Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Lax Takes on No. 9 Villanova Saturday
2/24/2012 7:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Feb. 24, 2012
Bucknell-Villanova Live Stats | Webcast
LEWISBURG, Pa. --For the third time in as many games to start the 2012 season, the Bucknell men's lacrosse team takes on a nationally ranked opponent on Saturday when it travels to ninth-ranked Villanova. Game time is noon at Villanova stadium, and a live webcast will be available at villanova.com.
The Bison will be trying to turn things around after two close losses to ranked foes to start the season. After opening with an 11-10 overtime loss to No. 19 Delaware at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, the Bison fell 11-9 at No. 11 UMass last week. This will be the middle game in a tough three-game road trip that concludes at Patriot League rival Navy next Saturday.
Villanova has played just once so far, routing Lehigh 17-7 on the road last Saturday. Kevin Cunningham led the way with five goals and two assists, while Will Casertano picked up four goals and Kevin O'Neil a goal and four assists. Dan Gutierrez made 12 saves in goal for the Wildcats, who broke it open with a 10-0 run bridging the second, third and fourth quarters.
For the Bison, Billy Eisenreich pocketed three goals and three assists last week against UMass, and he leads the team with four goals and four assists for eight points on the season. Todd Heritage also has four goals, all coming in the Delaware game, while Chase Bailey has three goals and two assists. Freshman middie David Dickson was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week after posting two assists against Delaware, and he followed that up with his first two goals against the Minutemen. Goalie Kyle Feeney has 23 saves in two games.
These two teams have met 12 times previously, with each team winning six. One of those Bison wins came last season in Lewisburg, as Bucknell defeated then-20th-ranked Villanova 10-8. In that game, Villanova rallied from three goals down to tie the game at 8-8, but Ryan Klipstein scored a pair of late goals to give the Bison the win. Klipstein finished with four goals, while Eisenreich and Heritage both had a goal and two assists. Feeney finished with 13 saves, including a big one in the final 30 seconds to seal the win. Cunningham led Villanova with three goals and an assist.
