Men's Soccer Hosts Saint Francis, Seton Hall in Busy Weekend

Bucknell vs. Saint Francis & Seton Hall: Live Stats | Live Video

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men's soccer team faces its third straight Friday-Sunday set to start the 2015 season coming up this weekend, with Saint Francis (Pa.) and Seton Hall headed to Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium. The Bison and Red Flash will square off on Friday at 7 p.m. in the second game of a soccer doubleheader -- the women host Iona at 4 p.m. -- and then on Sunday Bucknell and Seton Hall get going at 2 p.m. Each game this weekend will be webcast live on the Patriot League Network.

Bucknell is 2-1-1 on the season after posting a win and a tie en route to the championship at the Mayor's Cup last week in Oneonta, New York. The Bison parlayed an 85th-minute goal from Jesse Klug into a 2-2 tie with host Hartwick last Friday, and then on Sunday Klug's overtime goal gave Bucknell a 1-0 win over Northern Kentucky.

The Bison, who have also beaten La Salle and lost in overtime to Syracuse this season, rank second in the Patriot League in scoring with seven goals in four games. Bucknell has had six different goal-scorers thus far, with Klug leading the way with two. Justin Galiani ranks second in the Patriot League with three assists, the most recent coming on Klug's golden goal against Northern Kentucky, and he is one of six different Bison with at least one assist.

Defensively, Bucknell has yielded five goals in its first four outings. Senior goalkeepers Clarke Fox and Mike Lansing have each started twice. Fox picked up the team's first shutout of the season last time out against Northern Kentucky.

Head coach Brendan Nash has received excellent play from his two center backs, Zach Rockmore and Tyler Peterson. Rockmore, a Preseason All-Patriot League pick, scored his first career goal on a terrific free kick against Hartwick. Peterson, a freshman, has started the last three contests, and he was named the Garth Stam Defensive Most Valuable Player at the Mayor's Cup.

Bucknell and Saint Francis should be familiar with one another, as both teams participated in the Mayor's Cup last week. The Red Flash fell 2-0 to Northern Kentucky and then played Hartwick to a 0-0 draw. The latter result clinched the tournament title for Bucknell.

The Red Flash are 0-1-2 on the season, with a 0-0 tie against Loyola preceding last week's Mayor's Cup appearance. Saint Francis is still looking for its first goal of the season, but it has conceded only two in three games.

Last year the Red Flash finished 13-6-1 overall and 6-1-0 in the Northeast Conference. After claiming the NEC regular-season title, Saint Francis fell to third-seeded St. Francis (N.Y.) 2-1 in the NEC Tournament championship game.

One of Saint Francis' six losses in 2014 came against Bucknell in Loretto. Klug scored in the 10th minute, and Chris Thorsheim converted a penalty kick just after halftime to send the Bison to a 2-0 win. Bucknell has a 10-5-2 record in the all-time series. The Red Flash won 1-0 in the last meeting in Lewisburg in 2013.

Meanwhile, Bucknell and Seton Hall will be matching up for just the second time. In the only other previous meeting in 2013, Klug scored both goals in Bucknell's 2-0 victory in South Orange, New Jersey. Klug scored in the sixth and 83rd minutes, and Lansing made 11 saves en route to the shutout.

The Pirates are 0-3-1 to start the season. They have a 1-1 draw with Furman and losses to College of Charleston (3-1), Rider (2-1) and Delaware (2-1). Samuel Geiler has two of Seton Hall's four goals, while Eric Lagg and Nick Najera have the other two. Julian Spindler has handled all of the goalkeeping duties and has 15 saves in the four matches.

Seton Hall finished 5-7-5 overall and 2-4-3 in the Big East last season.

Following this weekend's contests, Bucknell will be on the road next Saturday to face Xavier at 7 p.m. in Cincinnati. The Musketeers were nationally ranked at the start of the year, but fell out of the top 20 after losses to Lipscomb and Virginia Tech. Xavier plays Cincinnati and Notre Dame before hosting the Bison next week.