Bucknell University
Army
Grad's OT Header Sends Men's Soccer Past Army, 2-1, in Patriot League Opener
9/27/2014 9:55:00 PM | Men's Soccer
WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Jonathan Grad headed in a free kick just 2:14 into overtime to lift the Bucknell men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Army at Clinton Field on Saturday night in the Patriot League openers for both teams. Chris Thorsheim also scored and had an assist for the Bison, who are now 5-4 overall heading into a non-league showdown with Penn State at home on Wednesday night.
Bucknell got out to a great start in league play despite conceding the game's opening goal just before the hour mark. Justin Kim whipped in a free kick from the left side of the area, and as goalkeeper Mike Lansing was dealing with the charging attackers, the ball skipped through untouched inside the far post.
But the Bison needed only 2:16 to get the equalizer. Jesse Klug, who led the team with five shot attempts, was taken down in the box, and Thorsheim buried the penalty kick. Thorsheim is now 6-for-6 in his career on penalty kicks, and the goal was his third overall this season.
Both teams had shots miss the mark in the final two minutes of regulation, and then Bucknell took advantage of another foul early in sudden-death overtime. Mark Leibensperger earned a free kick from a similar spot to Kim's on the left side. Thorsheim sent in the free kick toward the near post, and Grad skimmed a header over charging keeper Winston Boldt and into the open net.
It was Grad's third goal of the season, and his second career golden goal. He also scored in overtime to beat Boston University a year ago.
"Down 1-0, we got to see what kind of character we had," said head coach Brendan Nash. "We scored two minutes later, and then Jono won it for us. I thought we played very well. You are happy to get one point on the road in league play, so it is great to get all three. Now we have to re-focus and prepare for a great Penn State team on Wednesday."
Bucknell outshot Army 16-13, while the Black Knights (3-3-3, 0-1-0) led 10-7 in corner kicks. Boldt tallied three saves and Lansing two. The Bison snapped a three-game series losing streak against Army, which was tabbed as one of the Patriot League favorites this season after going 12-3-3 overall and 6-2-1 in the league in 2013.
Next up for the Bison is seventh-ranked Penn State at home on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will air live on NSCAA.com. The Nittany Lions are currently 7-0-1 and visit Michigan on Sunday.
