Friday, April 25
Lewisburg, Pa.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
5-9, 2-6PL
11
vs
14
Navy
8-6, 4-4PL
1
2
3
4
F
Navy
7
1
3
3
14
Bucknell
3
2
4
2
11
Photo by: Lianne Garrahan
Men’s Lacrosse Stages Big Comeback, but Navy Has Final Flurry in 14-11 Verdict
4/25/2025 10:33:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Peter Grandolfo scored two of his career-high four goals in Bucknell's electric five-goal comeback, but after the Bison tied it early in the fourth quarter, Navy scored the final three goals to pull out a 14-11 win on Friday night at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
Bucknell finished the season 5-9 overall and 2-6 in the Patriot League. Navy improved to 8-6, 4-4, and with Loyola's loss at Army earlier in the day, the Midshipmen grabbed the sixth and final Patriot League Tournament berth. Navy will play at third-seeded Lafayette in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
The Midshipmen seemed to be in control when Mac Haley scored at the 4:03 mark of the third quarter for an 11-6 lead. But the Bison responded in front of a big Senior Night crowd. Anthony Panetti started the rally with an unassisted tally, and then Sean Kerwick delivered a nice feed to a cutting Owen Kovacs to make it 11-9 with 1:17 left in the period.
In the closing seconds of the third, Panetti had a sharp-angled shot saved, and Grandolfo jumped on the rebound and beat the buzzer with a diving shot. The spectacular goal held up on replay review, and Bucknell's deficit was just 11-9 heading to the fourth.
Just 2:11 into the final session, Jack Dudas beat a long pole up top and fed Luke Brunner for a lefty finish. After a Navy turnover, Grandolfo looped behind the cage, got his hands free against a short stick, and fired home his fourth of the night to level the game at 11-11 with 11:06 to go.
Bucknell won the ensuing faceoff but couldn't get two shots to go. The latter deflected off a Navy defender and popped right to goalie Dan Daly. At the other end, the Bison got the ball on the deck twice but couldn't come up with the ground ball. Navy made them pay when Haley fed Carter Ash for the go-ahead goal with 9:25 to play.
Bucknell had two possessions to try to tie it again but turned it over once in the offensive box and once on a clear in their own end. Again it was Ash finding the back of the net for a big insurance goal with 6:13 to play, and Navy added one more with 2:29 to go.
The Midshipmen scored the first two goals of the night and led 7-3 after a fast-paced first period. Bucknell was chasing from behind throughout the night until making the big second-half run.
In addition to Grandolfo's four tallies, Connor Davis added two more goals to his school-record total. He finished his brilliant career with an even 150 goals, 12 more than Justin Zackey's former record, which had stood since 1994. Davis led the team with 42 this season, tied for sixth-most in team history. He and Zackey are the only two Bison ever to record two 40-goals seasons.
Michael Meyer scored a goal in the second quarter, and he finished the season with a career-high and team-leading 57 points from 26 goals and 31 assists.
Ash and Henry Tolker scored four goals each, and Jack Ponzio tallied a goal and three assists to lead Navy, which finished with a slight 38-37 shot advantage. The Mids led 43-29 in ground balls and won 17 of the 28 faceoffs. Luke Renaud made 12 saves for the Bison, while Daly had eight for Navy.
Prior to the game, the men's lacrosse program recognized seniors Davis, Dudas, Ben Bonafede, Cam Doolan, George Talarico, Grant Malas, and Ryan Caione.
Bucknell finished the season 5-9 overall and 2-6 in the Patriot League. Navy improved to 8-6, 4-4, and with Loyola's loss at Army earlier in the day, the Midshipmen grabbed the sixth and final Patriot League Tournament berth. Navy will play at third-seeded Lafayette in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
The Midshipmen seemed to be in control when Mac Haley scored at the 4:03 mark of the third quarter for an 11-6 lead. But the Bison responded in front of a big Senior Night crowd. Anthony Panetti started the rally with an unassisted tally, and then Sean Kerwick delivered a nice feed to a cutting Owen Kovacs to make it 11-9 with 1:17 left in the period.
In the closing seconds of the third, Panetti had a sharp-angled shot saved, and Grandolfo jumped on the rebound and beat the buzzer with a diving shot. The spectacular goal held up on replay review, and Bucknell's deficit was just 11-9 heading to the fourth.
Another buzzer-beater for Peter Grandolfo! Huge play here on the rebound to cut the margin to 11-9 heading to the 4th. #rayBucknell #PLTop3
— Bucknell Men's Lax (@Bucknell_MLAX) April 26, 2025
Watch: https://t.co/nIIwRhV7nn@ESPN | @PatriotLeagueHQ pic.twitter.com/yiSJgOGaln
Just 2:11 into the final session, Jack Dudas beat a long pole up top and fed Luke Brunner for a lefty finish. After a Navy turnover, Grandolfo looped behind the cage, got his hands free against a short stick, and fired home his fourth of the night to level the game at 11-11 with 11:06 to go.
Bucknell won the ensuing faceoff but couldn't get two shots to go. The latter deflected off a Navy defender and popped right to goalie Dan Daly. At the other end, the Bison got the ball on the deck twice but couldn't come up with the ground ball. Navy made them pay when Haley fed Carter Ash for the go-ahead goal with 9:25 to play.
Bucknell had two possessions to try to tie it again but turned it over once in the offensive box and once on a clear in their own end. Again it was Ash finding the back of the net for a big insurance goal with 6:13 to play, and Navy added one more with 2:29 to go.
The Midshipmen scored the first two goals of the night and led 7-3 after a fast-paced first period. Bucknell was chasing from behind throughout the night until making the big second-half run.
In addition to Grandolfo's four tallies, Connor Davis added two more goals to his school-record total. He finished his brilliant career with an even 150 goals, 12 more than Justin Zackey's former record, which had stood since 1994. Davis led the team with 42 this season, tied for sixth-most in team history. He and Zackey are the only two Bison ever to record two 40-goals seasons.
Michael Meyer scored a goal in the second quarter, and he finished the season with a career-high and team-leading 57 points from 26 goals and 31 assists.
Ash and Henry Tolker scored four goals each, and Jack Ponzio tallied a goal and three assists to lead Navy, which finished with a slight 38-37 shot advantage. The Mids led 43-29 in ground balls and won 17 of the 28 faceoffs. Luke Renaud made 12 saves for the Bison, while Daly had eight for Navy.
Prior to the game, the men's lacrosse program recognized seniors Davis, Dudas, Ben Bonafede, Cam Doolan, George Talarico, Grant Malas, and Ryan Caione.
Team Stats
NAVY
BUCKNELL
Shots
38
37
Turnovers
19
23
Caused Turnovers
14
13
Faceoffs Won
17
11
Extra-Man Opps
2
3
Ground Balls
43
29
Game Leaders
Players
G
4
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
1
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
1-30
GB
2
CT
1
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
2
Players Mentioned
M
/ Men's LacrosseM
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's LacrosseM
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
M
/ Men's LacrosseA
/ Men's Lacrosse
A
/ Men's Lacrosse
G
/ Men's Lacrosse
D
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