Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Binghamton
Bucknell Men's Soccer Rallies for 2-2 Draw at Binghamton
10/30/2012 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 30, 2012
VESTAL, N.Y. -- Down 2-0 inside 20 minutes to play, the Bucknell men's soccer team rallied behind goals from freshman Mark Kramarchuk and senior Vinny Cinotti and pulled out a 2-2 tie at Binghamton in a non-league game on Tuesday night at the Bearcats Sports Complex. The Bison are now 7-6-5 on the season heading into a critical Patriot League match at Lafayette on Saturday.
The game coming up at Lafayette has major Patriot League Tournament implications, thus Bucknell head coach Brendan Nash limited his starters' minutes, and he held three of them out altogether on a rainy night at Binghamton. Eight different reserves saw significant time, and two of them teamed up on the goal that got the Bison back in the game.
Trailing by two goals in the 72nd minute, sophomore Pat Plourde flicked a pass to Kramarchuk, who fired a shot past Stefano Frantelizzi for his first collegiate goal. Exactly 11 minutes later, Frantelizzi made a save on Jesse Klug's free kick, but Cinotti was there to put back the rebound for his first goal of the season and second of his career.
With Kramarchuk and Cinotti both getting into the scoring column, Bucknell now has 15 different goal-scorers on the season. Of the 21 field players on the roster, 19 now have at least a goal or an assist.
Bucknell finished with a 17-15 shot advantage, and both teams attempted five shots in overtime. Freshman goalkeeper Clarke Fox, making his second career start and third career appearance, came up big down the stretch. Fox made three of his five saves in overtime, including a game-saver on a hard, low liner from the corner of the 18 by Steven Celeste with nine seconds left in the match.
The Bison also had some chances in overtime. Sophomore back Brian Ward, playing not far from his hometown of Manlius, N.Y., ripped a shot midway through the second OT period that required a good save by Frantelizzi. Sophomore Mark Leibensperger had good shots in each OT session that were turned aside.
"We got to look at a lot of things tonight from some guys who have not had as much playing time," said Nash. "The bench really stepped up. Not only were they the reason we were able to come back and get a tie, but they allowed us to rest some guys with a big game coming up. Now we turn our attention to Lafayette."
Binghamton scored a goal in each half to build that 2-0 lead. Adam Whitehead scored from distance in the 21st minute -- the first goal ever scored against Fox -- and Jake Keegan netted his 10th of the season off a cross from Luca Bottoni in the 64th minute.
Bucknell enters Saturday's regular-season finale at Lafayette in a tie for fourth place with Holy Cross. The Bison and Crusaders both have eight points, one behind second-place Lafayette and Colgate. American has 14 points and has already clinched the regular-season title. Bucknell would secure one of the four Patriot League Tournament berths with a victory, while a tie or loss would require help from elsewhere around the league.
