Bucknell University
Colgate
Men's Lacrosse on the Road Saturday at Colgate
3/22/2023 1:36:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Bucknell (1-6, 0-2 PL) at Colgate (1-4, 1-2 PL)
When: Saturday, March 25 – 1 p.m.
Where: Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium – Hamilton, N.Y.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: ColgateAthletics.com
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_MLAX
Bucknell at a Glance
• The Bison are seeing their first Patriot League win of the season when they take on Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y. Saturday. It's the first of back-to-back road games for Bucknell over the next two weeks.
• Bucknell is 1-6 (0-2) PL following a loss to No. 12/11 Loyola last weekend. Bucknell has already faced two of the top three teams in the Patriot League standings with six conference games still to play.
• Bucknell collected its fifth Patriot League weekly award on Monday, as junior Brendan Coyle was named the PL Faceoff Specialist of the Week. He put together a career performance by going 14 for 22 at the X and scoring the first two goals of his career. Bucknell has also claimed 10 of the last 20 Rookie of the Week awards dating back to the beginning of last season.
• Dutch Furlong added five more points in Saturday's game and currently leads all NCAA Division I players with 6.17 per game. He's also third in assists per game (3.67). Meanwhile, Andrew Stanzel ranks fourth in NCAA DI with 2.43 caused turnovers per game.
• Bucknell posted a 9-6 (3-5 PL) record in 2022 and was back in the Patriot League Tournament after missing during the abbreviated 2021 season. The Bison have missed the tournament just three times since 2005. Bucknell fell to third-seeded Loyola in the 2022 PL quarterfinals.
• Bucknell got off to a 5-0 start last season and finished first in the Patriot League in assists per game, ground balls per game and points per game. They were second in goals per game and shots per game.
• Bucknell set program records for goals (203), assists (127) and points (330), as well as a host of individual records.
• Bucknell was picked sixth in the 2023 Patriot League preseason poll. Additionally, sophomore Connor Davis was one of 16 student-athletes named to the 2023 Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Davis, who earned PL Rookie of the Year last season, scored 45 goals to tie for second in program history and was named PL Rookie of the Week six times.
• Bucknell lost 12 seniors to graduation, including 2022 All-League defenseman Drew Wellington and standout faceoff specialist Nick Crovatto. The Bison welcomed 15 newcomers this year, including 13 freshmen.
• Along with Davis, Bucknell brought back second-leading scorer Furlong, who finished sixth in the Patriot League in both shots per game and goals per game.
• Midfielders Cam Doolan and Furlong are the two returning Bison that started all 15 games last season.
• Seniors C.J. Baroni, Jack Feda, Conor McCusker, Stanzel and Danny Striano were voted team captains for the 2023 season.
• Head coach Frank Fedorjaka is in his 18th season leading the Bison. He possesses a 145-102 career record and is a three-time Patriot League Coach of the Year selection.
Category Leaders
• Goals: Dutch Furlong (15)
• Assists: Dutch Furlong (22) – 3rd in NCAA in assists/game (3.67)
• Points: Dutch Furlong (37) – 1st in NCAA in points/game (6.17)
• Shots: Connor Davis (44)
• Ground Balls: Danny Striano (34)
• Caused Turnovers: Andrew Stanzel (17) – 4th in NCAA in caused turnovers/game (2.43)
• Face-Off Wins: Conor McCusker (39)
• Face-Off Percentage: Griffin Shaffer (.500)
• Save Percentage: Jaz Zanelli (.445)
• Goals Against Average: Rich O'Halloran (6.53)
• Saves: Jaz Zanelli (65)
Milestone Watch
• Danny Striano: Needs 21 ground balls to reach 146 and crack Bucknell's all-time career top 10.
• Cam Doolan: Needs seven points to reach 50 for his career.
• Conor McCusker: Needs 16 faceoff wins to reach 100 for his career.
• Dutch Furlong: Needs 12 assists to reach 59 for his career and crack Bucknell's all-time top 10.
Inside the Loyola Box Score
• Bucknell went toe-to-toe with No. 12/11 Loyola and had a chance to tie things up in the final seconds of play, but the Greyhounds held on for a 14-13 win last Saturday.
• Bucknell went 19 of 30 in faceoffs, but it was successful on just 13 of 22 clear attempts and finished with 20 turnovers in the game. The Bison forced 18 turnovers and led 43-40 in shot attempts.
• Eight different Bison scored in the seesaw affair, and Dutch Furlong registered his third hat trick of the season to go along with a pair of assists. Tanner Germain, Jack Feda and Brendan Coyle each scored twice. Coyle was also 14 for 22 at the X. Loyola's Matthew Minicus paced the Greyhounds with seven goals.
• Bucknell cut Loyola's lead to a single goal with 9:07 to play in the fourth quarter, but it would be the last goal scored by either team in the contest.
• A close game throughout, Loyola led by three on just two brief occasions – a 7-4 advantage at halftime and an 8-5 lead early in the third. The two teams were separated by a single goal most of the way. Bucknell led twice.
• Both goalies went the distance, as Jaz Zanelli posted 12 saves.
Colgate at a Glance
• Colgate is 1-4 (1-2 PL) following a 10-9 overtime loss at Lafayette last Saturday. Before that, the Raiders picked up their first win of the season against Navy on March 11, defeating the Mids 17-8. Colgate's other league loss was to Boston U., 14-8.
• The Raiders were picked to finish seventh in the 2023 Patriot League Preseason Poll. They finished in that spot a year ago with a 4-9 (3-5 PL) record.
• Colgate returned one All-Patriot League player from last year, defenseman Donny Gayhardt. Sophomore Rory Connor currently leads the Raiders in points with 18 (13g, 5a).
• Sophomore goalie Matt LaCombe has played every minute this season and possesses a .551 save percentage along with a 10.48 goals against average.
• Bucknell leads 24-19 in the all-time series with Colgate, which dates back to 1979. The Bison have won three of the last four meetings, and this will be Bucknell's first time playing Colgate on the road since 2018.
• In last year's matchup, the Bison used a 14-save performance from Rich O'Halloran, and five-point efforts from Connor Davis and Dutch Furlong, to dispatch the Raiders 14-6. At halftime, Bucknell held an 8-2 advantage, bolstered by scoring five unanswered goals from the first quarter's 2:30 mark to the second frame's 1:04 mark.
Up Next
• Bucknell travels to first-place Army on Saturday, April 1. The Black Knights are 6-1 (3-0 PL) and are currently ranked No. 13 by both Inside Lacrosse and the USILA Coaches' Poll.
