Men's Soccer Hosts Lehigh Saturday Night in Battle for First Place in Patriot League

Lehigh (4-6-1, 2-1 PL) at Bucknell (4-4-1, 2-0-1 PL)
When: Saturday, Oct. 5, 7 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Happenings: North Union United Night

Bucknell at a Glance

Two resurgent teams looking to hold on to spots at the top of the Patriot League table square off on Saturday night when the Bison host Lehigh. After beating American on the road last week, Bucknell claimed sole possession of first place with seven points and a 2-0-1 record. Meanwhile, the red-hot Mountain Hawks have won two straight Patriot League games and three of their last four overall, and at 2-1 in league play they sit alone in second place, just one point behind Bucknell.
Bucknell is ranked No. 9 in the United Soccer Coaches Atlantic Region rankings this week. Hofstra, Elon, College of Charleston, Monmouth, Delaware, Campbell, Lipscomb, and Drexel are the top eight, with William & Mary sliding in at No. 10.
The PL standings are jammed up behind Bucknell and Lehigh. Colgate (1-0-2) is third with five points, and then five teams are all on four points with 1-1-1 records. Army (0-3) is the only team in the league without a result yet.
Bucknell fell 1-0 at home to No. 7 West Virginia on Tuesday night. The Mountaineers, who were an NCAA College Cup semifinalist last year, scored just 64 seconds into the match. The Bison survived a few more nervy moments in the opening five minutes, but then they settled in and created some excellent scoring chances of their own. The closest call was Winston Oziri's blast off the right post later in the first half.
Bucknell limited WVU to one goal despite missing two veteran starters in the back. Senior Aidan Lawlor was held out with an injury, and junior Jackson Sullivan was sidelined due to a red card in the previous game at American. Freshman Collin Sullivan, Jackson's younger brother, played all 90 minutes and had a strong performance alongside Ben Sheffield and Jack Roberto. Freshmen Charlie Sorensen, Noah Handzel, and Matt McLeod also turned in good shifts off the bench.
Sophomore David Krumov's first career goal just over nine minutes into the match was all the Bison would need in the win at American. Krumov intercepted a pass from the goalkeeper, broke into the box and beat the keeper 1v1 for the game's only goal.
The Bison were stellar defensively, allowing only eight total shots and just two on frame. Most of the action near goalkeeper Freddie Lapworth came late in the match when the Eagles pushed numbers forward. The Bison held strong in the back, even after going down to 10 men when Sullivan was issued a second yellow card with 12 minutes remaining.
Lapworth earned his second straight Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week award on Monday. He leads the Patriot League in shutouts (4), goals-against average (1.00), and save percentage (.795).
As a team, the Bison have conceded only nine goals in nine matches this season, with six of those confined to two games against Cornell and Saint Francis.
Bucknell's seven goals this season have come from seven different players. Jack Lucas is the points leader with five on a goal and three assists, and Krumov has a goal and two assists.
Cohen Weaver and Cade Whitmire both registered a goal and an assist in the 2-1 win over the Midshipmen in the Patriot League opener. Weaver (Penn State) and Whitmire (Tulsa) are both transfers in their first year at Bucknell, and both recorded their first collegiate points in the victory.
Cade McGrath, Drew Roskos, and Ben Sheffield also have goals.
Dave Brandt is Bucknell's 14th full-time head coach and just the third dating back to 1967. Brandt, who is now in his third season at Bucknell, brought with him a remarkable career record of 354-86-40 in stints at Messiah, Navy, and Hope. 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.

Lehigh at a Glance

Lehigh is coming off a come-from-behind 2-1 home win over Marist on Tuesday. After the Red Foxes scored in the 17th minute, Beckett Wenger quickly equalized, and then Perry Kingson won it from the penalty spot with 4:36 left in the match.
The Mountain Hawks started Patriot League play with a 2-1 loss at Holy Cross, but since then they have a 3-2 win at Army and a 3-1 home win over defending champion Boston University.
Freshman Aiden Gonzalez scored his first two collegiate goals in last Saturday's win over the Terriers. Sam Davis broke a 1-1 deadlock in the 66th minute, and then Gonzalez scored less than two minutes later to make it 3-1.
In the game at West Point, Lehigh fell behind 2-1 early in the second half before goals from Davis and Yudef Gueye turned it around.
Kingson, this week's Patriot League Midfielder of the Week, leads the team in goals (3), assists (3), and points (9). Davis, Gonzalez, and Gueye have two goals apiece, and Wenger has a goal and two assists. Gueye's 22 shot attempts are the most in the Patriot League.
Goalkeeper Blake Koski, the son of longtime Lehigh head coach Dean Koski, has made eight starts and has 29 saves with 17 goals against.

The Bucknell-Lehigh Series

Bucknell and Lehigh have met 70 times dating back to 1960, and the all-time series is deadlocked at 30-30-10. Only four goals separate the two teams in those 70 clashes, as the Bison have 103 goals to Lehigh's 99.
Bucknell has won three straight against the Mountain Hawks on the heels of a 1-5-1 stretch, and in all three verdicts the winning goal was scored in the 82nd minute or later. This is Bucknell's longest series winning streak since it claimed seven in a row from 1979-85.
The Bison closed out last season with a 2-1 win in Bethlehem that featured a wild final seven minutes. The game was scoreless until Marco Valentic scored in the 82nd minute, and then Kaspar Piela made it 2-0 only 66 seconds later. Yusef Gueye pulled one back for Lehigh in the 86th minute, and the Bison had to deal with two set pieces in the final 60 seconds to hold on to the 2-1 result.
The Bison won 2-1 in the most recent meeting at Emmitt Field in 2022, thanks to an 84th-minute goal from Sebastian Paz. Mo Tall gave the Bison the lead on a terrific free kick in the 22nd minute, but Jack Sarkos equalized for Lehigh early in the second half. Paz was on the finishing end of a beautiful through ball from Cade McGrath to win it for Bucknell, which outshot Lehigh 22-9 on the night. That was also the collegiate debut for goalkeeper Freddie Lapworth, who made four saves.
Bucknell's three-game series winning streak started in 2021, when Jordan Miller scored a golden goal in overtime for a 1-0 win in Bethlehem.

Next Up

Bucknell will have another two-game set next week, with a non-conference road game at Binghamton on Tuesday followed by a trip to Boston University to face the defending Patriot League champs on Saturday afternoon.

Men's Soccer Hosts Lehigh Saturday Night in Battle for First Place in Patriot League

Players Mentioned

Noah Handzel

David Krumov

Freddie Lapworth

Freddie Lapworth

Aidan Lawlor

Jack Lucas

Cade McGrath

Cade McGrath

Matt McLeod

Winston Oziri

Sebastian Paz

Jack Roberto

Drew Roskos

Ben Sheffield

Charlie Sorensen

Collin Sullivan

Jackson Sullivan

Mo Tall

Marco Valentic

Cohen Weaver

Cade Whitmire

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