Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Travels to Binghamton, Hosts Marist

Bucknell (3-1, 0-0 PL) vs. Binghamton (1-2, 0-0 AEC)
When: Tuesday, February 25 – 4 p.m.
Where: Bearcats Sports Complex – Vestal, N.Y.
Internet Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: BUBearcats.com
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_MLAX

Marist (2-1, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Bucknell (3-1, 0-0 PL)
When: Saturday, February 29 – 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 3-1 (0-0 PL) following their 15-11 loss to No. 17/19 Ohio State on Feb. 22.
• This week, Bucknell received votes in both the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Coaches' Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Listing. The Bison entered the USILA Coaches' Poll on Feb. 17, checking in at 20th; they also received votes in that week's Inside Lacrosse Media Listing.
• 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: Tommy Sopko and Will Yorke (12)
• Assists: Alston Tarry (8)
• Points: Tommy Sopko (17)
• Shots: Tommy Sopko (46)
• Ground Balls: Nick Crovatto (34) – t-5th in NCAA
• Caused Turnovers: Travis Talarico (9) – t-7th in NCAA
• Face-Off Wins: Nick Crovatto (62) – 4th in NCAA (one of six with at least 60)
• Face-Off Percentage: Nick Crovatto (.569)
• Save Percentage: Ben Clark (.548)
• Goals Against Average: Ben Clark (10.70)
• Saves: Ben Clark (51)

Inside the Ohio State Box Score
• No. 17/19 Ohio State edged No. 20/RV Bucknell, 15-11, on Feb. 22. The Buckeyes handed the Bison their first loss of the 2020 campaign behind an eight-point outing by Jack Myers.
• For Bucknell, Tommy Sopko registered five points (4g-1a) while Nick Clarke filled the stat sheet with three assists, four ground balls and a caused turnover.
• After the Bison took an early 4-1 advantage, the Buckeyes roared back into the game, scoring eight unanswered goals to build a 9-4 edge with 3:43 on the clock in the second quarter.
• Bucknell drew within two goals three times in the second half but couldn't even the score again.
• Beyond Sopko and Clarke, Will Yorke (3g) and Alston Tarry (2g) had multi-point outings.
• Reid Delanois tied Clarke and Ohio State's Jeff Henrick for the game lead in ground balls (4) while also causing a game-best three turnovers. Ben Clark made 11 saves.
• As expected when ranked teams meet, the Bison and Buckeyes were evenly matched. Bucknell led in shots (37-33) and ground balls (34-32) while Ohio State led in shots on goal (26-24) and faceoffs (15-14).
• This was the third time both the Buckeyes and Bison were ranked at the time of their game; both teams were ranked in 2007 (Bucknell 17th, Ohio State 19th) and 2008 (Bucknell 19th, Ohio State 20th).

Binghamton at a Glance/Series History
• The Bearcats are currently (1-2, 0-0 AEC) following their 11-10 triple overtime victory over Lafayette on Feb. 22.
• In 2019, Binghamton went 2-11 (2-4 AEC). The Bearcats did not qualify for that year's America East Tournament.
• Binghamton returned two 2019 All-AEC Rookie Team honorees in attackman/midfielder Kevin Winkoff and defenseman Drew Furlong. Winkoff finished fourth on the team with 22 points (14g-8a) a year ago; only one of the players ahead of him returned in 2019: midfielder William Talbot-Shere (9g-17a).
• This will be the first meeting between the Bison and Bearcats.

Marist at a Glance/Series History
• Like Bucknell, Marist received votes in both the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Coaches' Poll and the Inside Lacrosse Media Listing this week.
• The Red Foxes are currently 2-1 (0-0 MAAC) following their 17-9 upset of No. 7/9 Army West Point on Feb. 18. They will face Hartford on Feb. 25 before taking on the Bison.
• Marist handed the Black Knights, who entered the game as one of six teams with a 3-0 record, their first loss of the season. The Red Foxes held Army West Point scoreless for nearly 30 minutes while racking up eight goals of their own. Jamison Embury led the offensive onslaught, totaling seven points (4g-3a).
• A year ago, Marist rebounded from a tough 2018 campaign by posting a 10-7 (6-1 MAAC) record.
• The top-seeded Red Foxes won their third MAAC Tournament title, dispatching Canisius (11-10) and Quinnipiac (15-14) by single goals along the way. In the NCAA Tournament's opening round, they were downed by UMBC, 14-8.
• Peyton Smith shared the MAAC's 2020 Preseason Player of the Year nod. Smith, who ranked 11th in the NCAA with a .630 faceoff percentage a year ago, was named MAAC Face-Off Specialist of the Year.
• Marist head coach Keegan Wilkinson was voted as the 2019 BSN Sports MAAC Coach of the Year.
• The Red Foxes advanced to the MAAC Championship final for four-straight seasons between 2014 and 2017.
• Bucknell leads the all-time series with Marist, 5-0. The Bison and Red Foxes has met every season since 2018; their 2018 meeting was their first since 2005.
• Last year at Leonidoff Field, Bucknell held Marist scoreless for roughly 25 minutes in the second half; during that stretch, the Bison scored five goals to flip a 6-5 deficit into a 10-6 advantage. Marist tacked on a late goal to bring the final score to 10-7.
• Alston Tarry netted a hat trick, Christian Klipstein made eight saves and Travis Talarico and Drew Wellington each caused turnovers in the victory.

A Look Ahead
• The Bison begin Patriot League play at Boston University on Saturday, March 7 at 1 p.m.

Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Travels to Binghamton, Hosts Marist

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Players Mentioned

Bryant Boswell

Grayson Burns

Ben Clark

Nick Clarke

Nick Crovatto

Reid Delanois

Matt Fedorjaka

Christian Klipstein

Conor Shears

Tommy Sopko

Travis Talarico

Alston Tarry

Drew Wellington

Jarett Witzal

Will Yorke