Men's Soccer's Season Ends with Loss to Navy

Saturday, November 3

Lewisburg, Pa.

1 p.m.

Bucknell University

6-8-3, 3-5-1PL

Navy

5-11-1, 4-5-0PL

Navy

Bucknell

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

11/3/2018 4:56:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell men's soccer team could not come up with the victory it needed to reach postseason play, as red-hot Navy prevailed 4-1 on Saturday afternoon in the season finale for both teams at Emmitt Field.

The Bison finish up the season with a 6-8-3 overall record and a 3-5-1 mark in the Patriot League. Bucknell would have moved all the way up from seventh place to a tie for fourth with a win, but instead the Bison will miss out on the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2011.

Despite coming in with a three-game winning streak, Navy (5-11-1, 4-5-0) was eliminated from postseason contention after Army's victory over American on Friday night. The Midshipmen finished in a three-way tie for fifth place with Army and American, but losses to both teams earlier in the year proved costly in the tiebreaker.

Needing the full three points to extend the season, Bucknell pressed for a goal right from the opening touch. The Bison finished with a 23-10 shot advantage and a 10-1 edge in corner kicks, but by the time they finally unlocked the Navy defense with a Stefan Gollisz goal in the 74th minute, the deficit was already three goals.

Stefan Krystman, one of three seniors honored before the game along with Tyler Peterson and Ryan Ott, was right in the middle of the early attack, as were Cody Wax and Bernie Wright on the left flank. Wright tested Navy goalkeeper Tyler Fahning with a hard, rising shot in the 15th minute, but Fahning was up to the task.

Navy didn't have much going offensively until the 20th minute, when left back Toni Adewole stunned the home side with a long-range blast on the run that just snuck inside the left post. It was Navy's first shot of the day, and it meant the Bison would need to find at least two goals.

Bucknell almost got one back in the 35th minute when Gollisz's service from the right edge of the area was headed back toward goal by Navy's Matt Nocita, but the ball just went over the bar for a corner kick.

With the Bison pressing in the second half, Navy tacked on three more goals, and substitute Nicko West had a hand in all three. In the 56th minute, Joe Alex played West in for a breakaway finish, and then eight minutes later it was West returning the favor with a centering feed to Alex for Navy's third.

Gollisz collected his first goal of the season with 16:30 remaining. A long service into the box was headed away by Navy, but Gollisz ran on to the loose ball and fired through traffic, off the left post and in.

Bucknell almost drew back within one in the 80th minute, when Fahning made a diving save on Wright, and then Michael Pavick's follow-up toward a gaping cage was saved off the line by a Navy defender. Just one minute later, Ethan Singer and West worked a 2v2 counter-attack, with West providing the finishing touch on Navy's fourth goal.