Pair of Home Games on Tap this Week for Men's Soccer

Saint Francis (Pa.) (1-2-1, 0-0-0 NEC) at Bucknell (1-4-0, 0-0-0 PL)
When: Wednesday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m. ET
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Navy (1-2-2, 0-0-0 PL) at Bucknell (1-4-0, 0-0-0 PL)
When: Saturday, Sept. 17, 6 p.m. ET
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Bucknell at a Glance

The Bison have a busy week ahead with a pair of home games on Wednesday and Saturday. Wednesday night's match against Saint Francis (Pa.) is the final non-conference tune-up before Saturday's Patriot League opener against Navy.
Each of Bucknell's last two games have been decided in the late stages. On Sept. 4, the Bison scored twice in the last nine minutes to steal a 2-1 verdict away from Saint Peter's. It was Bucknell's first victory when trailing in the 80th minute or later in 12 years. In 2010, Brendan Burgdorf scored in the 89th minute and Josh Plump in the 101st to help Bucknell steal a 2-1 OT win from Drexel.
The tables turned on Friday night against Mount St. Mary's. The game was deadlocked at 1-1 inside four minutes remaining when the Mountaineers scored twice on sensational shots from outside the box. Jesus Salazar's 87th-minute free-kick was the game-winner.
Each of Bucknell's last two goals have come from veterans who scored their first career goals. The game-winner against Saint Peter's came on a 28-yard free kick from Mo Tall. A senior from Burkina Faso, Tall missed all of last season due to injury, and he was limited to just five games in the COVID-modified 2021 spring season. Junior co-captain MJ Kuczura scored in the 8th minute against Mount St. Mary's for his first career tally. Kuczura plays an outside back position but has seen his opportunities in the attacking end rise this season.
The win over Saint Peter's was also the first at Bucknell and the 355th all-time for head coach Dave Brandt.
Sophomore Michael Dempsey has Bucknell's other goal this season, coming at Loyola Chicago in the season opener. It was also the first career goal for Dempsey.
Brandt is Bucknell's 14th full-time head coach and just the third dating back to 1967. Brandt, who was hired in December after interim head coach Matt Brown guided the squad last season, brought with him a remarkable career record of 354-86-40 in stints at Messiah, Navy, and Hope. His .779 winning percentage was 20th-best in NCAA men's soccer history among coaches from all divisions with a minimum of 10 years. Brandt won six Division III national championships at Messiah and led Navy to the 2013 Patriot League title and an NCAA Tournament first-round win.
Brandt's first Bucknell squad is a young one, with 16 of the 27 players on the roster in their freshman or sophomore year. The Bison return 14 players who saw game action last year, including leading scorer Jordan Miller.
Miller had a breakout 2021 season after moving to forward from center back. He tallied six of the team's 12 goals on the season, including five in a four-game span in September, and earned Third Team All-Patriot League honors.
The Bison have four captains in 2022: seniors Eddie Perez-Pelaez and Chris Masur, and juniors MJ Kuczura and Collin Murphy. Kuczura is in his second year as a captain. A year ago he became the first sophomore captain in team history.

Saint Francis (Pa.) at a Glance

The Red Flash bring a 1-2-1 record to Emmitt Field. After opening the season with a 1-0 win at St. Bonaventure, they have a couple of one-sided losses to Maine-Fort Kent (5-1) and Cal State Fullerton (4-1) wrapped around a solid away draw at Yale (1-1).
Sean Smolyn scored in each of the team's first two games and leads the team with two goals. His tally in the win over St. Bonaventure came in the 77th minute off an assist from Julian Jakopovic.
Milan Djajic is the team's only other goal-scorer, with his strike coming at Yale.
Jordaine Jaeger has played every minute in goal and has 23 saves with 10 goals allowed.
Saint Francis finished 7-8 last season, including a 3-6 mark in the Northeast Conference. The Red Flash were 5-1 at home but 2-7 on the road.
This year's squad has 15 returning players and 16 newcomers. The Red Flash were picked seventh in the NEC preseason poll.

The Bucknell-Saint Francis Series

The Bison are 12-9-2 all-time against the Red Flash in a series that dates back to 1997. The two teams have met every year since then, with the exception of 2010 (weather cancellation) and 2020 (COVID-19).
The teams have alternated wins and losses over the last five meetings, with Saint Francis winning 2-1 last season in Loretto. Lorenz Ender and Piet Wesling scored for the Red Flash, and Jordan Miller tallied for the Bison.
The last time the teams met in Lewisburg was in 2019, when Nick King, Trevor Wiggins, and Matt Thorsheim all scored in the second half to lift Bucknell to a 3-0 win.
Bucknell is 8-2-1 against Saint Francis at home and 4-7-1 in Loretto.

Navy at a Glance

Just like Saint Francis, the Midshipmen are searching for their first win since their season opener. Navy debuted with a 1-0 win over Saint Joseph's, but the next four games resulted in a pair of 1-0 losses to Fairfield and Fairleigh Dickinson followed by two high-scoring draws against St. Francis (N.Y.) (2-2) and George Washington (3-3).
Navy plays at Longwood on Tuesday night before heading to Lewisburg on Saturday. These are the Midshipmen's first road games of the season.
In its most recent outing, Navy scored twice in the first 12 minutes of the second half to take a 3-1 lead, but George Washington scored in the 65th and 83rd minutes to salvage a point.
Navy has been outscored 7-6 and outshot 63-42 through five games. Baba Kallie, a Second Team All-Patriot League selection last season, leads the team with two goals, coming against Saint Joseph's and St. Francis.
Goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook has 15 saves while playing every minute thus far in his first season as a starter.
Navy is coming off a strong 12-6-1 season in 2021. The Midshipmen were 5-4 in Patriot League play and 8-1 at home. Seeded fifth in the Patriot League Tournament, Navy knocked off No. 4 Lehigh 1-0 in the quarterfinals before falling 4-2 at No. 2 American in the semis.
The Midshipmen were hit hard by graduation, losing five all-conference players, including 2021 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Matt Nocita and Offensive Player of the Year Jacob Williams. Nocita was the seventh overall pick in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft, taken by the New York Red Bulls.
Navy was picked third in this year's Patriot League preseason poll, behind Loyola and American. David Jackson was selected as the Preseason Midfielder of the Year and represented Navy on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team.
Bucknell head coach Dave Brandt had a successful seven-year run as Navy's head coach. Navy had been 0-13-1 in Patriot League play in the two seasons prior to Brandt's appointment, but he quickly moved the Midshipmen up the ranks in the Patriot League table. He compiled a 64-47-22 (.564) record in seven seasons at Navy, and over his final three years, the team was 35-17-8 (.650) with a 21-6-3 (.792) Patriot League record and non-conference wins over the likes of Maryland, Ohio State, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Brandt's 2013 Navy squad produced the first and only perfect Patriot League season in league history. The Midshipmen went 9-0-0 against Patriot League competition in the regular season, then they defeated Bucknell and Holy Cross to win the Patriot League Tournament. Navy went on to beat VCU 3-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 14 Wake Forest 2-1 in round two. It was Navy's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1989 and its first NCAA victory since 1972.

The Bucknell-Navy Series

Bucknell and Navy first met all the way back in 1930 – Bucknell's second varsity season -- and the Midshipmen lead 29-15-4 in the all-time series.
Navy won the first 15 series meetings and went 18-0-1 in the first 19 before the Bison finally secured a 2-0 win in 1997.
The Bison had a 9-0-1 stretch from 2002-11.
Each of the last four meetings have been played in Annapolis. Navy has won three of those, but the exception was a 2-0 Bison win in the 2019 Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals. Matt Thorsheim scored both goals, one in each half, to spark the upset.
Navy won 1-0 last season on a Jason Aoyama goal in the 54th minute.
The Midshipmen won 4-1 on their last visit to Emmitt Field back in 2018. It was their most goals in a game against Bucknell since 1963.

Next Up

After the Navy game, Bucknell has a full week off before visiting American on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 2 p.m.

Pair of Home Games on Tap this Week for Men's Soccer

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Michael Dempsey

MJ Kuczura

Chris Masur

Jordan Miller

Collin Murphy

Eddie Perez-Pelaez

Mo Tall

Pair of Home Games on Tap this Week for Men's Soccer

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Michael Dempsey

MJ Kuczura

Chris Masur

Jordan Miller

Collin Murphy

Eddie Perez-Pelaez

Mo Tall

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