Bucknell University Athletics
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8/12/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 12, 2011
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LEWISBURG, Pa. --Beautiful sunny skies and low humidity greeted the Bucknell men's soccer team for its second full day of preseason training on Friday. Head coach Brendan Nash put his squad through morning and afternoon workouts as the Bison go in search of their third straight Patriot League championship.
With the preseason still in its infancy, Nash and his staff broke the game down into small grids on Friday, with a focus on 1v1 and 2v2 play. They will soon progress to larger groups and then to full-field concepts in preparation for the Aug. 26 season opener against Binghamton at Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium.
"I have seen a lot of positives in the day-and-a-half of practice that we've had so far," said Nash. "Obviously there is a lot of work to be done, but the guys came back with the right mindset. They really want to work hard and get better."
Bucknell won its second straight Patriot League crown a year ago with only three seniors on the roster, so many key players return in 2011. Among them are reigning Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Brendan Burgdorf and Rookie of the Year Mayowa Alli. Two-time all-conference defender Andrew Powell is one of six seniors on the roster, joining Ryan Sappington, Nader Sawtarie, Luke Joyner and goalkeepers Tommy Caso and Marc Hartmann.
For the first time in Nash's 13-year tenure as Bucknell's head coach, the Bison enter the 2011 season without named captains, but he says that is due to a wealth of leadership rather than a lack.
"We have a great nucleus coming back, and we felt it would not be right to turn over the leadership to just two people," said Nash. "We have seven or eight very good leaders, and we don't want to stifle them."
In addition to the veteran group -- eight starters and 19 lettermen return from last year's championship squad -- Nash is thrilled with his highly regarded eight-man freshman class. The newcomers already seem to be fitting in, and Bison fans can expect to see at least some of them on the field early on.
"The freshmen certainly have some adjustments to make, but there have been a lot more positives than negatives so far," Nash offered. "With so much experience coming back, we are not in a position where we absolutley need a lot of help from the freshman class, but I'm pretty sure many of them are going to contribute this year."
Nash has scheduled two scrimmage games this preseason, one against Loyola (Md.) on Aug. 20 and the other against York College on Aug. 23. Both will be played at Emmitt Field, giving the Bison a chance to get used to their home surroundings prior to the opener against Binghamton.
