Men's Lax Visits No. 5/6 North Carolina Tuesday on ESPN3

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell faces a stern test on Tuesday when it visits No. 5/6 North Carolina in its first mid-week game of the season. The 4 p.m. contest will be streamed live on ESPN3, and live stats will be available at GoHeels.com.

The Bison and Tar Heels will be meeting for the first time since 2003. Bucknell won the initial meeting between the two teams 9-4 in the 2001 season opener in Baltimore. North Carolina returned the favor a year later with a 12-3 win in the first lacrosse game ever played at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Tar Heels won again 13-3 in 2003 despite a 20-save performance from standout Bison goalie Justin Sussman.

Bucknell will be looking to shake a two-game losing streak that has dropped its record under .500 for the first time in two years. After beating on Feb. 22, the Bison lost consecutive Patriot League games to Colgate and Lehigh to fall to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

The Bison have been strong defensively so far, but struggles in the faceoff game have helped lead to some early scoring difficulty. Led by Preseason All-American Jackson Place, the defense is allowing only 8.0 goals per game. Offensively, the Bison returned plenty of firepower from last year's 12-4 team, but they have been a bit slow to click in the cold weather. Bucknell is averaging 7.0 goals per game, led by 13 points (8 goals, 5 assists) from Sean Doyle. David Dickson (4-4-8), Todd Heritage (6-1-7) and Thomas Flibotte (7-0-7) are other top scorers.

Place leads the Patriot League and ranks eighth nationally with 12 caused turnovers. Goalie Sam Grinberg is coming off a career-best 15-save performance against Lehigh.

The Bison have been outstanding so far when it comes to taking care of the ball. They rank fourth nationally in fewest turnovers per game (11.4) and third in clearing efficiency (.935). The Bison have outshot four of their five opponents so far, but they have also lost the faceoff and ground ball battle in all five games.

North Carolina (4-1) has had no such offensive trouble. The Tar Heels are averaging 16.5 goals per game, the second-highest average in the country behind Albany, and they are winning 55.6 percent of their faceoffs. North Carolina last played on Friday night, when it won a 13-11 shootout at No. 13 Princeton. Former Bucknell offensive coordinator Pat Myers is now the associate head coach and OC at North Carolina under head coach Joe Breschi.

Joey Sankey (11-9-20) leads a balanced scoring attack for the Tar Heels. Jimmy Bitter (9-5-14), Pat Foster (10-2-12) and Chad Tutton (10-2-12) have also reached double figures in the points column. Sankey and Tutton are both on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List along with Bucknell's Dickson.

Kieran Burke has started all five games in goal and has a .544 save percentage and a 7.18 goals-against average. As a team, the Tar Heels have allowed only 35 goals in five games while scoring 81. UNC also leads the nation in fewest turnovers per game at 10.6.

Following the North Carolina game, Bucknell will return to Patriot League play at Holy Cross on Saturday at noon. Live coverage will be available on the Patriot League Network.