Bucknell University
Holy Cross
Men's Soccer Takes Another Step Toward Postseason with 1-0 Win at Holy Cross
11/1/2014 8:03:00 PM | Men's Soccer
UPDATE -- Loyola and Navy tied 1-1 this evening, meaning Bucknell has now clinched a Patriot League Tourmament berth. Seeds are still to be determined.
WORCESTER, Mass. -- On a cold, wet Saturday afternoon at Smith Soccer Stadium, senior captains Jonathan Grad and Brian Ward lifted Bucknell to a key 1-0 win over Holy Cross. The victory moves the Bison to 4-3-1 in the Patriot League, and they are now on the brink of clinching one of the six Patriot League Tournament berths.
Bucknell and Lehigh remain tied for fourth place with 13 points -- the Mountain Hawks defeated Colgate 3-1 on Saturday -- and the Bison would clinch a postseason bid with a Loyola loss or tie against Navy later in the evening.
Bucknell was good at both ends of the field in miserable playing conditions at Holy Cross. The Bison (8-9-1 overall) outshot the Crusaders (5-8-3, 2-5-1 PL) 15-6 in the match, including 11-4 in the second half, and Clarke Fox made three saves en route to his fourth shutout of the season.
The Bison notched the only goal of the game in the 79th minute. Connor Willings keyed the build-up by carrying the ball through the middle and then passing wide to his right to Jesse Klug. Klug took a touch inside and ripped a hard shot that was saved but not controlled by keeper Kevin Wright. Grad was there to tap in the rebound for his sixth goal of the season. Klug, who leads the team with eight goals, was credited with his fifth assist of the year, tying him with Chris Thorsheim for team-high honors.
Holy Cross got the ball deep into Bucknell's penalty area on a couple of occasions in the final minutes, and Ward came up with some big clears to help preserve the team's sixth clean sheet of the season.
"I was really proud of the guys for playing well off a short turnaround and a long bus ride," said head coach Brendan Nash. "The conditions were very difficult today, but statistically we took care of business. This felt like one of those old-school 1-0 Bucknell wins. We got great leadership from our captains today and gutted out a tough road victory."
The Bison have one more regular-season game remaining, next Saturday at home against Boston University on Senior Day at 5:30 p.m.
