Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Faces Army Friday in Patriot League Tourney on CBS Sports Network
4/25/2013 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 25, 2013
Bucknell-Army Live Stats
Complete Game Notes vs. Army 
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Lehigh plays host to the 10th Annual Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Tournament presented by Rockin' Refuel this weekend at the Ulrich Sports Complex, and second-seeded Bucknell and third-seeded Army get things started with the first semifinal game at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Top-seeded Lehigh and No. 4 Colgate follow at 7:30 p.m. Both semifinal tilts and Sunday's championship game will all be televised live on CBS Sports Network.
Bucknell will be playing in the event for the seventh year in a row and ninth time in 10 years. The Bison are ranked 13th in the USILA Coaches' Poll and 16th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll this week, and after finishing 5-1 in the Patriot League they are the No. 2 seed for the tournament for the very first time. Bucknell's semifinal opponent is third-seeded Army, which is ranked No. 20 in the Coaches' Poll this week. The Black Knights have won four of their last five, with all four wins coming in one-sided fashion against Patriot League opponents. However, their only loss in that span came on Apr. 6 against Bucknell at Michie Stadium. The Bison pulled out a 9-8 decision in an evenly played game, marking the 13th one-goal game in the last 19 meetings between these two teams.
This is the fifth postseason meeting between Bucknell and Army, with all five coming in the semifinals. The teams have split the previous four PL Tourney clashes.
With a Win over Army, Bucknell Would ...
• ... advance to the Patriot League championship game for the fourth time and face the winner of Lehigh and Colgate on Sunday at 3 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
• ... improve to 12-3 overall, giving the Bison 12 or more wins in a season for the third time in program history.
• ... defeat the Black Knights twice in one season for the third time.
• ... improve to 3-2 against the Black Knights at the Patriot League Tournament.
• ... give the current senior class its 43rd victory, extending the program record.
About the Bison
• Bucknell (11-3), Cornell (11-2) and Duke (11-4) are the only three teams in the country with 11 victories entering the weekend. The Bison defeated the Big Red on March 19, 9-8 in Ithaca.
• Bucknell is gunning for its second seventh Patriot League title, and its second of the Patriot League Tournament era. The Bison won the PL Tournament in 2011 on their home field. Prior to the advent of the tourney in 2004, Bucknell won or shared PL titles in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.
• 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 4-2 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.
• After suffering its lone conference loss to Lehigh on Apr. 12, Bucknell again bounced back in strong fashion with a 13-8 road win over Colgate. The victory locked up the No. 2 seed for the Bison.
• 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 12 nationally in scoring defense (12th, 8.2), man-down defense (4th, .780) and caused turnovers (8th, 9.36).
Postseason Awards Recap
• Bucknell fared well in the All-Patriot League voting this year. The Bison claimed six all-conference selections (two First Team, two Second Team), two Academic All-Patriot League selections, and had the Rookie of the Year in freshman attackman Sean Doyle.
• Young midfielders David Dickson and Thomas Flibotte earned First Team All-Patriot League honors. Flibotte is the first Bison freshman to earn a First Team All-Patriot League nod since Charlie Streep in 2009.
• Four Bison veterans made the Second Team: senior Chase Bailey, senior Ryan Gutowski, senior Mike Huffner and junior Jackson Place.
• This is Huffner's third All-Patriot League citation (he was First Team in 2011 and 2012) and the second for Dickson (Second Team in 2012). Flibotte, Bailey, Gutowski and Place were all recognized for the first time.
• Gutowski is now an All-Patriot Leaguer in two different sports. He was a First Team All-Patriot League punter in football in 2011.
• Huffner and junior Todd Heritage were both named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team. Huffer earned that honor for the second year in a row.
Last Time Out
• Bucknell needed a victory at Colgate last week to secure second place in the Patriot League, and the Bison got just that with a 13-8 win over the Raiders. The Bison raced out to a 4-1 lead, fell behind 7-5 after a rough start to the third quarter, but then responded to a goalie change by finishing the game on an 8-1 run.
• Sophomore goalie Sam Grinberg came on with 7:07 left in the third quarter and the Bison suddenly down by two goals. The first shot Grinberg faced snuck past him, but then he saved the next six, as Bucknell outran the Raiders 8-1 over the final 22:07. Grinberg saved five shots in the fourth quarter, including three on reigning national player of the year Peter Baum.
• Freshman Sean Doyle paced the offense with four goals and an assist. He scored the team's first two goals of the day, then had a big momentum-changing tally in the third quarter that cut into Bucknell's two-goal deficit.
• David Dickson dished out four assists, all of them coming during that decisive 8-1 run late in the contest. After the game was tied at 8-8, Dickson assisted on three consecutive goals to give Bucknell the lead for good.
• Ryan Gutowski had a huge game, going 15-for-22 on faceoffs with eight ground balls.
• Chase Bailey collected two goals, one assist and a career-high seven ground balls.
• Defensive midfielder Kyle O'Keefe notched his first goal of the season, and it came on a fastbreak just as the horn sounded to end the second quarter.
• Bucknell won the ground balls 41-29 and the faceoffs 15-8.
Getting Defensive
• Bucknell has been known for its stellar defense through the years, and 2013 has been no exception. The Bison are conceding only 8.2 goals and 27.6 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 13 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.
Bucknell Patriot League Tournament History
• Bucknell will be playing in the Patriot League Tournament for the seventh year in a row and for the ninth time in 10 years.
• After suffering championship-game losses in 2008 and 2009, the Bison got over the hump in 2011 and won their first Patriot League Tournament title with convincing victories over Lehigh and Colgate.
• Bucknell is 4-7 all-time in the Patriot League Tournament, with its seven losses coming by a combined 15 goals.
Finishing Strong
• The Bison have outscored opponents 41-27 in the fourth quarter of games this season, including a 36-15 margin in their 11 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 29 goals — eighth-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.
• Patriot League Rookie of the Year Sean Doyle started the first eight games at attack before missing the Albany and Penn State games with an injury. Doyle has 25 goals and 14 assists for 39 points. He ranks sixth in the Patriot League in goals and assists and seventh in points. Doyle recorded four goals against Colgate and Holy Cross and also added hat tricks against Navy and Cornell. He has three PL Rookie of the Week citations, including this week's, and is the third-highest-scoring freshman in the country behind Chris Bava of Mercer (41 points) and Jack Bobzien of Hartford (40).
• Speedy middie Brock Ghelfi has 15 goals and two assists for 17 points.
• Long-stick defensive midfielder Alex Spring has been a major contributor both on defense and on the faceoff wings. Spring has nabbed 52 ground balls, second-most on the team, and he was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week on March 4.
Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 63-22 (.741) 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.
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 92 goals and 19 assists for 111 career points and has moved into a tie for eighth place on Bucknell's career goals chart.
• Senior attackman Chase Bailey's now has 106 points (76 goals, 30 assists) for his career.
Dickson Already on Bucknell Top-10 Assist Chart
• David Dickson is only 14 games into his sophomore year, but already he ranks among the all-time assist leaders in program history. His 68 career assists rank seventh on the Bucknell career list.
• Dickson's 68 career assists rank 14th among all active Division I players, and that is the highest total in the country among members of the sophomore class.
• Dickson's 42 assists this season are a new Bucknell single-season record. Chris Cara dished out a 40 assists in 2004 to set the previous mark.
• 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 before earning First Team All-PL honors on Tuesday.
Gutowski Heating Up
• Senior faceoff specialist Ryan Gutowski has been very strong of late, and he earned Second Team All-Patriot League honors this week. He has won at least half of his draws in seven of the last 10 games, and over the last six games he is converting at a 58.3% clip (74-127).
• Gutowski had two of the best games of his career in the back-to-back road wins over Cornell and Albany. In the win at No. 2 Cornell, Gutowski went 11-for-16 with eight ground balls, and one game later at Albany he was 14-for-23 with eight ground balls and his first career goal.
• Gutowski was even better in the Colgate win, claiming 15 of 22 draws with eight more ground balls. He now has a team-high 68 GBs on the year.
• Gutowski, who also served as a punter on the Bison football team over the last four years, ranks third on Bucknell's career list for most faceoff wins.
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 79-42 record at Bucknell and a 118-73 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 87.5% clip, while opponents are just 77.8%.
• David Dickson, Chase Bailey and Sean Doyle have all registered at least one point in every game played this season.
• Dickson has multiple points in every game.
• Freshman Thomas Flibotte recorded 25 goals in his first nine games of the season, but he has been limited to four goals in the last five games. The Bison are 9-0 when Flibotte scores two or more goals.
• Bucknell's 10.9 goals per game leads the Patriot League.
• Bucknell opponents are just 9-for-41 (.220) with an extra man this season. The Bison are the 4th-best penalty killing team in the country.
• Entering this season, Bucknell's last eight home losses covering a four-year span all came by a single goal. That streak ended with the 11-3 setback against Penn State on March 26. Before that, the last time Bucknell lost a home game by more than one goal was an 11-9 loss to Colgate in 2008.
• David Dickson has distributed his 42 assists fairly evenly this season. Of that total, 34 assists have led to goals by the starting attack unit: 14 to Todd Heritage and 10 each to Chase Bailey and Sean Doyle. Dickson has also lent three assists to Thomas Flibotte, two each to Peter Burke and Tom Black, and one to Brock Ghelfi.
Up Next
• Should the Bison advance in the Patriot League Tournament, the championship game will be Sunday, Apr. 28 at 3 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
