Men’s Soccer Makes Successful 2023 Debut with 2-1 Win at Mount St. Mary’s

Thursday, August 24

Emmitsburg, Md.

7 p.m.

Bucknell University

1-0-0, 0-0-0

Mount St. Mary's

0-1-0, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Bucknell	1	1	2
Mount St. Mary's	0	1	1

Photo by: Lianne Garrahan

Men’s Soccer Makes Successful 2023 Debut with 2-1 Win at Mount St. Mary’s

8/24/2023 11:02:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Goals in each half from Aidan Kieffer and Charlie Holmes lifted the Bucknell men's soccer team to a 2-1 win over Mount St. Mary's in the season openers for both teams on Thursday night at the Waldron Family Stadium.

The Bison had a number of bright moments in all phases, particularly defensively, where they protected junior goalkeeper Jake Nicoll in his first collegiate start. Nicoll, who battled through a shoulder injury and was limited to 45 minutes last season, made two saves, commanded his box well, and was only beaten by a free kick that caromed in off the goalpost.

Bucknell's well-earned win required some extra patience, as the game was halted with just 3:38 remaining due to lightning in the area. And then just before play was set to resume, the players were greeted by an unusual pitch invader, as snake wandered out onto the field. The assistant referees were able to safely remove the critter, and the Bison were able to see out the final three minutes.

Never seen this one before! The Bison overcame both a lightning delay and a snake delay in tonight's win. Great job by the AR to get the pitch invader back to its natural habitat. 🐍 #rayBucknell https://t.co/dMuQvbPECa
— Bucknell Men's Soccer (@Bucknell_MSOC) August 25, 2023

"I thought it was a bit of a nervy, tight game from both teams, but I am very pleased that the guys were able to find a way to get the win," said head coach Dave Brandt. "We are an improving team that is working very hard to find that belief, so getting an early goal was huge. We talked during the week about if we couldn't get a goal in the run of play, just try to find a way, and we ended up getting one on the long throw."

Bucknell struck first in the 22nd minute after that throw into the box from Jackson Sullivan. Ben Sheffield headed the ball down off a Mount player, freshman Kasper Piela was first to it on the end line, and his square ball into the 6-yard box was one-timed home by Kieffer. The 6'5" sophomore center back earned a starting nod on opening night and scored in his collegiate debut.

Nicoll got his first career start in this one with Freddie Lapworth serving his red-card suspension from the final game of last season, and he had two key moments late in the first half to keep it a 1-0 game. He made a kick save from close range to rob Junee Lee, who had found space with a beautiful turn on the ball with about three minutes left in the half. In the final five seconds of the period, Mount St. Mary's played a long ball into the box, and Nicoll did well to punch it away from two white jerseys.

"Coming off a major injury and really not playing for two years, I thought Jake was exceptional tonight," said Brandt.

Just over 12 minutes into the second half, the Bison made it 2-0 thanks to some great work on the right side from Waldemar Kattrup and Holmes. Kattrup outdueled a Mount player for a 50-50 ball and then maneuvered around two more defenders before spotting Holmes along the edge of the area. Holmes cut into the box and ripped home a left-footed shot for his third career tally.

Bucknell did well to limit Mount St. Mary's set-piece opportunities over the first hour of the match, but a foul 30 yards from goal led to the home team's goal. On the resulting free kick, Dominik Topolsky fired a low shot around the wall, off the right post and in.

Bucknell responded well to the goal and possessed the ball in the Mount St. Mary's end for long stretches leading up to the weather delay. The Bison limited the Mount to only nine total shots and three on target. Bucknell attempted eight shots, with Ethan Russell making two saves for the hosts.

Brandt substituted liberally on opening night, with nine reserves seeing action. Freshmen Piela and Jakub Samelko earned starts, and classmates Jack Lucas, David Krumov, and Ryan Burritt also made their Bison debuts. Piela notched his first career point with his assist on the Kieffer goal.

The Bison will be back in action on Monday night at West Virginia. The 7 p.m. contest will air on ESPN+.