Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh (PL Tournament Quarterfinals)
Men's Lax Routs Lehigh 13-8 to Advance to Patriot League Semifinals
4/21/2015 10:08:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Sean Doyle scored four goals, David Dickson scored twice and handed out four assists, and Sam Grinberg backstopped a strong defensive effort with 13 saves to lead third-seeded Bucknell to a wire-to-wire 13-8 victory over sixth-seeded Lehigh in a Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Tournament quarterfinal contest on Tuesday night at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
Now 9-5 on the season, the Bison sprinted out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back, and now they will face second-seeded Colgate in the semifinals on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. Top-seeded Navy and No. 5 Army will battle in the other semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Both games will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
Back on March 7 in Bethlehem, Bucknell needed an overtime goal from Ryan Joseph to escape with a 9-8 win over the Mountain Hawks (7-9). This one was not nearly as close, as the Bison stunned Lehigh with five straight goals to open the game.
Doyle scored twice, and Dickson and Will Sands both had a goal and an assist during that early siege. Lehigh finally got on the board with 23 seconds left in the first quarter on the first of five goals from Reid Weber. But the Bison extended the lead to 7-1 on tallies from Sands and Thomas Flibotte 70 seconds apart.
After scoring seven times in the first 16:48 of the game, the Bison then went scoreless for the final 13:12 of the first half. Weber scored twice in that span to make it a 7-3 game at the half.
Dickson threaded a pretty pass to Sands on the crease for the all-important first goal of the second half, and the Mountain Hawks never really threatened. The Bison led by as many as seven on a couple of occasions, the first at 12-5 on Doyle's diving shot with 10:06 left in the fourth quarter.
It was a 13-6 game after Dickson's goal with 4:23 left. Lehigh got two back in the late stages but they were not enough.
Defensively, the Bison were solid in the coverages all night, and they kept Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Dan Taylor in check. Taylor, who came in with 74 points on 40 goals and 34 assists, finished with a goal and two assists in this one. Grinberg stuffed him twice from point-blank range, and he also made four saves on the hot-shooting Weber.
Sands finished with three goals and an assist for the Bison. It was his fourth straight game with three or more goals, and he now has 14 goals over that span. Doyle's four goals were a season high, and Joseph added two more. Defenseman Mike Schiappa led the squad with five ground balls.
Lehigh finished with a 38-33 shot advantage and a 32-27 edge in ground balls. Bucknell had the better of the faceoff play early in the game, but Lehigh won all seven draws in the third quarter and rallied to take 14 of 24. The Mountain Hawks took 10 penalties in the game, while the Bison were flagged three times.
Colgate defeated Bucknell 10-8 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium back on Feb. 28. Sands had four goals in that game for the Bison, while Ryan Walsh had two goals and three assists for the Raiders.
