Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Men's Lax Back in Top 20, Joseph Named Bison Athlete of Week
3/23/2015 3:49:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's lacrosse team is back in the national rankings, earning the No. 20 spot in this week's USILA Coaches' Poll. The Bison, who are now 6-3 this season after beating No. 12 Brown in overtime and falling 11-9 at Boston University last week, are ranked for the first time this season. This is now the 11th straight year that Bucknell has appeared in the Coaches' Poll for at least one week.
One of the stars of last week's pair of road games was senior midfielder Ryan Joseph, who was selected as the 5th Quarter Fresh Bison Athlete of the Week on Monday. Joseph scored six goals and added an assist in the two games, giving him a team-high 21 goals and 26 points on the season. A former walk-on who came into his final year with 14 career goals, Joseph currently ranks fourth in the Patriot League in goals per game.
Joseph scored twice in the 10-9 overtime victory at No. 12 Brown last Tuesday. The second of his two goals tied the game at 9-9 in the fourth quarter and forced overtime, where a big save from Sam Grinberg and a goal by Thomas Flibotte gave the Bison the win.
Joseph then poured in four more goals along with an assist for a five-point afternoon in Saturday's loss at Boston University. It was the second time this season and third time in his career that Joseph has recorded four goals and five points in a game. He also did it against Navy earlier this season, and against Colgate in the Patriot League Tournament last year.
Three of Bucknell's six victories this season have come against teams that were ranked in the top 20 at the time. The loss to Boston University, which jumped into the top-20 in the Cascade/Maverik Media Poll this week, dropped the Bison out of a first-place tie in the Patriot League.
Navy now has sole possession of first place at 4-1. Boston University and Loyola are next at 3-1, followed by Bucknell (3-2), Army (2-2), Holy Cross (2-2), Colgate (2-2), Lehigh (1-4) and Lafayette (0-5).
The Bison are idle until hosting Army in another key conference tilt this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Staidum.
