Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Hosts Sacred Heart for Home Opener

Saturday, February 15

Lewisburg, Pa.

12 p.m.

Bucknell University

Sacred Heart

Photo by: Phil Puccio

Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Hosts Sacred Heart for Home Opener

2/11/2020 8:05:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

Sacred Heart (1-0, 0-0 NEC) vs. Bucknell (2-0, 0-0 PL)
When: Saturday, February 15 – 12 p.m.
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium – Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_MLAX

Bucknell at a Glance
• The Bison are currently 2-0 (0-0 PL) following their 11-9 comeback victory at Bryant on Feb. 9.
• In 2019, Bucknell posted a 6-9 (4-4 PL) record. The Bison closed the regular season on a four-game winning streak and earned their 13th Patriot League Tournament berth in the past 15 seasons.
• Bucknell was selected to tie for sixth in the 2020 Patriot League preseason poll. Bryant Boswell represented the Bison on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team.
• Seniors Grayson Burns, Matt Fedorjaka, Conor Shears and Will Yorke are serving as team captains in 2020.
• Bucknell returned its three All-Patriot League honorees from a year ago in Boswell, Shears and Yorke. In Yorke, Tommy Sopko and Alston Tarry, the Bison also returned their top three point producers from that season.
• Following the 2019 campaign, Bucknell lost four-year starting goalie Christian Klipstein and four-year primary faceoff specialist Jarett Witzal to graduation. Klipstein was a two-time All-Patriot League selection while Witzal graduated as the school record holder in seven different statistical categories, including career faceoff wins and single-season faceoff percentage.
• The Bison will play eight games at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium during the 2020 regular season, highlighted by a late February tilt with Ohio State.
• Bucknell is a relatively young team, featuring just five seniors and 27 underclassmen. In 2020, the Bison welcomed 17 newcomers who hail from an impressive 10 different states: California (3), Connecticut (2), Maryland (2), New Jersey (2), New York (2), Pennsylvania (2), Delaware, Missouri, New Hampshire and Texas.
• Frank Fedorjaka is in his 15th season as Bucknell's head coach and 20th campaign as a collegiate head coach. He is just the second head coach in Bison men's lacrosse history.

Category Leaders
• Goals: Harry Wellford (7) – t-7th in NCAA
• Assists: Alston Tarry (4)
• Points: Alston Tarry and Harry Wellford (7)
• Shots: Tommy Sopko (24)
• Ground Balls: Nick Crovatto (20) – 4th in NCAA (one of four with at least 20)
• Caused Turnovers: Hunter Newman (4) – t-9th in NCAA
• Face-Off Wins: Nick Crovatto (31)
• Face-Off Percentage: Nick Crovatto (.608)
• Save Percentage: Ben Clark (.575)
• Goals Against Average: Ben Clark (8.64)
• Saves: Ben Clark (23) – t-10th in NCAA

Inside the Bryant Box Score
• Bucknell used a second half rally to edge Bryant, 11-9 on Feb. 9. The Bison outscored the Bulldogs by an 8-3 margin in the second half to overcome a slow start and emerge victorious.
• Harry Wellford led the attack, accounting for four of those eight goals, while Alston Tarry netted what proved to be the game-winning goal off a feed from Nick Clarke, who later added the insurance tally with less than three minutes left to play.
• In net, Ben Clark was sensational, making 17 saves to hold Bryant in the single digits in strikes. The junior's previous career high in saves was eight, set in 2018 at Bryant.
• Sopko and Matthew Barkauskas each netted two goals; Sopko's 15 shots matched Bucknell's school record, held by Chris Cara and Sean O'Brien.
• Nick Crovatto went 13-for-24 in the faceoff x and collected eight ground balls. In addition to his key goal and assist, Clarke logged five ground balls. Conor Shears caused a team-best two turnovers.
• The Bison finished the game with slim advantages in shots (43-41) and ground balls (34-26); the teams were even, 26-26, in shots on goal and each only failed on one clearing attempt.
• For his performance, Wellford was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week.

Sacred Heart at a Glance/Series History
• The Pioneers are currently 1-0 (0-0 NEC) following their 14-11 victory over Hartford on Feb. 9.
• Sacred Heart went 9-6 (4-2 NEC) a year ago, reaching the NEC Tournament semifinals; there, the third-seeded Pioneers were edged by second-seeded Hobart, 14-13, despite a furious comeback bid.
• Sacred Heart set a program record by placing five players on the 2019 All-NEC teams. Attacker Joe Saggese, who graduated as the program's leading point producer with 205 career points, was named the NEC Offensive Player of the Year.
• The Pioneers return two of their five 2019 All-NEC honorees: Logan Liljeberg, who moved to attack from midfield during the off-season, and defenseman Austin Pavone.
• With the addition of three new members, Sacred Heart's NEC will have an entirely new look in 2020. The NEC is now the largest Division I men's lacrosse conference with 10 teams, which have been split into two divisions.
• This will be the first meeting between the Bison and Pioneers.
• Sacred Heart is Bucknell's second first-time opponent of the 2020 campaign; the Bison previously dispatched Furman, 16-9, in their season opener on Feb. 1.

A Look Ahead
• The Bison next host Ohio State on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 12 p.m.
• The men's team's game against the Buckeyes is part of a lacrosse double header; the Bucknell women are slated take on La Salle at 3 p.m. at Graham Field.