Men's Soccer Entertains George Mason Friday Night

Friday, September 8

Lewisburg, Pa.

7 p.m.

Bucknell University

George Mason

Men's Soccer Entertains George Mason Friday Night

9/5/2023 8:36:00 PM | Men's Soccer

George Mason (0-2-1) at Bucknell (1-2)
When: Friday, Sept. 8, 7 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Happenings

Prior to the game, the men's soccer program will recognize Andrew Powell '12, who is being inducted into the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame on Sunday. Powell was a two-time All-Patriot League fullback for the Bison, and he was also a league-champion and school record-setting decathlete for the track and field team.

Bucknell at a Glance

The Bison are back in action for the first time in a week when George Mason makes its first-ever visit to Lewisburg on Friday night.
Last time out, Bucknell dropped a strange 3-2 verdict to Robert Morris. The Bison allowed only four total shots in the match, but the first three found the back of the net in the first half. Twice Bucknell cut two-goal deficits in half but could not find an equalizer.
Sophomore forward Charlie Holmes scored his second goal of the year on a penalty kick in the 32nd minute. Holmes drew the penalty and then stepped up to the spot and finished inside the left post.
Sophomore back Ben Sheffield scored his first career goal on a header in the 52nd minute.
Sophomore back Aidan Kieffer also has a goal this season, coming in the season-opening 2-1 win at Mount St. Mary's.
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 Jackson 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.

George Mason at a Glance

The Patriots are 0-2-1 after three games, including a couple of high-scoring affairs. George Mason dropped its opener to UMBC, 4-3, before falling 1-0 at Virginia. On Monday, the Patriots twice overcame deficits in a 2-2 home draw with Old Dominion.
In the UMBC game, George Mason erased a 3-0 deficit with three straight goals, only to concede a penalty kick just 19 seconds after netting the equalizer.
Henry Wachsman has two of the team's five goals this season. Souley Diouf, Abdul Kamara, and Nicholas Prioli have one goal apiece. Luis Maestre has four assists, three coming in the UMBC game.
Jaume Salvado has played all three games in goal and has 13 saves with seven goals against.
George Mason went 2-11-2 overall and 1-6-1 in the Atlantic 10 last season, but this year the Patriots are rebuilding with 16 new players, including nine transfers.

The Bucknell-George Mason Series

Bucknell is 1-0-1 all-time against George Mason, including a 1-0 overtime win in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament in Fairfax. Mark Schmiegel scored the golden goal and Joey Kueterbach made seven saves in Bucknell's first NCAA win since 1974.
The two teams met in Fairfax again in 2019 and played to a 1-1 draw. Leon Reilhac scored for GMU in the 17th minute but the Bison tied it on Matt Thorsheim's penalty kick in the 75th.

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