Bucknell University Athletics
Patriot League Regular-Season Title at Stake when No. 9/11 Bucknell Men's Lax Hosts No. 18/19 Lehigh Friday Night on Bison Vision
4/11/2013 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
| #9/11 Bucknell (10-2, 4-0 PL) vs. #18/19 Lehigh (8-4, 4-0 PL) |
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| Date/Time | Friday, April 12, 2013 | 7:30 p.m. |
| Location | Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium | Lewisbrg, Pa. |
| Watch Live | Bision Vision  |
| Multimedia | Gametracker  |
| Additional Information | Complete Game Notes vs. Lehigh  |
April 11, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Patriot League regular-season title is on the line on Friday when conference co-leaders Bucknell and Lehigh clash on Senior Night at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. No. 9/11 Bucknell and No. 18/19 Lehigh both sit atop the Patriot League standings with 4-0 records, two games clear of Colgate and Army. The winner of Friday's contest not only clinches the regular-season championship, but it will also earn the right to host the four-team Patriot League Tournament on Apr. 26-28.
Both of these teams are playing excellent lacrosse. The Bison are tied for the national lead with 10 victories, and they have won two straight and nine of their last 10 games. Last Saturday Bucknell earned a critical 9-8 road win at Army. Lehigh has won three in a row and five of its last six. The Mountain Hawks beat Colgate 13-10 at Goodman Stadium last weekend behind a 6-for-8 performance from its standout EMO unit. This is an even matchup on paper, with both teams ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring defense (Lehigh 9th, 7.92; Bucknell 10th, 8.00).
Prior to the contest, Bucknell will pay tribute to its 10 seniors, who will be playing in their final regular-season home game. Please note that the senior ceremony will take place at 7 p.m., with opening faceoff slated for 7:30.
With a Win over Lehigh, Bucknell Would ...
• ... improve to 5-0 in the Patriot League and clinch the regular season title and right to host the Patriot League Tournament.
• ... improve to 11-2 overall, giving the Bison 11 or more wins in a season for the fourth time in program history.
• ... defeat the Mountain Hawks in Lewisburg for the ninth straight time.
• ... give the current senior class its 42nd victory, breaking the program record set by the Class of 2011.
About the Bison
• Bucknell (10-2) and Cornell (10-2) are the only two teams in the country with 10 victories entering the weekend. The Bison defeated the Big Red on March 19, 9-8 in Ithaca.
• The only team in the country with a better winning percentage than Bucknell is No. 1 Maryland at 8-1 (.889).
• Bucknell is trying to host the Patriot League Tournament for the third time. The Bison previously hosted the event in 2009 and 2011. They lost to Navy in the championship game in 2009, then won their first PL tourney title at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium in 2011.
• Four of Bucknell's wins have come against ranked opponents (No. 13 UMass, No. 13 Drexel, No. 2 Cornell, No. 20 Albany). The Bison are 4-1 against ranked opponents in 2013.
• The Bison had won seven games in a row until being stymied by No. 16 Penn State 11-3 on March 26. Bucknell rebounded from that loss with consecutive league victories over Holy Cross and Army.
• No. 2 Cornell was the highest-ranked team the Bison have beaten since 2006, when they upset No. 1 Maryland in College Park. Bucknell spotted the Big Red a 5-0 lead, and then outscored the highest-scoring team in the country 9-3 over the final 40 minutes of the game.
• The Bison rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring defense (10th, 8.0), man-down defense (4th, .818) and scoring margin (10th, 3.08).
• Freshman attackman Sean Doyle earned his second Patriot League Rookie of the Week citation on Monday. Doyle had a goal and an assist in the fourth quarter of Saturday's win at Army.
• Senior defenseman Mike Huffner was named one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award last week. Huffner, who is also the Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, is a Dean's List student in biology with plans to attend medical school next year.
Last Time Out
• Bucknell erased a 5-3 halftime deficit with a six-goal second half and edged Army 9-8 at Michie Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Chase Bailey scored three goals, including the tiebreaking tally with 8:53 left in the fourth quarter.
• Bucknell took its first two-goal lead of the day at 8-6 when Sean Doyle followed Bailey's strike just 1:19 later. After Army cut it to 8-7, Doyle fed Todd Heritage for an important EMO goal with 5:53 to play. The Black Knights pulled within 9-8 with 4:08 remaining, but the Bison came up with a big defensive stand to close it out.
• David Dickson had a three-point afternoon with two goals and an assist, while Doyle, Heritage and Peter Burke added one goal and one assist each.
• Kyle Feeney had a strong game in goal with 11 saves. He made five saves in the first quarter alone, and then had three in the third quarter, when Bucknell outscored Army 3-0 despite being outshot 11-5.
• Ryan Gutowski won nine faceoffs and picked up a game-high eight ground balls.
• The Bison were outshot 38-26, marking only the second time all season their opponent took more shots.
• Bucknell went 2-for-3 with a man advantage, with both EMO goals coming in the fourth quarter.
Getting Defensive
• Bucknell has been known for its stellar defense through the years, and 2013 has been no exception. The Bison are conceding only 8.0 goals and 27.5 shots per game so far.
• During its seven-game winning streak, Bucknell faced three teams ranked in the top five in the country in scoring and held them all well under their season averages.
• On March 12, No. 13 Drexel came to Lewisburg ranked fifth nationally in scoring at 13.6 goals per game. The Bison held them to eight in a 17-8 rout.
• On March 19, No. 2 Cornell came in leading the nation in scoring at 15.2 goals per game. The Bison held the Big Red to just over half that total in a 9-8 win in Ithaca. Cornell took a 5-0 lead 20 minutes into the game, but then the Bison gave up only three more goals in the final 40 minutes.
• On March 12 at Albany, the 20th-ranked Great Danes came in ranked No. 2 nationally at 14.2 goals per game. Bucknell won that one 18-12 and outscored Albany 6-0 over the final 14 minutes.
• Among its top long-pole players, only senior defenseman Mike Huffner and junior defenseman Jackson Place brought extensive game experience into the season. Sophomore Ben Kellar has started all 12 games on close defense after missing all of 2012 with a knee injury. The top long-stick defensive middie is a freshman in Alex Spring, and the No. 2 LSM is senior Wills Miller, who was an offensive midfielder for his first two seasons at Bucknell before playing in five games with the long pole last season.
Finishing Strong
• The Bison have outscored opponents 35-23 in the fourth quarter of games this season, including a 32-15 margin in their 10 wins.
• Bucknell tied a school record for most second-half goals with 14 in an 18-12 victory at No. 20 Albany on March 23. The last time the Bison scored 14 in the second half of a game was all the way back on Apr. 4, 1983 in a 25-6 win over VMI. They also had a 14-goal second half in a 20-5 win over Lehigh in 1982. The school record for most goals in any half is 19, that coming in the first half of a 26-9 rout of Denver on Apr. 12, 1992.
Freshmen Making Major Contributions
• Three of Bucknell's top six scorers and its No. 2 ground ball man are all freshmen. • Midfielder Thomas Flibotte has 27 goals -- sixth-most in the Patriot League -- and has captured two Patriot League Rookie of the Week awards and one Offensive Player of the Week honor. Flibotte tied a Bucknell freshman record with six goals in the win over Drexel. • Sean Doyle started the first eight games at attack before missing the Albany and Penn State games with an injury. Doyle has 20 goals and 12 assists for 32 points. He ranks eighth in the Patriot League in points and goals per game and sixth in assists per game. Doyle recorded hat tricks against Navy and Cornell and logged four goals against Holy Cross. He also has two PL Rookie of the Week citations, including this week's. • Speedy middie Brock Ghelfi has 14 goals and an assist for 15 points. • Long-stick defensive midfielder Alex Spring has been a major contributor both on defense and on the faceoff wings. Spring has nabbed 46 ground balls, second-most on the team, and he was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week on March 4.
Going Streaking
• Bucknell had a seven-game winning streak earlier this year, marking the third straight season that the Bison have cobbled together a streak of at least seven victories. • The seven-game streak was the sixth-longest in program history.
In the Crease
• Kyle Feeney took over as Bucknell's starting goalie in just the third game of his freshman year in 2010 and has been excellent ever since.
• As a freshman, he ranked No. 2 among all Division I goalies with a 7.45 goals-against average, and he ranked No. 2 in the Patriot League and No. 11 nationally in save percentage at .569.
• As a sophomore, Feeney had a league-best 7.24 GAA, which also ranked No. 6 nationally. Feeney broke a school record with 13 wins, and he was named to the All-Patriot League Second Team.
• Feeney currently ranks 11th nationally with a 7.91 GAA.
• Feeney recently became the sixth Bucknell netminder to record 500 career saves, and he now ranks fifth on Bucknell's all-time saves list.
• Feeney's 38 career wins are the most of any active Division I goalie.
Heritage, Bailey Hit 100-Point Mark
• Junior attackman Todd Heritage eclipsed the 100-point plateau in Bucknell's win at Albany on March 23.
• Heritage now has 90 goals and 19 assists for 109 career points and has moved into the top 10 on Bucknell's career goals chart.
• Senior attackman Chase Bailey's hat trick at Army on Saturday gives him an even 100 points (71 goals, 29 assists) for his career.
Dickson Already on Bucknell Top-10 Assist Chart
• David Dickson is only 12 games into his sophomore year, but already he ranks among the all-time assist leaders in program history. His 62 career assists rank eighth on the Bucknell career list.
• Dickson's 62 career assists rank 17th among all active Division I players, and that is the highest total in the country among members of the sophomore class.
• Dickson's 36 assists this season already rank fifth on Bucknell's single-season list and are just four shy of the program record. Chris Cara dished out a record 40 assists in 2004.
• Dickson was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection as a freshman in 2012, and he was named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team prior to the start of this season.
Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 62-21 (.747) in the Patriot League (regular season) since the start of the 2000 season.
• Prior to the advent of the Patriot League Tournament, Bucknell won or shared PL titles in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. The Bison won outright championships in 1996 and 2001.
• In 1996, despite a 12-0 overall record, they were passed over for an NCAA Tournament bid, but in 2001 Bucknell received its very first NCAA invitation. That season the Bison fell to Notre Dame in the first round at West Point, N.Y.
• The Bison lost in the Patriot League Tournament championship game in both 2008 (to Colgate) and 2009 (to Navy). In 2011 they won the postseason tournament for the first time.
Head Coach Frank Fedorjaka
• Frank Fedorjaka is in his eighth season as Bucknell's head coach after succeeding the legendary Sid Jamieson. He was named the 2009 and 2011 Patriot League Coach of the Year.
• Fedorjaka, who is only the second head coach in the 45-year history of the program, has a 78-41 record at Bucknell and a 117-72 overall record, including a five-year stint at Franklin & Marshall.
• Fedorjaka earned his 100th career victory last season against Hobart, his alma mater.
• He had been an assistant coach under Jamieson before taking over as head coach in 2006.
Bison Bits
• Bucknell is clearing the ball at an 88.7% clip, while opponents are just 77.4%.
• Bucknell has been flagged for only 34 penalties this season, compared to 47 by their opponents. The 34 penalties is a league low.
• David Dickson, Chase Bailey and Sean Doyle have all registered at least one point in every game this season. Dickson has multiple assists in every game.
• Bucknell's 11.1 goals per game leads the Patriot League.
Up Next
• Bucknell will close out the regular season on the road at Colgate next Saturday at noon. That contest will air live on CBS Sports Network.
