Men's Soccer Visits American Saturday

Bucknell (1-6-0, 0-1-0 PL) at American (2-3-2, 0-1-0 PL)
When: Saturday, Sept. 24, 2 p.m. ET
Where: Reeves Field, Washington, D.C.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Bucknell at a Glance

After playing four straight home games, the Bison head back out on the road on Saturday to face American in a Patriot League matchup. Both teams dropped their conference openers last weekend, with Bucknell falling to Navy 2-0 and American losing at Lehigh 4-0.
Bucknell has a couple of D.C.-area natives coming home this weekend. Goalkeeper Bennett Schwartz is from Chevy Chase, Md. (Bethesda-Chevy Chase H.S.), and midfielder Brennan Gac is from Kensington, Md. (Georgetown Prep).
The Bison will be looking to tighten up defensively after conceding nine goals in the last three games and 18 in seven contests this season. On Saturday they will be going up against a normally potent American attack that has scored only five goals this season.
Bucknell has outshot its opponents 82-74 and out-cornered the opposition 35-32 on the season but has been outscored 18-5.
Bucknell has had a week off since falling to Navy last Saturday night. Baba Kallie scored in the 25th minute for the Midshipmen, and David Jackson tacked on an insurance marker from the penalty spot in the 84th. Navy led 13-11 in shots and Bucknell led 6-1 in corner kicks, despite playing the final 49 minutes with 10 men.
Bucknell's goal-scorers this year are Jordan Miller, Mo Tall, Michael Dempsey, and MJ Kuczura. Miller's seventh career goal came against Saint Francis, while the other three registered their first career goals.
Tall's goal was the game-winner against Saint Peter's, coming on a 28-yard free kick in the 84th minute. 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.
The win over Saint Peter's was also the first at Bucknell and the 355th all-time for head coach Dave Brandt.
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.

American at a Glance

American has played in each of the last two Patriot League championship matches. The Eagles defeated Lafayette 2-1 in the PL final in the spring of 2021 and then fell by the same scoreline to Loyola last fall. In 2021, American defeated Jacksonville in penalty kicks in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after the teams played to a wild 3-3 draw after 110 minutes. In the second round, American led No. 1 seed Clemson after 50 minutes, but the Tigers rallied to win 2-1.
American was 9-5-4 overall and 6-2-1 in Patriot League play last season. The Eagles were picked second behind Loyola in the 2022 preseason poll, with midfielder Evan Schweickert named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team.
American started the season with a 0-0 draw against UNC Wilmington followed by wins over Old Dominion (1-0) and George Mason (2-1), but they are 0-3-1 since then.
The Eagles were stunned on the road by previously winless Lehigh last Friday, as Jack Sarkos recorded a hat trick in the Mountain Hawks' 4-0 win. American outshot Lehigh 14-11, but four of Lehigh's 11 shots ended up in the back of the net.
American played a non-conference game at Virginia on Tuesday, with the Cavaliers scoring twice in the second half to win 2-0.
Zemi Rodriguez and Robert Matei lead the Eagles with two goals, while Schweickert has a goal and an assist.
Lorenzo Gordon has made five starts and Dominic Dominguez two in goal for the Eagles. Gordon played against Lehigh last Friday, and Dominguez got the call against Virginia on Tuesday.

The Bucknell-American Series

Bucknell is 8-16-3 all-time against American, but the Bison are 2-1-2 in the last five meetings.
American won 2-1 in overtime in Lewisburg last season. Ethan Boyle netted the game-winner six minutes into OT, spoiling a 65th-minute equalizer from Gabe Dahlin.
Bucknell's lone victory in the abbreviated spring 2021 season was a 2-1 verdict against the eventual league champs. Patrick O'Hara headed in Matt Thorsheim's corner kick 11 minutes into the match to stake the Bison to a 1-0 lead. David Coly converted a penalty kick for American five minutes later, but in the 54th minute Trevor Wiggins headed in Colin Eifert's long throw for the winning goal.
Bucknell has not had much luck on American's home field, with a 1-11-1 record dating back to the first meeting in 1996. Bucknell's lone win in D.C. was a 1-0 verdict in 2004, and the Bison also managed a 1-1 draw in their last trip there in 2018.

Next Up

The Bison host the two Lehigh Valley teams next week. Lehigh comes to Lewisburg on Wednesday night, followed by Lafayette on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Gabe Dahlin

Michael Dempsey

Colin Eifert

Brennan Gac

MJ Kuczura

Chris Masur

Jordan Miller

Collin Murphy

Patrick O'Hara

Eddie Perez-Pelaez

Bennett Schwartz

Mo Tall

Matt Thorsheim

Trevor Wiggins