Bucknell University
Notre Dame
Bucknell Men's Soccer Drops 2-1 Decision at No. 17 Notre Dame
9/11/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 11, 2011
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Playing its second ranked opponent of the weekend, the Bucknell men's soccer team fell by a 2-1 score at No. 17 Notre Dame Sunday afternoon on the final day of the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament. The Fighting Irish's Bob Novak scored just 26 seconds into the contest and the Bison never drew even as they fell to 2-3 on the season.
Bucknell played a very difficult schedule this weekend, facing a pair of top-20 teams in Notre Dame (2-1-2) and 10th-ranked Indiana on Friday. The Bison lost to the Hoosiers by a 3-2 margin after battling back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the score at 2-2. Indiana claimed the tournament title by posting a 2-0-0 mark.
Brendan Burgdorf (Westfield, N.J./The Pingry School), who scored goals in both games this weekend, and defender Mayowa Alli (Lanham, Md./Bishop McNamara) represented Bucknell on the All-Tournament Team.
The Bison played a solid game on Sunday against the highly ranked Notre Dame squad, but the early deficit was too much to overcome. Bucknell's defense limited the Fighting Irish without a goal for more than 70 minutes until Adam Mena connected in the 72nd minute to make it 2-0.
Burgdorf, who is now second on the team with six points (2g, 2a) this season, broke up the shutout with a goal with just 2:01 left in regulation. He collected a blocked header off a free kick and proceeded to knock the ball into the upper-left part of the net to bring the Bison to within 2-1.
While Notre Dame posted the victory, Bucknell outshot the Fighting Irish, 15-12, including 9-6 in the second half. Luke Joyner (Dallas, Texas/J.J. Pearce) attempted a team-high six of those shots. Notre Dame goalie Will Walsh was forced to make seven saves, five of which came in the second half, as he narrowly missed his second shutout of the season. Walsh was named the Goalkeeping MVP of the tournament.
Normal Bison starting goalie Tommy Caso (Phoenix, Md./McDonogh) made his fourth start of the year and yielded both goals in his 72:27 of playing time. Marc Hartmann (Bradenton, Fla./St. Stephen's) relieved him and played the final 17:33, making two saves and not allowing a goal.
Bucknell, which is in the midst of a five-game road trip, will next be in action Friday, Sept. 16, when it plays at Saint Joseph's at 7 p.m. Sunday's contest was the first true road match for the Bison, who played three home games and a neutral site contest to begin the season.
