Bucknell University
Indiana
Bucknell Men's Soccer Edged by No. 10 Indiana, 3-2
9/9/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 9, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Bucknell men's soccer team fought back from a 2-0 halftime deficit to draw even with 10th-ranked Indiana, but Eriq Zavaleta scored the tiebreaking goal in the 77th minute to lift the Hoosiers to a 3-2 win in the opener of the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament at Notre Dame on Friday. Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Brendan Burgdorf (Westfield, N.J./Pingry) scored his first goal of the season for the Bison off an assist from Mayowa Alli (Lanham, Md./Bishop McNamara), who extended his points streak to four games to start the season.
Bucknell (2-2) outshot Indiana 13-12 and led 8-5 in corner kicks, but the Bison saw their two-game winning streak come to an end. It was a tale of two halves, as Indiana (3-0-1) controlled the action in the opening 45 minutes and posted two goals, both coming from Alec Purdie in a span of just over three minutes.
But the Bison got it going in the second half and pulled those two goals back in a span of just 8:01. At the 61-minute mark Bucknell earned a corner kick, and CK Kumah (Accra, Ghana/Hotchkiss School) sent a ball in toward teammate Luke Joyner (Dallas, Texas/J.J. Pearce) that actually glanced off the head of a Hoosiers defender and in for an own goal.
Soon after, Alli sent one of his long throws into the box, where Burgdorf headed it past Indiana keeper Luis Soffner to knot the match at 2-apiece. Alli now has two goals and two assists for a Patriot League-high eight points in four games. Burgdorf, who had a couple of assists coming into the game, chalked up his 16th career goal.
The game stayed tied for only seven more minutes, however, as Indiana retaliated on a corner kick of its own. Caleb Konstanski sent in a ball that fell loose in the box, and Zavaleta punched it in for this third goal of the year.
Bucknell had one more shot at an equalizer in the 84th minute, but Joyner's header off a corner kick missed the mark.
Indiana, picked as the preseason favorite in the Big Ten after winning its 14th conference title in 2010, had allowed only one goal all season coming in. The Hoosiers are currently ranked 10th in the NSCAA/adidas Poll and the Soccer America Poll.
Bucknell was seeking its eighth win over a ranked team under 13th-year head coach Brendan Nash, and the Bison will have another shot at it when they face No. 17 Notre Dame on Sunday at 2 p.m.
