Bucknell University Athletics
Red-Hot Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Team Hosts Albany Saturday on Bison Vision
3/22/2012 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
March 22, 2012
Bucknell-Albany Webcast 
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LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The 20th-ranked Bucknell men's lacrosse team takes a five-game winning streak into Saturday's home game against Albany. Game time is set for noon at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, and the contest will air live on Bison Vision.
Bucknell is coming off a convincing 17-10 win over Robert Morris on Tuesday and is now 5-3 on the season. Albany has played a tough schedule so far but is 0-6. The Great Danes have been idle since last Saturday's 14-12 home loss to Bryant.
For years, Bucknell's calling card has been its stellar defense, but in 2012 the offense has been garnering the headlines, especially during this five-game winning streak. The Bison have posted 74 goals in those five games, and their season scoring average of 13.1 goals per game now ranks fourth nationally, trailing only Colgate (13.8), Virginia (13.4) and Cornell (13.2).
Additionally, Bucknell leads the nation in shooting percentage (.399) after posting 17 goals on 39 shots in the win over Robert Morris on Tuesday. Three of Bucknell's top four scorers are all shooting better than 50 percent on the season, led by Chase Bailey (15-8-23) at .577, Todd Heritage (23-6-29) at .511 and David Dickson (9-12-21) at an even .500.
Billy Eisenreich is coming off a career night with five goals and six assists in the win over Robert Morris. The 11 points tied a school record, shared by three others. Peter von Hoffmann was the first to chalk up 11 points, doing so against Penn State in 1979. Matt Fraser tallied 11 points against Lafayette in 1980, and Chris Cara did it against the Leopards in 2004.
That gives Eisenreich 20 goals and 22 assists on the season, and his 42 points rank second in the nation, behind only fellow Patriot Leaguer Peter Baum of Colgate, who has 45. (Navy's Tucker Hull has 40 points, giving the Patriot League the nation's top three point-producers.)
Heritage leads the team and ranks fifth nationally with 23 goals, while Eisenreich ranks second to Virginia's Steele Stanwick among all Division I player in assists.
While the offense has been pouring in goals at a furious pace, the Bucknell defense has also rounding into strong form of late. The Bison held Lafayette to six goals in a 17-6 win last Saturday, and they limited a high-scoring Robert Morris team -- the Colonials led the nation in scoring two years ago -- to 10 goals, more than a goal under its season average.
Goalie Kyle Feeney made 10 saves in the Robert Morris win, and he has 84 in eight starts this season. Feeney sports a .538 save percentage and a 9.91 goals-against average.
In front of Feeney, Jackson Place (13) and Mike Huffner (12) have combined for 25 caused turnovers, helping Bucknell to a +12 turnover margin on the season. After a slow start in the penalty-killing department, Bison opponents are just 1-for-7 with a man aAdvantage over the last three games.
Albany's first four games of the season all came against ranked opponents. The Great Danes opened the 2012 season with a 12-7 loss at Syracuse, and that was followed by setbacks against Drexel (13-8), Yale (13-7) and UMass (17-7). In the last two weeks, Albany has dropped home games against Canisius (13-10) and Bryant (14-12).
The Great Danes come in allowing 13.7 goals per game while scoring 8.5. Joe Resetarits (17-5-22) leads the squad in goals and points, while Miles Thompson (11-6-17), brother Lyle Thompson (6-9-15) and cousin Ty Thompson (9-3-12) are also top scorers.
John Carroll has started all six games in goal and has 50 saves and 80 goals against for a .385 save percentage. The Great Danes have struggled at the faceoff X so far, winning 33.6 percent on the season.
This will be the third all-time meeting between Bucknell and Albany. Last season in Lewisburg, Bucknell defeated then-16th-ranked Albany 11-9, avenging a 7-6 loss to the Great Danes the previous season in Albany.
In last year's game, the freshman combo of Peter Burke and Heritage had a hand in every one of Bucknell's second-half goals and the 17th-ranked Bison turned in a resilient performance in an 11-9 win. Burke, who was just coming back from injury, logged three goals and an assist in his second career start. Included in that total was a big fourth-quarter insurance goal. Meanwhile, Heritage had two goals and an assist, all coming in the second half. None was bigger than his goal on a rebound with 3:59 left in the third quarter, which snapped an 8-all tie and gave the Bison the lead for good.
Bucknell dominated time of possession and finished with a resounding 54-22 shot advantage, but Albany stayed in the game with its quick-strike offense and a 21-save performance from goalie Edmund Cathers.
Following the Albany game, Bucknell hits the road for its next two. The Bison travel to Penn State on Tuesday night before visiting Holy Cross for a Patriot League game next Saturday at 1 p.m.
