Bucknell University Athletics
Men's Lacrosse Opens 2016 Season at Home Saturday vs. Delaware
2/4/2016 10:15:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- With hopes high entering the 2016 campaign, the Bucknell men's lacrosse team opens its 49th season of action against longtime rival Delaware on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Once again this season all Bison home lacrosse games are admission-free at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
The Bison return 29 lettermen from last year's squad that finished 9-6 overall and 5-3 in the Patriot League. Bucknell was picked to finish fifth in the 2016 Patriot League preseason poll. Delaware was 5-10 overall and 1-4 in the CAA last year. The Blue Hens were tabbed for a sixth-place finish in the CAA.
Bucknell and Delaware are former cohorts in the Middle Atlantic Conference and the East Coast Conference. The Blue Hens own a 25-5 lead in a series that dates back to 1969, which was Bucknell's second year at the varsity level. This will be the fifth year in a row that the Blue Hens have been Bucknell's opening-day opponent, and each of the previous four have been tight affairs. Delaware won 11-10 in OT in 2012, the Bison won 9-8 in 2013 and 6-4 in 2014, and then the Blue Hens came from behind to win 12-11 in Newark last season.
In last year's contest, Bucknell led 5-0 after one period and 7-1 into the second before Delaware stormed back. The Blue Hens scored three straight goals in the fourth quarter to win it, capped by Tom Holland's tiebreaking EMO tally with 4:09 to play.
Thomas Flibotte led Bucknell with three goals and an assist, while Will Sands had a goal and two assists in his collegiate debut. Holland led Delaware with four tallies.
After today's tilt, the Bison will play their next three on the road before returning home to face Navy on March 5.
Below is a closer look at the Bison entering the 2016 campaign:
Continuing the tradition cemented by Hall-of-Fame coach Sid Jamieson before him, 11th-year Bucknell mentor Frank Fedorjaka has the Bison men's lacrosse program in a great place. Year in and year out Bucknell is expected to be a factor in chase for the championship in the Patriot League, which has become one of the nation's top Division I lacrosse conferences.
This year should be no different. While there are some key graduation losses to overcome, the Bison bring back talent in all phases of the game in 2016, as they look to improve on last year's 9-6 season that ended with a loss to Colgate in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. Four of the nine wins came against top-20 opponents, and the team went 6-1 in one-goal games and 3-0 in overtime contests.
“Last year was an interesting year,” said Fedorjaka, who is 96-57 overall 42-22 against Patriot League competition as Bucknell's head coach. “We had some really big wins, but also some blowout losses that were unusual for us. We had some games where we gave up a lot of goals, and we are a program that prides itself on being one of the best defensive teams in the country. We have worked really hard this offseason on getting back to that.”
A Bison defense that conceded 9.9 goals per game last season will have some new faces in 2016. Two-year starting goalie Sam Grinberg and First Team All-Patriot League defenseman Ben Kellar have graduated, but senior Preseason All-America long-stick defensive midfielder Alex Spring returns to lead a talented group.
At close defense, junior Mike Schiappa already has two years of starting experience under his belt and is a strong crease defender. Senior co-captain Eric Monfort, formerly an offensive and defensive midfielder, makes the transition to close defense this spring. He made the move in the fall to help alleviate some injury concerns, and it was not long before he had become one of the team's best cover men. Sophomore Benny Borgognone, a transfer from Fairfield, is another strong, quick defender who has grasped Fedorjaka's intricate defensive scheme.
Junior Brad Dotson and sophomore Lukas Munoz have also started games for the Bison and are ready if called upon. Munoz took over a starting spot in the second game of the year and showed plenty of promise in seven games before going down with a season-ending knee injury in the Brown game. Dotson, one of the tallest players in the country at 6'7”, then jumped into the top three and also performed well.
“I like the makeup of our close defense unit,” said Fedorjaka. “There is good balance there, and everyone seems to have a different strength, which means they all complement each other well.”
Spring has become one of the best long-stick defensive midfielders in the country. He was an Honorable Mention Preseason All-American as well as a Preseason All-Patriot League selection. An eighth-round draft pick of the MLL's Florida Launch, Spring already ranks second on Bucknell's career ground balls list (185) with a full season still to play.
“Alex is one of the best ground-ball guys I have ever seen,” praised Fedorjaka. “He has a good nose for the ball and is hugely important for us as a faceoff wing. Pound-for-pound he is the strongest player on our team. He has fantastic endurance, he knows our defense very well, and we are very happy with his leadership and work ethic.”
Sophomore Matt Gilray has many of the same attributes as Spring, and he has the potential to be just as effective in terms of coverage and winning ground balls on the faceoff wings. In fact, the team has dubbed the duo “Spring-Ray”. Because Spring is in such good shape and rarely needs to come off the field, Gilray will also be playing with a short stick as a defensive middie. The Oshawa, Ontario native is quite skilled with the short stick, having played a lot of box lacrosse at home in Canada.
Senior Mike Adelman, a former walk-on, has improved considerably over the last three years and will also see time as an LSM.
The Bison will have plenty of game experience back in the short-stick defensive midfield rotation. Seniors Brock Ghelfi and co-captain Zach Henkhaus are both returning rotation guys, while junior Grayson Helm and sophomore Duke Repko are knocking on the door. Freshman Brad Landry is one of the fastest players on the team.
Breaking in a new goalie has been a rarity at Bucknell through the years. The team has utilized only five regular starters in the cage dating all the way back to 2000: Grinberg (2014-15), Kyle Feeney (2010-13), Nick Sciubba (2007-09), Matt Baran (2004-06) and Justin Sussman (2000-03).
Next in line could be freshman Christian Klipstein, who has impressed since the start of fall ball. The Califon, New Jersey native is the younger brother of Ryan Klipstein, a standout midfielder for the Bison from 2008-11. Another brother, Reaves, is currently a defenseman at Army.
Klipstein is being pushed hard by sophomore Brac McKee, who saw action in six games as Grinberg's backup last year, and another first-year netminder in Joey Altemus.
“We have three really good goalies,” said Fedorjaka. “Consistency is a big key, and Christian has been very consistent for us. He is a great ball-stopper and seems to be mature above his years. He understands the defense and is vocal and confident.”
The unit that will be looking to alleviate some pressure from the defense is the faceoff group. Faceoffs have been an issue for the Bison over the last two seasons, but Fedorjaka has a young group consisting of two sophomores and three freshmen that he feels could turn an area of weakness into a team strength.
Sophomores Jake Dunlop and Sam Hahn are the returnees. Hahn led the team with 150 attempts at the X, winning 65 as a rookie in 2015. Dunlop went 31-for-62 and led the team with a .500 conversion rate. Freshmen Jarett Witzal, Jordy Elardo and Teddy Dumbauld are also in the mix.
“We want to be above 50 percent on faceoffs,” offered Fedorjaka. “It has been a bit of an Achilles heel for us the last two years, but I don't think it will be this year. We have good competition there, and we have excellent wing players.”
Offensively, the Bison will have to replace last year's team leaders in goals (Ryan Joseph), assists (David Dickson) and points (Dickson), but two-time All-Patriot Leaguer and team co-captain Thomas Flibotte returns to anchor the top midfield line, and senior Sean Doyle and sophomore Will Sands are two of the league's top attackmen.
Flibotte tallied 16 goals and four assists last season, and Fedorjaka says that the big, strong senior middie has diversified his game considerably. Senior Kyle Shanahan and junior Tommy O'Connor are likely to join Flibotte on the first midfield line, giving the Bison plenty of shooting ability from the flanks.
Fedorjaka also likes his midfield depth, as sophomore Sean O'Brien could also mix in with the first unit, and freshmen Reed Malas and Ryan Durkin appear ready to contribute as well. Malas was listed No. 38 on Inside Lacrosse's list of top first-year attackmen. Another freshman, Tom Smith, missed fall ball due to an injury, but he could be in contention for a rotation spot when healthy.
“The midfield might just be the strength of the team,” noted Fedorjaka. “Flibotte, Shanahan, O'Connor and O'Brien are horses. They are going to be able to draw slides and handle them well.”
Sands was the team's No. 2 scorer with 42 points on 26 goals and 16 assists as a rookie last season, and his .448 shot percentage ranked 13th nationally. He will quarterback the offense from X. A proven finisher, Doyle has scored at least 24 goals in each of his first three seasons at Bucknell, and he enters his senior year with 77, including a number of clutch goals late in games. Sophomore Connor O'Hara is expected to be the third attackman, replacing the graduated Alex Ryan on the crease.
Senior co-captain Shane Fee, juniors Quinn Collison and Nick Steinfeld, and freshman Marshall Dickson (David's younger brother) give the Bison plenty of depth up front.
“We are looking for Will Sands to take command of the offense,” said Fedorjaka. “He had a great freshman year and is even better this year. He makes others around him better. Sean Doyle has scored a lot of big goals here, and people have to account for him. I like our offense. There is the potential for a lot of goals from a lot of different guys.”
As the 2016 campaign nears, Fedorjaka is excited about his squad, but also cognizant of the depth and quality of the Patriot League. Teams like Loyola, Navy, Army, Colgate and Lehigh are established powers. Boston University has already made major strides entering its third year at the varsity level. Holy Cross earned a top-20 ranking for the very first time last year, and even Lafayette, picked at the bottom of the league, took the Bison right down to the wire in a 14-13 finish last season.
“We have had a very productive preseason so far, and I am very excited about our team chemistry,” said Fedorjaka. “There is a lot of energy and enthusiasm throughout the team, and it starts with our seniors. Any one of our seniors could easily have been a captain and done a great job. Our leadership is strong, and that leads to a lot of optimism as the start of the season approaches.
“It's going to come down to mental and physical toughness,” Fedorjaka continued. “We talked about wanting to be more consistent as a team and avoid those occasional blowout losses that we experienced last year. Mental and physical toughness is the answer to our consistency.”
