Bucknell University
Xavier
Xavier Scores in 2nd Half to Edge Bison 1-0
9/20/2014 4:39:00 PM | Men's Soccer
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Garrett Halfhill scored on a scramble in front of the goal in the 50th minute, sending Xavier to a 1-0 non-league victory over Bucknell on Saturday at Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium. The Bison saw their two-game winning streak come to an end and fell to 4-3 on the season, while the Musketeers improved to 4-3.
After a scoreless first half in which both teams hit the left goalpost, Xavier scored on a corner kick sequence early in the second half. Bucknell cleared the initial corner kick out of the box, but Xavier's Kyle Martin headed the ball back in on goal. Goalkeeper Mike Lansing reached around a Xavier forward to punch it away, but Halfhill popped the rebound back into the net for the only goal of the game.
Xavier keeper Eric Osswald made two key saves in the final 15 minutes. He lunged to his right to stop a free kick from a dangerous spot by Andrew Leischner, and then with about five minutes to play, Osswalt tipped a point-blank header from Jonathan Grad over the bar.
The Bison almost took a 1-0 lead just 4:30 into the match, but Sebastiaan Blickman struck the post with his header from 12 yards out. Later in the half Xavier's Will Walker shot wide to the left on a breakaway, and then Jalen Brown rang a shot off the left post.
Bucknell finished with a 10-9 shot advantage, while Xavier led 7-5 in corner kicks. Lansing tallied four saves for the Bison, while Osswald had five for the Musketeers, a Big East squad that has played in three of the last four NCAA Tournaments.
"I thought it was an evenly contested game," said head coach Brendan Nash. "Unfortunately it can be frustrating in a 90-minute game to have inches make the difference. If Seb's header early in the game is inches right we take a 1-0 lead, if the ball bounces inches closer to our player than theirs on the goal they may not score it, and if their keeper doesn't push Jono's header inches over the crossbar we tie the game up late. It was a good test as we prepare for LaSalle and eventually our Patriot League games."
The Bison play at La Salle on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
