Bucknell University Athletics
Men's Soccer Visits FDU, Hosts Holy Cross this Week
9/29/2015 8:01:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bucknell vs. Fairleigh Dickinson: Live Stats | Live Video
Bucknell vs. Holy Cross: Live Stats | Live Video
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- After opening up its 2015 Patriot League slate with a 1-1 draw at Boston University on Sunday, the Bucknell men's soccer team is back on the road Wednesday night at Fairleigh Dickinson before returning to the friendly confines of Holmes Stadium on Saturday to host Holy Cross.
Both games will be streamed online free of charge. The 7 p.m. non-league match at FDU will air on NEC Front Row, and Saturday's 2 p.m. contest with Holy Cross will appear on the Patriot League Network.
Now 3-3-2 on the season after the tie in Boston, Bucknell is in the midst of a quite a road stretch. The Bison traveled to Cincinnati to play Xavier the week before the Boston University match, and now on Wednesday they head to Teaneck, New Jersey to face Fairleigh Dickinson.
The Knights are 2-6 on the season, but both of their wins are quality results. FDU defeated Yale 3-1 at home on Sept. 6, and they handed nationally ranked American its first loss of the year with a wild 4-3 overtime decision on Sept. 13 in Washington, D.C.
FDU has played three other Patriot League teams, falling to Lehigh (3-0), Lafayette (3-0) and Army (1-0). Most recently, the Knights dropped a 2-1 home decision to Stony Brook on Sunday.
Javen Palmer leads FDU with three goals and seven points, and five other players have one goal apiece. Goalkeeper Matthew Weigner has 44 saves in eight starts, while conceding 15 goals.
Bucknell head coach Brendan Nash will be returning to his home state of New Jersey, and his Bison teams have won eight straight games in the Garden State. The most recent was a 1-0 win over Rutgers in 2013.
The Bison are 1-5-1 all-time against Fairleigh Dickinson. The first get-together came in the 1975 NCAA Tournament, when the Knights prevailed in penalty kicks after the two teams played to a scoreless draw. The most recent meeting came all the way back in 1999, a 2-1 overtime verdict for FDU in Lewisburg.
Bucknell is 11-9-5 in the all-time series against Holy Cross, including wins in each of the last two seasons. The Bison are unbeaten in their last six (4-0-2) against the Crusaders. The Bison clinched a playoff berth with a 1-0 victory in Worcester last season. Jonathan Grad scored the goal to give Bucknell a key win in poor weather conditions. In the last meeting on Emmitt Field, Bucknell won 3-1 on Senior Day in 2013.
Holy Cross is 3-3-2 overall and is one of four Patriot League teams sitting on three points at the top of the table. The Crusaders opened conference play on Saturday with a 1-0 win at Lehigh, courtesy of a Justin Carfora goal in the 12th minute.
The Crusaders' other victories are against Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac, and they also have a 1-1 draw with then-eighth-ranked Providence.
Joey DeVivo (3-1-7) and Yuji Callahan (2-3-7) are the team's top scorers. Holy Cross has been stout defensively, allowing only five goals in eight games thus far. Keeper Kevin Wright has an .828 save percentage and 0.59 goals-against average.
Bucknell keeper Mike Lansing has the highest save percentage in the Patriot League at .865. He made 11 saves on Sunday at Boston University and now has 32 stops with only five goals against on the season.
Chris Thorsheim scored his third goal of the season in that game, coming on a first-half penalty kick, and he ranks fifth in the league with nine points. Sebastiaan Blickman also has three goals, and Blickman and Thorsheim trail Jesse Klug by one for the team lead.
