Bucknell University Athletics
Feeney, Flibotte Earn Men's Lax Honors, Bison Visit No. 2 Cornell Tuesday
3/18/2013 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
March 18, 2013
Bucknell-Cornell Live Stats | Webcast
LEWISBURG, Pa. – More weekly honors poured in for the Bucknell men's lacrosse team on Monday, as senior Kyle Feeney (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) earned his second straight Patriot League Goalie of the Week award while freshman Thomas Flibotte (Cohasset, Mass./Deerfield Academy) was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week and Bison Athlete of the Week.
Bucknell improved to 6-1 on the season with a pair of convincing wins last week. The Bison toppled 13th-ranked Drexel 17-8 at home last Tuesday, and then on Saturday pulled away late in a 13-6 Patriot League win at Lafayette. As a result, Bucknell is now ranked 15th in the USILA Coaches' Poll and 16th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
The Bucknell defense has been terrific during this current five-game winning streak, and Feeney has been a major reason for that success. He recorded 10 saves against both Drexel and Lafayette last week, and he really went to work in the second half of both contests. Feeney made eight of his 10 saves in the second half against Drexel, and nine of his 10 in the second half at Lafayette.
Feeney leads the Patriot League and ranks fourth in the country in goals-against average at 6.71, and he is second in the conference and eighth nationally with a .587 save percentage.
As a team, Bucknell ranks fourth in Division I in scoring defense allowing 6.86 goals per game. The Bison conceded eight in the win over Drexel, but that was against a Dragons' squad that came in averaging 13.6 goals per game. Bucknell leads the country in man-down defense (.900).
Flibotte paced the offense with nine goals in the two games from his midfield position. Already a two-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week, Flibotte earned his first Offensive Player of the Week nod on Monday. He tied a Bucknell freshman record with six goals in the victory over Drexel, and then he posted a hat trick at Lafayette.
Flibotte leads the team with 19 goals in seven games. That is the third-best per-game figure in the Patriot League, trailing only Army's Garrett Thul and Colgate's Peter Baum.
Led by Flibotte (19-0-9), Patriot League assist leader David Dickson (2-22-24), Todd Heritage (17-3-20), Chase Bailey (14-7-21) and Sean Doyle (12-9-21) on the offensive end, Bucknell has the distinction of ranking No. 1 in the Patriot League in both goals scored (11.14) and fewest goals against (6.86). The Bison also rank No. 1 in the country in fewest turnovers per game (11.57) and fifth nationally in most caused turnovers (10.29).
The Bison will need all of that working in their favor on Tuesday, when they visit second-ranked Cornell. The Big Red are off to a flying start at 6-0, including a 19-3 win over Colgate, one of the top teams in the Patriot League. Led by All-American Rob Pannell and current Ivy League Player of the Week Steve Mock, Cornell is the highest-scoring team in the country at 15.2 goals per game.
Most recently, Cornell scored a 12-11 win over No. 8 Virginia and a 12-10 decision over No. 15 Yale, both on the road. Pannell, who already has 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points, is back for a fifth season after suffering a season-ending injury in the second game of the 2012 campaign. He was named the USILA's Lt. Raymond Enners Award winner as the Division I national player of the year and repeated as the Jack Turnbull Award winner as the Division I national attackman of the year in 2011.
Mock (20-1-21), Connor Buczek (11-8-19) and Max Van Bourgondien (10-4-14) are also top scorers. Faceoff man Doug Tesoriero is 75-for-125 (.600) on the season. Goalie A.J. Fiore has a .560 save percentage and 7.68 goals-against average.
The Bucknell-Cornell game starts at 4 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field. Live stats and video will be available at cornellbigred.com.
