Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Soccer Wraps Up Regular Season with Important Game at Lafayette Saturday
11/2/2012 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 2, 2012
Bucknell-Lafayette GameTracker 
LEWISBURG, Pa. --The final seedings for the Patriot League Men's Soccer Tournament typically are not decided until the final day of the regular season, and this year is no different as only one of the four spots has been locked up. Bucknell travels to Lafayette for a 4 p.m. start on Saturday, and the Bison can clinch a tournament berth with a victory over the Leopards.
With a 4-0-2 mark and 14 points, American has locked up the No. 1 seed and the right to host the Patriot League Tournament next week. After the Eagles, there are five teams vying for the other three tourney spots. Only Navy and Army with five points apiece are eliminated for postseason contention.
Lafayette and Colgate are both 2-1-3 for nine points, while Bucknell and Holy Cross are both 2-2-2 and are tied for fourth place entering the weekend. Lehigh (2-4-0, 6 points) also has a chance to get in the tournament with a win.
In addition to the Bucknell-Lafayette game on Saturday, American hosts Holy Cross at noon, Lehigh travels to Army at 7:30 p.m., and Navy hosts Colgate at 8 p.m.
Should Bucknell fall short of gaining three points at Lafayette, it can still make the playoffs but would need help from elsewhere around the league.
The Bison are 7-6-5 overall and enter the Lafayette game on a three-game unbeaten streak that came on the heels of a seven-game winless streak. Last week Bucknell rediscovered a winning formula, scoring early and then clamping down on defense in consecutive 1-0 wins over NJIT and Colgate. In that Colgate game Bucknell allowed a total of only six shots and protected a 1-0 lead for more than 85 minutes.
In their most recent outing Tuesday night at Binghamton, the Bison rested many of their regulars, but still managed to come back from a two-goal deficit late in regulation to forge a 2-2 tie. Freshman Mark Kramarchuk and senior Vinny Cinotti scored their first goals of the season in that contest, giving Bucknell 15 different goal-scorers in 2012. Of the 21 field players on the roster, 19 now have at least a goal or an assist.
Senior Brendan Burgdorf, who joined junior Joe Meyer on the Capital One Academic All-District Team on Thursday, leads the Bison in scoring with 15 points on three goals and five assists. Freshman Jesse Klug, who scored the goal against Colgate, has three goals and four assists for 10 points. Six Bison have two goals, and freshman Chris Thorsheim has four assists.
Bucknell has outscored foes 26-16 in 18 games this season. Freshman goalkeeper Mike Lansing, who got the night off against Binghamton, enters the Lafayette game with a 180:13 scoreless streak. Lansing leads the Patriot League in save percentage (.851), goals-against average (0.85) and shutouts (5).
Lafayette is 6-7-4 on the season and is unbeaten in its last four games, although only one of those has been a victory (vs. NJIT on Oct. 16). Each of the Leopards' last three league games has resulted in a draw, 0-0 vs. Army, 2-2 vs. Colgate and 1-1 vs. American.
Alec Golini has a team-high six goals for the Leopards, who have been outscored 20-19 on the season. Four others have multiple goals, including Sean Peckham who has two goals and a team-best three assists. In goal, Nathan McDonald has a 6-4-3 record with five shutouts, and he has a solid 1.09 GAA.
Last season Lafayette scored twice on set pieces and ended Bucknell's season with a 2-0 decision at Emmitt Field. Kyle Scharfenberg scored both goals for the Leopards, one coming in the 17th minute on a corner kick and the other in the 66th on a free kick.
This will be the 64th meeting between Bucknell and Lafayette. The two Pennsylvania programs first met in 1931, and they have clashed annually since 1960. Bucknell holds a 29-27-7 series lead, including an 18-11-2 advantage at home.
These two teams have met three times in the postseason, most recently in 2009 when the Bison won 1-0 on Conor O'Brien's overtime goal in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals at Emmitt Field. Bucknell topped Lafayette in penalty kicks in the 2006 Patriot League championship match. In the 1990 semifinals, the Leopards won 2-0 in overtime on Bucknell's home field.
