Wednesday, November 6
Bethlehem, Pa.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
5-6-7, 2-2-5PL
1
at
1
Lehigh
11-4-3, 6-0-3PL
1
2
3
4
F
Bucknell
1
0
0
0
1
Lehigh
0
1
0
0
1
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Men's Soccer Earns Draw at Lehigh, Secures Patriot League Tournament Berth
11/6/2019 11:04:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Bucknell University men's soccer team clinched its spot in the Patriot League Tournament as Bernie Wright scored his first goal of the season. Lehigh found an equalizer in the second half, but the draw proved to be enough to earn the six seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament.
Bucknell finishes the regular season 5-6-7, with a 2-2-5 mark in Patriot League play. The seven ties are the most draws in a single season in program history. Five of those draws came in Patriot League play, and each point earned from those ties proved to be vital as Bucknell qualified for the Patriot League Tournament by a single point. The Bison have now qualified for the Patriot League Tournament in seven of the past eight seasons.
Bucknell looked sharp to start, and scored its earliest goal of the season as Wright scored his first goal of the season at the 5:49 mark of the first half. Wright cut in from the left side before dribbling into a crowd of defenders near the top of the Lehigh penalty area. A fortuitous bounce off several Lehigh defenders helped the ball loop into an empty penalty area. Wright kept his momentum all the way into the box and used a deft header to loft the ball over Lehigh goalkeeper Will Smith.
Lehigh, which needed at least a draw to clinch its first regular season title since 2006, controlled much of the possession in the first 45 after the goal, as Bucknell kept a solid shape in its half to limit Lehigh's scoring opportunities.
The Mountain Hawks created their clearest chance of the first half after Josh Luchini met a driven cross in the box with his head in the 20th minute, but the shot was at a good height for Bucknell goalkeeper Luke Smith, who made a season-best six saves.
Bucknell nearly doubled its lead after a nice pass from Patrick O'Hara at the top of the box teed up Nick King from outside the area, but his shot curled just wide of the far post in the 26th minute. Bucknell went into the halftime break up 1-0.
Lehigh found the equalizing goal in the 66th minute of play as the Mountain Hawks continued to pressure the Bison. Some nifty footwork from Dawson Berger on the wing helped the midfielder find space to fire in a low cross that Bratislav Petkovic tapped home at the near post.
Bucknell's best chance of the second half came on a cross from the right side from freshman Jameson Railey in the 79th minute. Fellow freshman Eddie Perez-Pelaez got his head on the ball, but the chance went high of the goal as Bucknell went into overtime for the fifth time in its past seven games.
Alex Clarke tested the Lehigh goalkeeper late in the first overtime period, but several Lehigh defenders ended up getting in the way to take the sting off the shot. Neither team managed a shot on target in the second overtime period as each team settled for the 1-1 draw.
With four teams playing for two spots entering Wednesday's matchups, Bucknell found itself clinging onto the sixth seed in the final minutes after Colgate defeated Holy Cross and Boston University lost to Army. A draw managed to push Bucknell one point ahead of American, which would have edged the Bison had they lost in a head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to the Eagles' 2-1 win over fourth-seeded Lafayette.
"We were pleased that the team put in a good effort to take the lead early on," said Head Coach Brendan Nash after the game. "Then we let Lehigh back in the match, and they deserved to tie it up. We fought until the end to secure a playoff spot with the draw. It's a new season now, and we're looking forward to heading down to Annapolis."
The sixth-seeded Bison will take on third-seeded Navy in Annapolis on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Bucknell finishes the regular season 5-6-7, with a 2-2-5 mark in Patriot League play. The seven ties are the most draws in a single season in program history. Five of those draws came in Patriot League play, and each point earned from those ties proved to be vital as Bucknell qualified for the Patriot League Tournament by a single point. The Bison have now qualified for the Patriot League Tournament in seven of the past eight seasons.
Bucknell looked sharp to start, and scored its earliest goal of the season as Wright scored his first goal of the season at the 5:49 mark of the first half. Wright cut in from the left side before dribbling into a crowd of defenders near the top of the Lehigh penalty area. A fortuitous bounce off several Lehigh defenders helped the ball loop into an empty penalty area. Wright kept his momentum all the way into the box and used a deft header to loft the ball over Lehigh goalkeeper Will Smith.
Lehigh, which needed at least a draw to clinch its first regular season title since 2006, controlled much of the possession in the first 45 after the goal, as Bucknell kept a solid shape in its half to limit Lehigh's scoring opportunities.
The Mountain Hawks created their clearest chance of the first half after Josh Luchini met a driven cross in the box with his head in the 20th minute, but the shot was at a good height for Bucknell goalkeeper Luke Smith, who made a season-best six saves.
Bucknell nearly doubled its lead after a nice pass from Patrick O'Hara at the top of the box teed up Nick King from outside the area, but his shot curled just wide of the far post in the 26th minute. Bucknell went into the halftime break up 1-0.
Lehigh found the equalizing goal in the 66th minute of play as the Mountain Hawks continued to pressure the Bison. Some nifty footwork from Dawson Berger on the wing helped the midfielder find space to fire in a low cross that Bratislav Petkovic tapped home at the near post.
Bucknell's best chance of the second half came on a cross from the right side from freshman Jameson Railey in the 79th minute. Fellow freshman Eddie Perez-Pelaez got his head on the ball, but the chance went high of the goal as Bucknell went into overtime for the fifth time in its past seven games.
Alex Clarke tested the Lehigh goalkeeper late in the first overtime period, but several Lehigh defenders ended up getting in the way to take the sting off the shot. Neither team managed a shot on target in the second overtime period as each team settled for the 1-1 draw.
With four teams playing for two spots entering Wednesday's matchups, Bucknell found itself clinging onto the sixth seed in the final minutes after Colgate defeated Holy Cross and Boston University lost to Army. A draw managed to push Bucknell one point ahead of American, which would have edged the Bison had they lost in a head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to the Eagles' 2-1 win over fourth-seeded Lafayette.
"We were pleased that the team put in a good effort to take the lead early on," said Head Coach Brendan Nash after the game. "Then we let Lehigh back in the match, and they deserved to tie it up. We fought until the end to secure a playoff spot with the draw. It's a new season now, and we're looking forward to heading down to Annapolis."
The sixth-seeded Bison will take on third-seeded Navy in Annapolis on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
BUCKNELL
LEHIGH
Goals
1
1
Shots
8
20
Shots on Goal
5
7
Saves
6
4
Corners
2
6
Fouls
8
9
Scoring Plays
Wright, Bernie (1)
#4 dribbled in towards goal, ricocheted
5:49
Petkovic, Bratislav (1)
Assisted By: Berger, Dawson , Luchini, Josh
#7 in box passed to #23 at corner of goa
66:18
Game Leaders
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's Soccer(Coaches Camera) Bucknell Men's Water Polo Vs. Mercyhurst (10/10/25)
Saturday, October 11
Mercyhurst at Bucknell Men's Water Polo Highlights 10-10-2025
Saturday, October 11
Bucknell Men's Water Polo Vs. Mercyhurst (10/10/25)
Saturday, October 11
In The Herd: Bucknell Invitational Preview And Jack Hartman And Pat Pritsios Features
Friday, October 10