Men's Soccer Heads to Lafayette for Saturday Afternoon Tilt

Saturday, October 28

Easton, Pa.

1 p.m.

Bucknell University

Lafayette

Photo by: Lianne Garrahan

Men's Soccer Heads to Lafayette for Saturday Afternoon Tilt

10/26/2023 12:12:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Bucknell (1-10-3, 0-6-1 PL) at Lafayette (8-5-3, 4-2-1 PL)
When: Saturday, Oct. 28, 1 p.m.
Where: Oaks Stadium, Easton, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoLeopards.com

Bucknell at a Glance

The Bison have two matches left in the 2023 season, both on the road against the two Lehigh Valley teams. Bucknell travels to Lafayette on Saturday afternoon and then takes on Lehigh on Wednesday night.
It's been a frustrating ride for the Bison, who now have seven one-goal losses on the season after falling 1-0 to second-place Boston University on Saturday. Bucknell has played some very good soccer in recent weeks but just has not found the results to show for it.
The Bison and Terriers were scoreless into the final four minutes of an evenly played match on Saturday, but Eitan Rosen scored with 3:55 remaining to give the visitors the win.
In three of Bucknell's six league losses, the opponent scored the winning goal in the last four minutes (Navy in the 87', Holy Cross in the 89', Boston University in the 87').
In between the two heartbreakers against Holy Cross and Boston University, Bucknell turned in one of its best performances of the season, but again the effort went unrewarded. Taking on a good St. Bonaventure team at home, the Bison controlled the run of play but settled for a 0-0 draw despite a 17-5 shot advantage and a 13-2 edge in corner kicks.
Charlie Holmes and Zane Domsohn share the team goal-scoring lead with three each. Waldemar Kattrup, Ben Sheffield, Brennan Gac, Aidan Kieffer, and Matthew Owusu all have one each.
Jack Roberto and Marco Valentic lead the team with two assists apiece.
Holmes has a team-high 20 shots, followed by Valentic with 14.
Jake Nicoll has filled in admirably in goal with Freddie Lapworth sidelined for the last five games with an injury. Nicoll, who also started in the season-opening win at Mount St. Mary's, has 18 saves and nine goals against in seven appearances (six starts). He recorded his first career shutout last week against St. Bonaventure.
Coach Dave Brandt has gone deep into his bench throughout the campaign. The Bison have averaged 20.3 players per game this season, with a high of 24 against Loyola.
It is a young group, as well. Of the 27 players on the roster, 18 are freshmen and sophomores and only four are seniors.
Sophomore center back Jackson Sullivan is the lone Bison to play all 1,260 minutes this season.
Bucknell's win came in the season-opener at Mount St. Mary's, as Kieffer and Holmes found the back of the net in a 2-1 victory. The Bison also picked draws against George Mason (0-0), American (3-3), and St. Bonaventure (0-0).
Dave Brandt is Bucknell's 14th full-time head coach and just the third dating back to 1967. Brandt 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.

Lafayette at a Glance

Lafayette is 8-5-3 overall and 4-2-1 in the Patriot League, and the Leopards are still in the hunt for the regular-season title with two matches remaining.
Lafayette is in third place on 13 points, trailing Loyola (17) and Boston University (16). Colgate (11), American (9), and Navy (9) currently occupy the final three playoff spots, but Holy Cross (8), Army (6), and Lehigh (5) all still have a shot at postseason play.
Lafayette dropped a 2-0 verdict at Loyola on Saturday but then bounced back with a 3-2 non-league win at Stony Brook on Tuesday. Max Fujimori, Carter Houlihan, and Andrey McIntyre scored for the Leopards, the last breaking a 2-2 tie in the 72nd minute.
In league play, the Leopards have beaten Lehigh (1-0), Army (1-0), Holy Cross (1-0), and Boston University (2-0). Their draw came against American (2-2), while the losses are to Colgate (1-0) and Loyola (2-0).
Lafayette has scored 21 goals in 16 games, including a league-high 10 from Hale Lombard. The senior scored six goals in the first five matches of the season, including a hat trick against Siena, and recently he has heated up again with four goals in the last six games.
Lawrence Aydlett has three goals, Houlihan has two, and six others have one each. Benji Grossi has a team-high four assists.
Griffin Hunt has started 10 games in goal, including all of the Patriot League games, and has 14 saves with just seven goals against. Eric Axtman has 20 saves in his six starts.
The Leopards were picked seventh in the Patriot League Preseason Poll after finishing fifth last season.

The Bucknell-Lafayette Series

Bucknell and Lafayette first met all the way back in 1931, and the series is just about dead even. The Bison and Leopards have clashed 74 times, Lafayette holds a narrow 33-32-9 edge.
Bucknell has outscored Lafayette 102-93 all-time, but goals have been hard to come by in recent years. The Bison are 1-5-2 in their last eight games with the Leopards and have scored just one goal in that span.
That goal came from Michael Pavick just 9:24 into the match in Bucknell's 1-0 home victory in 2018. The Bison are scoreless in the last 480 minutes against Lafayette since that goal.
Lafayette won 1-0 last year at Emmitt Field. Marcos Kitromilides converted a penalty kick in the 33rd minute, and the Bison could not find an equalizer despite a dominant second half. Bucknell outshot Lafayette 18-9, including a 14-3 edge in the second half. Marco Valentic struck the right post with six minutes remaining.
Bennett Schwartz made five saves in a 0-0 deadlock on Bucknell's last trip to Easton in 2021. Lafayette finished with a 15-6 shot advantage in the defensive struggle at Oaks Stadium.

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