Bucknell University
Navy
Men's Lacrosse Hits the Road Friday for Season Finale at Navy
4/24/2024 10:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Bucknell (4-9, 2-5 PL) at Navy (7-6, 4-3 PL)
When:Â Friday, April 26 at 7 p.m.
Where: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium – Annapolis, Md.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: NavySports.com
Follow on Twitter:Â @Bucknell_MLAX
Bucknell at a Glance
• Bucknell travels to Annapolis to face the Navy Midshipmen in the 2024 season finale on Friday. The Bison face the Mids in the final game of the season for a second year in a row and are seeking their first win in the series since 2015.
• Bucknell's hopes of earning a spot in the Patriot League Tournament were dashed when No. 12 Army won 19-11 in last Friday's home finale at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The 2024 tournament field of six teams is now set with Colgate, Army, Loyola, Lehigh, Navy and Boston each earning a berth.
• Army, which ranked No. 1 in the country at one point during the season, jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the Bison in the first quarter and led wire-to-wire in last Friday's game. Trailing 14-4 in the third quarter, the Bison used a 4-1 run to climb back within seven of tying, but it was as close as they'd get the rest of the way. Connor Davis scored four goals in the loss, and Sean Berrigan added a hat trick.
• Prior to the Army game, Bucknell celebrated the opening of the Pascucci Team Center, which will house the new men's lacrosse locker room. The Bison also recognized their seven graduating seniors: Patrick Ciquera, Ethan Gyllenhaal, Richie Striano, Brett Callahan, Brendan Coyle, Rich O'Halloran and Duncan Hill.
• With four goals against the Black Knights, Davis recorded his seventh hat trick of the season and the 21st of his career. He jumped to the top of the Patriot League leaderboard in goals this season with 37 and is 18th in the country with 2.85 per game. With 107 career goals, the junior is four shy of tying Chris Cara '05 for fourth-most in program history.
• Berrigan's three goals were a season high, and he became the second Bison rookie to tally a hat trick. Peter Grandolfo has two hat tricks, as five Bucknell freshmen have combined to score 43 of the team's 134 goals.
• Bucknell tallied 13 caused turnovers against the Black Knights and rank seventh in the country with 10.23 per game, having recorded double digits in the category eight times this spring. Will Pickering caused three turnovers on Friday to jump into first place on the team with 18 on the season. Hill is in second with 17, and John Young has 16.
• Bucknell is coming off a 3-10 (2-6 PL) season in 2023. Seven of the team's losses were by three goals or less, and three of its league losses were by two or fewer. Bucknell returned two of its four All-Patriot League honorees from last season.Â
• Bucknell was picked to finish seventh in the 2024 Patriot League Preseason Poll. Bucknell's roster consists of 27 returners and 13 newcomers. It graduated 2023 All-Patriot League defensemen Hank Bethel and Andrew Stanzel.
• Dutch Furlong, Gyllenhaal and Striano were voted team captains ahead of the 2024 season.
• Bucknell head coach Frank Fedorjaka is in his 19th season leading the program. He achieved his 150th career win earlier in the year and is just the second head coach in the program's 57-year history.
Category Leaders
• Goals: Connor Davis (37)
• Assists: Michael Meyer (12)
• Points: Connor Davis (41)
• Shots: Connor Davis (96)
• Ground Balls: Brendan Coyle (65)
• Caused Turnovers: Will Pickering (18)
• Faceoff Wins: Brendan Coyle (115)
• Faceoff Percentage: Brendan Coyle (.469)
• Save Percentage: Jaz Zanelli (.451)
• Goals Against Average: Jaz Zanelli (11.51)
• Saves: Jaz Zanelli (64)
Milestone Watch
• Connor Davis is four goals away from moving to fourth on Bucknell's all-time scoring list.
• Brendan Coyle is eight ground balls away from 10th place on Bucknell's single-season list.
Milestones Met Last Week
• Jaz Zanelli recorded the 200th save of his career.
Scouting Navy/Series History
• The Mids have dropped two in a row to Army and Loyola and are now 7-6 (4-3 PL). They clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament and are currently in a tie for fifth place in the standings.
• Navy, which leads the Patriot League in scoring defense, is allowing just 10.62 goals per game. The Mids have limited seven of their 13 opponents to single digits. Sophomore goalie Dan Daly has started all 13 games for the Mids.
• Leading Navy's offensive efforts has been junior Henry Tolker with 25 goals scored this season. After registering 20 goals over a seven goal stretch in the middle of the season, Tolker has been held to just one goal over Navy's last two games.
• Navy was picked to finish fourth in the 2024 Preseason Patriot League Poll after going 8-8 (5-3 PL) last season and falling to Loyola in the Patriot League quarterfinals. Navy midfielder Max Hewitt and defenseman Jackson Bonitz were both named to the Preseason All-League Team. Bonitz currently ranks eighth in the country with his 2.0 caused turnovers per game.
• Bucknell is 8-14 in all-time meetings with Navy dating back to 1996. The Mids have captured seven in a row after Bucknell claimed five straight wins between 2011 and 2015.
• The Bison fell 12-9 to Navy at home in last year's season finale. Bucknell held onto a narrow 5-4 lead at halftime, but the Mids outscored the Bison 8-4 over the final two frames. Jack Feda led the Bison with a hat trick, and Cam Doolan added a pair of goals.
