Bucknell University Athletics
Men's Soccer Hosts Colgate on Homecoming
10/24/2013 10:11:00 PM | Men's Soccer
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's soccer team hosts Colgate on Saturday at 4 p.m. in game two of a Homecoming Day doubleheader at Emmitt Field. The Bison women entertain Holy Cross at noon in another key Patriot League match. For the men, Saturday's contest represents an opportunity to solidify playoff positioning, as Bucknell comes into the weekend tied for fourth place at 2-2-1 in the conference.
Army and Navy are both 5-0-0 in the Patriot League, and the service academy teams have accounted for Bucknell's two league losses. The Bison, 8-4-1 overall, fell to Navy 2-1 last Saturday at Emmitt Field. Holy Cross (4-1-0) sits in third place with 12 points, and then Bucknell and American are tied for fourth with seven points. Lafayette (2-3-0, 6 points) currently occupies the sixth and final playoff spot, but Colgate (1-3-1, 4 points) is right on the Leopards' heels.
Even with the loss to Navy, Bucknell has been playing good soccer of late. The Bison are 3-1-1 in their last five games and 8-2-1 in their last 11. They have outscored foes 18-10 on the season, with Jesse Klug (6-1-13) and Chris Thorsheim (5-1-11) pacing the team in scoring. Klug ranks third in the Patriot League in goals and Thorsheim is fourth. The Bison are the third-highest-scoring team in the conference behind Navy and Army, and they have found the back of the net in 11 of 13 games this season.
Freshman Austin Lenart scored his first career goal last week against Navy. He is one of 11 different Bucknell players and one of four rookies with at least one point.
Colgate is 2-11-2 overall this season, with the wins coming against Cal State Fullerton (3-1) and Lafayette (1-0). The Raiders also drew Loyola 1-1 in Patriot League play. Colgate dropped a heartbreaker at home against Holy Cross last Saturday, as the Crusaders scored with 10 seconds left in regulation and again in overtime to steal a 3-2 win. The Raiders then fell to Dartmouth 1-0 in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.
Zach Pagani, Geinda Smith, Tyler Forbes and Evan Heroux are tied for the team lead with two goals apiece, while Barrett Metzger has two assists. Ricky Brown and Liam Stapleton have both seen action in goal.
Bucknell and Colgate have played some great games through the years, and these two teams have combined for the last six of the last seven Patriot League titles (three each). A year ago the Bison won on Senior Day at Emmitt Field, with Klug's fifth-minute breakaway the difference in a 1-0 verdict.
The previous meeting between these two teams at Emmitt Field resulted in a wild 3-3 tie in 2010. The Bison seemed down and out trailing 3-1 inside five minutes to play, but Mayowa Alli headed in two goals off set pieces in the 86th minute to tie the game at 3-3. Midfielder Tommy McCabe saved the day with a bicycle kick to boot a shot out of an empty goal mouth in overtime, and the Bison somehow salvaged a point. A few weeks later, Bucknell blanked Colgate 1-0 in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals, with Josh Plump netting the lone goal.
These two teams first met in 1963, and Colgate holds a 23-10-6 series lead over the Bison. The Raiders and Bison squared off in all but one season from 1963-75, and now every year since 1989.
