Saturday, February 5
Macon, Ga.
11 a.m.
Bucknell University
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Mercer
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Bucknell
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Photo by: Noel Gyllenhaal
Freshmen Lead Bucknell Men's Lacrosse Past Mercer, 16-14
2/5/2022 1:20:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Connor Davis nets six goals, Cam Doolan records five assists
MACON, Ga. – A pair of freshmen shined in their collegiate debut, leading the Bucknell men's lacrosse team to a 16-14 victory over Mercer on Saturday at Five Star Stadium.
Connor Davis netted six goals, with a hat trick in each half, while Cam Doolan logged five assists to lift the Bison (1-0, 0-0 PL) past the Bears (1-1, 0-0 SoCon) in their first-ever meeting.
Davis matched Bucknell's school record for single-game goals by a freshman; Thomas Flibotte (Drexel, 2013), Kevin Roth (Kutztown, 1989) and Rink Smith (Gettysburg, 1980) previously accomplished this feat. In addition, Davis set a new standard for goals by a Bison in his collegiate debut and finished one shy of the school record for goals in a season opener behind Tommy Sopko's seven-strike outing against Cleveland State in 2021.
Doolan's five helpers represented the highest total recorded by a Bison in his collegiate debut. It was one shy of the school record set by 2018 All-American and three-time All-Patriot League attackman Will Sands; in 2015 as a freshman, Sands logged six assists against Holy Cross.
Doolan assisted on two of Davis's strikes and two of Jack Feda's three. In addition, Preseason All-Patriot League midfielder Harry Wellford registered four points on two goals and two helpers.
At the half, Bucknell held a slim 7-6 lead. Mercer had drawn within a single goal behind a power-play strike with just 49 seconds remaining before the break.
Though the teams swapped goals in the third frame, the Bison entered the final stanza with a 12-10 advantage. After the Bears erased that lead with two goals in the fourth quarter's first five minutes, Bucknell responded with four unanswered tallies to build what proved to be an insurmountable 16-12 edge.
During that game-deciding run, Feda netted two of his three goals, both off of a Doolan feed. Matthew Barkauskas also found the back off the net off of a Doolan assist while Davis put an exclamation mark on his collegiate debut by netting his sixth goal with 4:47 left to play.
While Mercer scored the game's final two goals, the home team ran out of time to complete its comeback. The Bears were led by Sean Goldsmith, who registered an impressive seven points on four goals and three assists.
In his first collegiate game, freshman Max Nolan earned the win by making 10 saves. In the opposite cage, Colin Kelley stopped 13 shots.
Nick Crovatto and Conor McCusker went toe to toe with Preseason All-SoCon faceoff specialist Ashton Wood, combining to win 17 of 33 faceoffs; Crovatto also paced all Bison with seven ground balls, finishing three shy of Wood's game-best total.
Reid Delanois, Danny Striano and Richie Striano each collected four ground balls, with Delanois also causing a turnover. Frankie Higgins and Joe Scattareggia each posted two caused turnovers.
The Bison led in shots (29-24) and ground balls (36-26). Mercer held the advantage in shots (51-35) while the teams were even in faceoffs (17-17).
The Bison continue their season-opening road swing with a 1 p.m. tilt with Robert Morris on Saturday, Feb. 12.
Connor Davis netted six goals, with a hat trick in each half, while Cam Doolan logged five assists to lift the Bison (1-0, 0-0 PL) past the Bears (1-1, 0-0 SoCon) in their first-ever meeting.
Davis matched Bucknell's school record for single-game goals by a freshman; Thomas Flibotte (Drexel, 2013), Kevin Roth (Kutztown, 1989) and Rink Smith (Gettysburg, 1980) previously accomplished this feat. In addition, Davis set a new standard for goals by a Bison in his collegiate debut and finished one shy of the school record for goals in a season opener behind Tommy Sopko's seven-strike outing against Cleveland State in 2021.
Doolan's five helpers represented the highest total recorded by a Bison in his collegiate debut. It was one shy of the school record set by 2018 All-American and three-time All-Patriot League attackman Will Sands; in 2015 as a freshman, Sands logged six assists against Holy Cross.
Doolan assisted on two of Davis's strikes and two of Jack Feda's three. In addition, Preseason All-Patriot League midfielder Harry Wellford registered four points on two goals and two helpers.
At the half, Bucknell held a slim 7-6 lead. Mercer had drawn within a single goal behind a power-play strike with just 49 seconds remaining before the break.
Though the teams swapped goals in the third frame, the Bison entered the final stanza with a 12-10 advantage. After the Bears erased that lead with two goals in the fourth quarter's first five minutes, Bucknell responded with four unanswered tallies to build what proved to be an insurmountable 16-12 edge.
During that game-deciding run, Feda netted two of his three goals, both off of a Doolan feed. Matthew Barkauskas also found the back off the net off of a Doolan assist while Davis put an exclamation mark on his collegiate debut by netting his sixth goal with 4:47 left to play.
While Mercer scored the game's final two goals, the home team ran out of time to complete its comeback. The Bears were led by Sean Goldsmith, who registered an impressive seven points on four goals and three assists.
In his first collegiate game, freshman Max Nolan earned the win by making 10 saves. In the opposite cage, Colin Kelley stopped 13 shots.
Nick Crovatto and Conor McCusker went toe to toe with Preseason All-SoCon faceoff specialist Ashton Wood, combining to win 17 of 33 faceoffs; Crovatto also paced all Bison with seven ground balls, finishing three shy of Wood's game-best total.
Reid Delanois, Danny Striano and Richie Striano each collected four ground balls, with Delanois also causing a turnover. Frankie Higgins and Joe Scattareggia each posted two caused turnovers.
The Bison led in shots (29-24) and ground balls (36-26). Mercer held the advantage in shots (51-35) while the teams were even in faceoffs (17-17).
The Bison continue their season-opening road swing with a 1 p.m. tilt with Robert Morris on Saturday, Feb. 12.
Team Stats
BUCKNELL
MERCER
Shots
35
51
Turnovers
18
14
Caused Turnovers
7
11
Faceoffs Won
17
17
Extra-Man Opps
5
4
Ground Balls
37
26
Game Leaders
G
6
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
2
A
2
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
F/O
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
D/LSM
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
LSM
/ Men's Lacrosse
F/O
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's LacrosseM
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