Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Saint Francis (Pa.)
Saint Francis Downs Bison Men's Soccer, 3-1
9/11/2015 10:05:00 PM | Men's Soccer
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Saint Francis (Pa.) broke open a scoreless game at the half with three straight goals after the break, and the defending Northeast Conference regular-season champions defeated Bucknell 3-1 in men's soccer action on Friday night at Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium. Jesse Klug scored a goal in a third straight game for the Bison, but they fell to 2-2-1 on the season while Saint Francis improved to 1-1-2.
Neither team generated much offense in the first half, with Bucknell getting two decent looks on headers in the box from Justin Galiani off a throw-in and Sebastiaan Blickman off a free kick. But the Red Flash came out flying after the halftime intermission, needing only 5:10 to break the ice through Jack Webber.
Webber and a Bison defender went up high to challenge a corner kick from Pablo Medina. The ball fell to Webber's feet, and he ripped a low shot through lots of traffic into the back of the net.
In the 66th minute, Mario Mastrangelo chipped a pass over the top of the defense to an on-rushing Brendan McGee, who slotted home the shot from the right wing to make it 2-0. Bucknell once again failed to clear away a corner kick in the 82nd minute, and this time Francis De Vries scored for a 3-0 lead.
Only 24 seconds after the De Vries goal, Klug got through the Red Flash defense at the other end, and he scored past charging keeper Marcus Rojas to get the Bison on the board. It was Klug's third goal of the season, all coming in the last three games, and the 27th of his career. That ties Klug with Bill Dahl (1960-62) for eighth on Bucknell's all-time goals list. It is the most goals scored by a Bison player in the last 22 years.
Galiani recorded his team-leading fourth assist of the year on the Klug goal.
“Saint Francis looked like a team that won 13 games and won their league's regular-season title last year,” said head coach Brendan Nash. “It took us awhile to adjust to their solid play and to their energy level. Their goals came from that energy. We did not pass the test tonight in all phases of the game: offense, defense and re-starts. A quality team like Saint Francis will make you pay for that. To come out flat in a Friday-night home game is something that will have to be addressed.”
Bucknell finished with a 15-14 shot advantage and a 7-5 edge in corner kicks. Bison goalkeeper Clarke Fox made four saves while absorbing his first loss of the season, while Rojas made five stops for the Red Flash.
Bucknell will be back on Emmitt Field on Sunday at 2 p.m. when Seton Hall visits Lewisburg for the first time.
