Men's Soccer Visits Saint Francis Tuesday before Starting League Play at Home Saturday vs. Army

Tuesday, September 12

Loretto, Pa.

3 p.m.

Bucknell University

Saint Francis (Pa.)

Men's Soccer Visits Saint Francis Tuesday before Starting League Play at Home Saturday vs. Army

9/11/2023 9:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Bucknell (1-2-1) at Saint Francis (1-0-3)
When: Tuesday, Sept. 12, 3 p.m.
Where: Stokes Soccerplex, Loretto, Pa.
Streaming: NEC Front Row
Live Stats: SFUAthletics.com

Army West Point (1-3-0, 0-0-0 PL) at Bucknell (1-2-1, 0-0-0 PL)
When: Saturday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Bucknell at a Glance

The Bison have two games on tap this week, a non-league road fixture at unbeaten Saint Francis on Tuesday followed by the Patriot League opener at home on Saturday night against Army West Point.
Bucknell turned in its best defensive performance of the season in Friday's 0-0 home draw with George Mason. The Bison limited the Patriots to only five total shots and just one on goal. Sophomore defender Jackson Sullivan earned Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors on Monday.
Bucknell opened the season with a 2-1 win at Mount St. Mary's. That was followed by a 2-0 loss at West Virginia and a 3-2 setback to Robert Morris.
Charlie Holmes has scored two of Bucknell's four goals over the first four games. Backs Aidan Kieffer and Ben Sheffield have the other two.
One game prior to conceding only five shots to George Mason, Bucknell allowed only four to Robert Morris, but the first three found the back of the net that night.
Waldemar Kattrup, MJ Kuczura, Kasper Piela, and Marco Valentic all have assists this season.
Second-year head coach Dave Brandt has a young side in 2023, with 10 freshmen and eight sophomores on the 27-man roster. The team is particularly green up front, with four sophomores and four freshmen leading the corps of forwards.
The Bison do have a more experienced back line, with seniors Kuczura, Matthew Owusu, and Collin Murphy all in the rotation. Sophomores Sheffield and Sullivan both saw extensive time last season, and on opening night they flanked another sophomore center back in Kieffer.
Bucknell went 3-12-2 in a rebuilding year in 2022 but played very well down the stretch. The Bison dropped a hard-fought 2-1 verdict at No. 4 Syracuse, the eventual national champion, then finished up with a 4-1 win over Holy Cross and draws with Colgate and Loyola, two of the Patriot League's better sides.
Bucknell was picked ninth in the Patriot League preseason poll. Defending champion Navy was chosen as the preseason favorite, just four points ahead of Boston University and five ahead of American.
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.

Saint Francis at a Glance

The Red Flash opened the season with a 2-1 win over Canisius, and since then they have played three straight draws with Fordham (1-1), Wright State (3-3), and Robert Morris (2-2). Saint Francis had a game canceled due to inclement weather on Saturday against St. Bonaventure.
Saint Francis trailed in all three of those ties. Joschi Schelb's goal with 57 seconds remaining gave the Red Flash the draw with Robert Morris. Schelb also scored the final goal in the 51st minute of the 3-3 draw at Wright State. Torren Aikens had the equalizer in the 69th minute against Fordham.
In addition to his two goals, Schelb has a team-high three assists to give the freshman from Germany seven points in four games. Schelb is already a two-time NEC Rookie of the Week.
Alvaro Planas also has two goals, and Aikens has a goal and an assist.
Saint Francis went 6-6-4 overall and 3-2-3 in the Northeast Conference last season. The Red Flash qualified for the NEC Tournament but fell to Sacred Heart 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
Head coach Mads Keiser is in his first season at the helm after previously serving as an assistant coach in Loretto. He welcomed back 20 returning players from last season, including NEC Rookie of the Year Jordaine Jaeger.

The Bucknell-Saint Francis Series

Bucknell holds a 12-10-2 lead in a series that dates back to 1997.
Saint Francis has won the last two meetings, including a 4-1 verdict last season at Emmitt Field. The Red Flash scored the final three goals of the night to break open a 1-1 game. Nico Stoddart scored two of those goals.
Bucknell's last win was a 3-0 decision at home in 2019. Nick King, Trevor Wiggins, and Matt Thorsheim all scored in the second half in that one.
The Bison have lost three straight in Loretto, with the last win there coming in 2014 by a 2-0 margin.

Army West Point at a Glance

The Black Knights opened the season with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over service academy rival Air Force, but they have dropped three straight one-goal games since then against La Salle (1-0), Michigan State (2-1), and Saint Joseph's (3-2).
Army hosts UAlbany on Tuesday before heading to Lewisburg for the opening round of Patriot League play.
Last time out, Army led Saint Joseph's 2-1 at the half, but the Hawks scored goals in the 75th and 83rd minutes to steal the points. Blake Driehuis notched all three Saint Joe's goals, the last on a penalty kick.
The Black Knights have six goals in four games this season, two from Jubril Bamgbala, one each from Joey Hickson, Drew Clement, and Gage Lyons, and an own goal. Hickson and Nick Atkinson each have two assists.
Goalkeeper Harrison Faulkner has made seven saves while allowing eight goals thus far.
Army finished 8-4-5 overall and 5-1-3 in the Patriot League a year ago. The Black Knights were the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, but they fell to American 3-1 in overtime. The Eagles handed Army both of its losses against PL competition last season.
Atkinson and Cooper Warren were named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team. The Black Knights were picked sixth in the preseason poll, although they did garner four first-place votes.

The Bucknell-Army Series

Bucknell is 17-23-1 all-time against Army. That includes eight straight losses to start the series between 1931-43, and then the two teams did not square off again until the formation of the Patriot League in 1990.
Bucknell had won four straight and 15 of 19 before Army came up with three wins and a draw in the last four meetings.
Army scored the final four goals in its 4-1 win at Clinton Field last season. Mo Tall scored from the penalty spot in the 16th minute, but two goals from Nick Atkinson and one each from Dylan Mitchiner and Joey Hickson helped Army pull away from 10-man Bucknell.
These two sides have met only once in the postseason, and it was a 4-2 overtime win for Army in the 1993 Patriot League championship match.

Next Up

Bucknell has another two-game week coming up, with both contests on the road. The Bison travel to Seton Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 19, followed by a trip to Navy the following Saturday.