Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Hosts Holy Cross on Saturday

Saturday, March 9

Lewisburg, Pa.

11 a.m.

Bucknell University

Holy Cross

Photo by: Phil Puccio

Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Hosts Holy Cross on Saturday

3/4/2019 8:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell men's lacrosse team continues Patriot League action by welcoming Holy Cross to Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium for an 11 a.m. tilt on Saturday, March 9.

The Bison, who played their past two games on the road, will host a Crusader team coming off a 19-15 loss at No. 1 Loyola. The Greyhounds were the unanimous top team in both the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Coaches' Poll and Inside Lacrosse Media Listing that week.

Holy Cross (2-3, 0-1 Patriot League) vs. Bucknell (1-4, 0-1 Patriot League)
When: Saturday, March 9 – 11 a.m.
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium – Lewisburg, Pa.
Internet Video: Patriot League Network
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_MLAX

Bucknell at a Glance
• The Bison are currently 1-4 (0-1 Patriot League) following their 14-8 loss at Navy in their Patriot League opener on March 2.
• In 2018, Bucknell finished 11-4 overall and captured a share of the Patriot League regular-season title by going 7-1 in conference action.
• The Bison reached the double digits in victories for the sixth time in Frank Fedorjaka's tenure as head coach and most notably knocked off eventual national champion Yale (9-8 OT) and then No. 6 Loyola (12-11) on the road. They rose as high as 10th in both the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Coaches' Poll and Inside Lacrosse Maverik Media Listing, their best national ranking since the 2013 campaign.
• Bucknell's captains are seniors Ryan Durkin, Christian Klipstein, Reed Malas and Jarett Witzal. The four first-time captains will lead a team featuring 26 underclassmen.
• Malas represented the Bison on the 2019 Preseason All-Patriot League Team. A year ago, he finished second to Will Sands in assists (12) and fourth to the "Big Three" of Sands, Sean O'Brien and Connor O'Hara in points (34). The "Big Three" was lost to graduation.
• Klipstein is a three-year starter in the cage. An All-Patriot League Second Team goalie in 2017 and 2016, he needs 32 saves to become the seventh Bison with at least 500 in his career. He posted a goals against average south of 10 in 2016 (8.41) and 2018 (9.11), with his best single-season save percentage of .579 coming as a freshman.
• Witzal is the Bucknell record holder in career faceoff wins (515), single-season faceoff wins (171, 2016), single-game faceoff wins (22, 2016) and single-season faceoff percentage (.6173, 2016). At No. 11/10 Ohio State on Feb. 23, he became the first Bison to win his 500th career faceoff.
• The Bison have a grueling non-conference schedule in 2019. They opened their 52nd campaign on Feb. 2 at Maryland, which reached the NCAA title game three years in a row from 2015 to 2017, winning the 2017 edition. They also faced off against No. 11/10 Ohio State, the 2017 NCAA runner-up, on Feb. 23 and will later take on North Carolina, the 2016 NCAA champion.

Inside the Navy Box Score
• Bucknell couldn't overcome a slow start, falling to Navy, 14-8, in its Patriot League opener on March 2.
• The Midshipmen raced out to a 6-0 lead by the middle of the second quarter and never allowed the Bison to draw closer than five goals the rest of the way.
• Freshman Alston Tarry accounted for half of Bucknell's goals, setting a new career high in the process. Tommy Sopko added two strikes while Reed Malas posted three assists.
• The Bison netted five of the game's final eight goals to bring the final score to 14-8; they trailed by as many as eight, at 11-3 with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter.
• Jarett Witzal won 14 faceoffs to help Bucknell finish with a 14-11 advantage in that statistical category. Witzal also scooped up a game-best 11 ground balls, matching his 2019 high that was one shy of his career-high total.
• Christian Klipstein reached the double digits in saves for the fourth time this season, finishing with 13. His 13 stops gave him 468 in his career, good for seventh in the Bucknell annals.
• Entering the game, the Midshipmen had not ceded an extra-man goal in 2019, holding their opponents 0-for-5. The Bison went 3-for-5 on the man advantage during the contest.

Category Leaders
• Goals: Will Yorke (12)
• Assists: Reed Malas and Tom Smith (5)
• Points: Will Yorke (14)
• Shots: Reed Malas (42)
• Ground Balls: Jarett Witzal (41)
• Caused Turnovers: Conor Shears (8)
• Face-Off Wins: Jarett Witzal (60)
• Face-Off Percentage: Jarett Witzal (.496)
• Save Percentage: Christian Klipstein (.509)
• Goals Against Average: Christian Klipstein (11.84)
• Saves: Christian Klipstein (59)

Career Milestones Met at Navy
• Christian Klipstein: Moved into seventh in school history in saves; now has 468

Career Milestone Watch
• Christian Klipstein: Needs 32 saves to become the seventh Bison with 500 in his career
• Reed Malas: Needs five goals to reach the 50-goal plateau
• Jarett Witzal: Needs 37 ground balls to move into second in school history with 258

Single-Season Milestone Watch
• Jarett Witzal: Needs 28 ground balls to crack Bucknell's top 10 for the second time with 69

Holy Cross at a Glance
• The Crusaders are currently 2-3 (0-1 Patriot League) following a 19-15 loss at No. 1 Loyola on March 2. They drew within a single strike multiple times in the third quarter and had four different players register a hat trick.
• Holy Cross went 4-9 (2-6 Patriot League) a year ago, missing out on the Patriot League Tournament.
• The Crusaders were picked to finish eighth in the 2019 Patriot League in the preseason poll. Senior defender Matt Farrell represented Holy Cross on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team.
• Faceoff specialist Dan O'Connell was recognized on the 2019 Preseason All-New England Second Team. To date, O'Connell has won 69 of 101 faceoffs, an impressive 68.3 percent.
• Bucknell leads the all-time series with Holy Cross, 28-1. Last year, the Bison cruised to a 12-4 victory in Worcester; they raced out to a 7-1 lead in the first quarter and never looked back.
• Entering that 2018 contest, Will Sands needed just four points to become the third Bison to reach the 200-point threshold. He got exactly what he needed, finishing the day with one goal and three assists. He reached the milestone with a helper on a Sean O'Brien strike at the 2:09 mark of the third quarter.
• Tommy Sopko tied Sands for the game high with four points on three goals and one assist. The freshman's hat trick was the first of his collegiate career, and his four points represented a new career high.
• In 2017, the Crusaders defeated the Bison for the first time at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Holy Cross scored the game's final four goals to walk away a 10-8 victor. The Crusaders, who two weeks earlier earned their first victory over Lehigh in their 28th meeting, were led by Marc Buermann, who registered five points (3g-2a).

A Look Ahead
• The Bison travel to North Carolina, the 2016 NCAA champion, for a 4 p.m. tilt on Tuesday, March 12. They then resume Patriot League play with a 1 p.m. game at Boston University on Saturday, March 16.