the final game of the season on Apr. 23 on the CBS Sports Network in a game that will determine the regular-season champion and Patriot League Tournament host.
Bailey was one of the offensive stars in the win over Army, and he earns his first career Patriot League award. He had two goals and two assists in the game, giving him a hand in half of the team's eight goals. None were more important than his critical fourth-quarter insurance goal that gave Bucknell an 8-6 lead.
Bailey has really come on in recent weeks. Since joining the starting lineup at attack three games ago, he has produced 12 points (6G, 6A) and led the Bison to three straight wins. Bailey has 19 points on 11 goals and eight assists on the season, and he ranks second in the league with six extra-man goals.
Feeney turned in one of the best games of his young career, stoning Black Knight shooters from close range numerous times en route to an 11-save victory. Feeney made four of those 11 saves in the final six minutes of the game to help the Bison maintain a slim lead, and he led all players in the game with six ground balls.
Feeney now leads the Patriot League and ranks sixth in the nation in goals-against average at 6.98.
Heritage continued his fine rookie season by posting two goals against the Black Knights. Both tallies came in the first half, and both came with Bucknell trailing by a goal at the time. Heritage now has 16 goals on the season, second-most on the team, and his 22 points rank third on the squad.
After snapping Army's nine-game home winning streak, the Bison have joined Hofstra as the only 10-win teams in Division I lacrosse. Last week, Bucknell was ranked No. 15 in both the USILA Coaches' Poll and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, and now the Bison have moved up three spots in both. Patriot League rivals Colgate (16/16) and Army (17/18) are also ranked in both polls again this week.
The Bison next travel to Lehigh for a 7:30 p.m. game on Friday night.
