Bucknell University Athletics
Men's Soccer Aims for Rebound with Two League Games on Tap this Week
10/7/2014 11:26:00 AM | Men's Soccer
| Bucknell at Loyola | Watch Live | Live Stats |
| Bucknell vs. American | Watch Live | Live Stats |
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's soccer team left Holmes Stadium after Saturday's 2-1 loss to Lehigh with the feeling that it had let some points slip away, but the good news for the Bison is that they will have two chances this week to put that disappointment in the rearview mirror. Bucknell visits Loyola on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. and then hosts No. 20 American on Saturday at 1 p.m. Both games will be streamed live and free of charge on the Patriot League Network.
After starting Patriot League play with a big 2-1 overtime win at Army on Sept. 27, the Bison jumped on Lehigh for an early goal, with Jesse Klug scoring his team-leading fourth goal of the season just 3:29 into the match. But the resurgent Mountain Hawks, who were coming off a win over American, scored in the 73rd and 89th minutes to steal the three points.
That left the Bison at 5-6 overall and 1-1 in Patriot League play. Lehigh and Boston University are off to 2-0 starts in league play, but six of the 10 teams are 1-1 with seven games still to play.
Klug has three assists to go with his four goals this season, and his 11 points rank third in the Patriot League behind Colgate's Ethan Kulter (10-1-21) and Boston University's Dominique Badji (5-2-12). Klug also ranks third in goals and fourth in assists while continuing to lead the league in shot attempts with 52. Chris Thorsheim (3-3-9), Jonathan Grad (3-2-8) and Patrick Figgie (2-2-6) are Bucknell's other top scorers, and that quartet has accounted for 12 of the team's 14 goals this season.
Despite giving up two goals in each of the last two games against Lehigh and No. 4 Penn State, the Bison are still yielded less than a goal per game on the season. The team has conceded 10 goals in 11 contests, and goalkeepers Mike Lansing and Clarke Fox both have two shutouts.
Loyola enters Wednesday's game with a 4-3-2 overall record. The Greyhounds have split their first two Patriot League games, falling 2-0 at Holy Cross before bouncing back with a 1-0 home win over Colgate on Saturday.
Loyola games have typically been low-scoring this season, as the Greyhounds have scored six times and yielded seven goals in nine games. Ryan Tuck and Connor Thompson lead the team with two goals apiece, and Laurin Vogel has three assists. Goalkeeper Matt Sanchez has a strong 0.74 goals-against average.
Bucknell is 2-0 all-time against Loyola, including a 2-0 home win last season in the first meeting between the two teams as conference rivals. In that game, Joe Meyer scored an early goal to get the Bison on top, and then Jesse Klug finished it off with a goal in the 80th minute off a Meyer cross.
American enters the week at 7-2-1, and the Eagles will play at Navy on Wednesday before heading to Lewisburg. Back on Sept. 5, American made headlines with a 2-1 overtime win over No. 1 UCLA at the Grange & Ashwill Memorial Tournament at New Mexico. The Eagles then beat UC Riverside in overtime to win the tourney and propel themselves into the national rankings.
American is 4-1-1 since that landmark weekend, but the loss came in Patriot League play at Lehigh (2-1) on Sept. 27. The Eagles then bounced back with yet another overtime victory this past Saturday, 3-2 over Holy Cross in Washington, D.C.
Joe Iraola has a team-high four goals for the Eagles, who have outscored foes 18-9 on the season. Dale Ludwig, who netted the winner against UCLA, has three goals and two assists, while Liam Robley has two goals and a team-high four assists. Dylan Hobert has played every minute in goal and has 31 saves with nine goals against.
Bucknell is 6-11-1 against American in a series that dates back to 1996. These two teams met twice last season. An 84th-minute goal from Andrew Leischner helped the Bison pull out a 1-1 tie in the regular-season meeting in D.C., and then in a Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal match Bucknell steamed to a 3-1 win at Emmitt Field. Grad and Thorsheim scored three minutes apart in the first half to give Bucknell a 2-0 lead. Ludwig got the Eagles on the board in the 82nd minute, but Klug sent a long shot into an empty net with 47 seconds left to ice it for the Bison.
