Men's Soccer Hosts American in Patriot League Semifinal Tuesday

#3 American (5-5-8, 4-2-3 PL) at #2 Bucknell (6-6-5, 4-1-4 PL)
What: PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Tournament Semifinal
When: Tuesday, Nov. 12, 6 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Bucknell at a Glance

Bucknell is the 2024 Patriot League regular-season co-champion with Boston University after both teams finished with a 4-1-4 record and 16 points. The Bison won their first Patriot League title since 2009 after finishing last season at the bottom of the table with a 1-6-2 record in the PL.
Bucknell is the No. 2 seed in the 2024 PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Men's Soccer Championship. The Bison are in a Patriot League semifinal for the first time since 2019 and will host No. 3 American in its first postseason match at Emmitt Field since 2017.
The only other team to finish this season with a regular-season conference title after finishing in last place in its previous season was North Florida in the Atlantic Sun Conference. North Florida went 4-2-1 with 13 points this season after finishing 0-6-1 with one point in 2023. Mercyhurst also won the NEC Conference in its first season in Division I.
The Bison clinched a top-two seed and a first-round bye in the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Lafayette on November 1. Jack Lucas scored a second-half equalizer in the 65th minute to put the Bison on level terms.
American is in a Patriot League semifinal after defeating Loyola in penalties in its quarterfinal match. The Eagles are no stranger to postseason play, reaching the Patriot League Championship match in three of the previous four seasons.
American and Loyola went to penalties after finishing regulation and overtime 2-2. It was a hectic start to the second half as all four goals were scored in the first 28 minutes. American trailed 1-0 before tying and taking the lead within nine minutes of going down. Loyola leveled the score 2-2 just eight minutes later. American went through on penalties, winning 5-4 in the shootout.
Bucknell is unbeaten in its previous four matches, going 2-0-2 in that span. The Bison have been up for late dramatics, scoring all three of its goals in those matches in the 65th minute or later. The Bison defeated Army and Colgate with 1-0 victories, scoring a match-winning goal in the final 10 minutes in each of the matches. The Bison have not scored a first-half goal since October 15, when Mason Lillis scored in a 4-1 loss to St. Bonaventure.
Freddie Lapworth and the Bison have a league-leading seven shutouts this season. Bucknell's 1.06 team goals-against average is the best in the Patriot League and ranks 48th among Division I teams. The Bison have given up just five goals in Patriot League action, and five of its seven shutouts came against PL teams.
Last week, Lapworth became Bucknell's third Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year and earned his first All-Patriot League First Team selection. Lapworth has started and played every minute of all 17 games this season after making 17 total starts in his first two collegiate seasons. Last year, an injury kept Lapworth sidelined midway through the season.
Lapworth's seven shutouts rank 16th in Division I. Lapworth ranked second in the league with a 1.06 goals-against average (GAA) and a .766 save percentage. Only Lafayette's Griffin Hunt held a better GAA at 1.00 in four fewer matches played, and only Holy Cross's Josh Tubbs had a higher save percentage at .800 in eight fewer matches played. Lapworth is just two shutouts away from tying Paul Sinnenburg in 10th on Bucknell's all-time shutouts list.
Senior defender Aidan Lawlor also notched his first Patriot League honor with a First Team selection, and he also represented the Bison on the Academic All-Patriot League Team. The senior center back made 15 starts in his first three seasons as a Bison before making 11 starts and 14 appearances this season. Lawlor provided the assist for Waldemar Kattrup's late match-winning goal over Army on October 20.
Lawlor played a big role in Bucknell's defensive performance throughout the season. The Bison led the Patriot League, allowing just 18 goals in its 17 matches for a 1.06 GAA. In Patriot League action, the Bison allowed just five goals for a 0.56 GAA. Only Lehigh, Cornell, St. Francis, and St. Bonaventure scored multiple goals against the Bison this season.
Junior midfielder Pombor was also named to the All-Patriot League First Team in his first season for the Bison after transferring from Lock Haven. Pombor settled in nicely, playing as a holding midfielder. He came up with one of Bucknell's biggest moments of the season. Deadlocked with Colgate, Pombor combined with Drew Roskos for a sweet goal in the 83rd minute to give the Bison a 1-0 victory. The win put the Bison in first place in the Patriot League at the time and played a big role in helping Bucknell secure a top-two seed in the tournament.
Lapworth, Lawler and Pombor were the first Bucknell players to be named to the First Team since Matt Thorsheim in the 2021 Spring season.
The Bison have scored 14 goals in 17 games this season, with the tallies spread among 11 different players. Drew Roskos, Jack Lucas, and Ben Sheffield have two goals each, and Waldemar Kattrup, Cade Whitmire, David Krumov, Cohen Weaver, Mason Lillis, Cade McGrath, and Pombor all have one each.
Krumov, Lucas, and Whitmire are all tied for sixth in the Patriot League with three assists.
Roskos ranks eighth in the league in shots per game with 1.93 and ranks fifth with 0.80 shots on target per game.
Sheffield leads all Bison field players in minutes played with 1,304 of a possible 1,440. Sheffield, Lapworth, and Jimmy Pombor are the only Bison to have started all 17 games this season. All told, 19 different Bucknell players have made at least one start.
Dave Brandt is the fifth Bucknell men's soccer coach to be named Patriot League Coach of the Year, and he became the third different coach in Bison history to be honored. In his third year as head coach, Brandt led the Bison to a Patriot League regular-season co-championship with Boston University and its first winning season in Patriot League play since 2017.
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 355-86-41 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.

Eagles at a Glance

American finished third in the Patriot League with 15 points and a 4-2-3 record. The Eagles were 5-5-8 overall this season in a tough non-conference schedule. The Eagles fell to No. 17 Hofstra and tied No. 23 VCU 1-1.
American was winless through its first matches of the season, going 0-2-3 in that stretch. The Eagles first win of the season was a 2-0 final over Loyola.
Taku Takahashi and Samuel Hershey were the goal scorers in the quarterfinal match against Loyola. Hershey is tied for fifth in the Patriot League with five goals this season. The senior forward also ranks seventh with .78 shots on goal per game.
Junior midfielder Troy Elgersma leads the Patriot League with seven assists. Elgersma provided the helper on Takahashi's equalizing goal in the quarterfinal. He ranks fifth with 2.11 shots per game.
Elgersma also has three goals, tied for second on the team with Dilane Zouantcha. Ethan Boyle (2) and Mustapha Sowe (2) are the only other players with multiple goals this season. The Eagles have had 12 different goal scorers this season.
Zouantcha is tied for second on the team with Leo Palomo with three assists. Sebastian Garces (2) and Reyes Parra (2) also have multiple assists this season.
The Eagles scored the second-most goals of all Patriot League schools with 24 goals in 18 matches.
American previously won a Patriot League title in the 2020-21 season, defeating Lafayette 2-1. The Eagles went back to the PL Championship in each of the next two seasons, falling to Loyola in 2021 and to Navy in 2022.

The Bucknell-American Series

American holds the all-time head-to-head record with an 17-8-4 mark over the Bison dating back to 1996.
When they met earlier this season at the Maryland SportsPlex, the Bison defeated the Eagles 1-0. David Krumov's first career goal came in the 9th minute, and the Bison held on to win despite playing the final 12 minutes with 10 men.
Each of the last 10 Bucknell-American matchups have been one-goal games or draws.
The two teams have met five times in the Patriot League Tournament, with Bucknell winning three of the five. The Bison defeated the Eagles in the 2009 and 2010 championship games as well as the 2013 quarterfinals. The 2009 and 2013 games were played at Emmitt Field, while the 2010 PL final was at Colgate. American won in the semifinal round in 2012 and 2016, both in D.C.

Men's Soccer Hosts American in Patriot League Semifinal Tuesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Waldemar Kattrup

David Krumov

Freddie Lapworth

Aidan Lawlor

Mason Lillis

Jack Lucas

Cade McGrath

Jimmy Pombor

Drew Roskos

Ben Sheffield

Cohen Weaver

Cade Whitmire

Men's Soccer Hosts American in Patriot League Semifinal Tuesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Waldemar Kattrup

David Krumov

Freddie Lapworth

Aidan Lawlor

Mason Lillis

Jack Lucas

Cade McGrath

Jimmy Pombor

Drew Roskos

Ben Sheffield

Cohen Weaver

Cade Whitmire

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