Bucknell University Athletics
Photo by: Bob Latchford
Davis, Pickering, Concepcion Land Patriot League Men’s Lax Honors after Impressive Opening-Day Win
2/3/2025 2:00:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell men's lacrosse team excelled in all phases in a 23-7 win over Merrimack on Saturday, and three of the catalysts of the opening-day blowout earned Patriot League Player of the Week honors on Monday. Connor Davis, who poured in a career-high eight goals, was named Offensive Player of the Week, Will Pickering was voted Defensive Player of the Week, and Ben Concepcion was selected as the Faceoff Specialist of the Week.
Davis started his senior season with a bang with eight goals along with an assist against Merrimack. The Bison co-captain took a game-high 14 shots and came within one of the Bucknell single-game goal-scoring record, despite not playing in the fourth quarter when the reserves took over.
Davis scored four of his goals in the third quarter, when the Bison outscored the Warriors 9-0 to turn the game into a runaway. He led a big day for Bucknell's starting attack trio, which combined for 15 goals and seven assists.
Davis now has 116 career goals, which are fourth-most in Bucknell history and 22 shy of Justin Zackey's school record that has stood since 1994. The eight goals were tied for the most in a game on the opening weekend. Providence's Richie Joseph also scored eight against Holy Cross.
The 23-goal outburst, which is the highest goal total in the nation so far, overshadowed a stellar day for the Bison defense. After conceding four goals in the first quarter, Merrimack managed only three more the rest of the day and just one in the second half. Pickering spearheaded the effort with three caused turnovers and four ground balls in Bucknell's defensive box.
Pickering picked right up where he left off last season, when he led the team and ranked eighth in the Patriot League with 1.50 caused turnovers per game as a sophomore.
Concepcion enjoyed a breakout performance at the faceoff X on Saturday. The sophomore appeared in only two games last season, but against Merrimack he came off the bench and flipped the faceoffs in Bucknell's favor with a 13-for-17 performance with four ground balls. He went 8-for-10 in the third quarter to help the Bison to that dominant 9-0 period.
Bucknell will play its next four games on the road, starting this Saturday at St. Bonaventure at 3 p.m. It will be the first-ever meeting between the Bison and the Bonnies.
Davis started his senior season with a bang with eight goals along with an assist against Merrimack. The Bison co-captain took a game-high 14 shots and came within one of the Bucknell single-game goal-scoring record, despite not playing in the fourth quarter when the reserves took over.
Davis scored four of his goals in the third quarter, when the Bison outscored the Warriors 9-0 to turn the game into a runaway. He led a big day for Bucknell's starting attack trio, which combined for 15 goals and seven assists.
Davis now has 116 career goals, which are fourth-most in Bucknell history and 22 shy of Justin Zackey's school record that has stood since 1994. The eight goals were tied for the most in a game on the opening weekend. Providence's Richie Joseph also scored eight against Holy Cross.
The 23-goal outburst, which is the highest goal total in the nation so far, overshadowed a stellar day for the Bison defense. After conceding four goals in the first quarter, Merrimack managed only three more the rest of the day and just one in the second half. Pickering spearheaded the effort with three caused turnovers and four ground balls in Bucknell's defensive box.
Pickering picked right up where he left off last season, when he led the team and ranked eighth in the Patriot League with 1.50 caused turnovers per game as a sophomore.
Concepcion enjoyed a breakout performance at the faceoff X on Saturday. The sophomore appeared in only two games last season, but against Merrimack he came off the bench and flipped the faceoffs in Bucknell's favor with a 13-for-17 performance with four ground balls. He went 8-for-10 in the third quarter to help the Bison to that dominant 9-0 period.
Bucknell will play its next four games on the road, starting this Saturday at St. Bonaventure at 3 p.m. It will be the first-ever meeting between the Bison and the Bonnies.
Players Mentioned
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