Bucknell University Athletics
Update from Head Men's Lacrosse Coach Frank Fedorjaka
Hello Everyone!
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We are super excited to begin the 2023 season as we prepare for a home game vs. Mercer on Saturday! As I look back at all of the work that it's taken to get to this point, I can't help but think that there are good things and not-so-good things that come with being a "spring" sport at the collegiate level. The best thing is that you have most of the year to prepare your team before you have to play in real games. That allows you as a coach to get your first-year players acclimated to the college game and work on and finely tune your system. The biggest negative thing that comes to mind is that we all have to wait so long to actually play in, or as fans watch, the real games. Â
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We had a great scrimmage against Penn State back on 1/21. We played our starters vs. PSU starters for a little over three quarters of play, and during that stretch, we outscored them 9-7. I was very pleased with our performance as a number of guys stood out. On the offensive side of the ball, Connor Davis (4 goals) and Dutch Furlong (2 goals, 3 assists) picked up where they left off from last year. In the cage, Richard O'Halloran and Jaz Zanelli split time for the first three quarters and both played very well. Overall on the defensive side of the ball, we were very physical and caused a lot of turnovers. Hank Bethel, Andrew Stanzell, Duncan Hill, Ethan Gyllenhaal, Ben Bonafede, Richie Striano, and Danny Striano all made numerous plays to help neutralize the Penn State offense. Some first-year guys that played well for us were Michael Meyer, Will Hopkins, Patrick Reilly, Griffin Shaffer (7/14 on face-offs), John Young, Will Pickering, and of course Jaz Zennelli.
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On January 13 we made what now has become our annual trip out to the Cowan Conference Center located about eight miles from Bucknell's campus. It's a really neat place that is out in the woods with no wi-fi. So, we have the team's attention. We have a catered dinner and play lots of games, including ping pong and cards, etc. We also take advantage of the opportunity to have a really productive heart-to-heart discussion amongst the team and coaches about what we want this team to be known for. It was one of our better meetings and the long short of it is that this team is ready to commit to being that team that no one wants to play! Part of that includes an us-versus-them mentality.Â
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I thought another cool thing that came out of our team retreat was an exercise where the guys volunteered to step up and make sure that they brought a certain trait/attitude/characteristic to every practice and game for the rest of the year. An example is that we had six guys that have committed to bringing confidence every single day, which means that they not only commit to themselves being confident but they will do what they can to influence other members of the team to do the same. Some other things that the team committed to being accountable for include Emotional Investment, Mental and Physical Toughness, Passion, Respect, Close Knit, Gritty, Doing Your Job, Swagger, Playing with a Chip on your Shoulder, and more.
We also voted for captains. I am happy to announce that we have five captains this year. In my 18 years as head coach at Bucknell, we have only had two unanimous captains, and now we have a third. Danny Striano was voted to be captain by every teammate. The previous two were Billy Haire '09 and Will Sands '18. Congratulations Danny. The other captains are CJ Baroni, Jack Feda, Connor McCusker, and Andrew Stanzel - all seniors. This is a great group of young men.
This past weekend we had our annual scrimmage against Towson. As you can imagine it was very physical. As far as I can determine, there is no more physical team than Towson University. After a slow start and falling behind 7-2, we were able to put together a 9-0 run that started about five minutes into the second quarter and lasted until the latter part of the third. After the quarters both teams pulled their starters. There were some outstanding performances in the game. The close defense of Hank Bethel, Andrew Stanzel, and Duncan Hill once again provided tremendous physicality. On this day, the Herd was more physical than Towson - it's a new look for us and I love it. On offense, Dutch Furlong and Conor Davis were lighting up the scoreboard along with freshman Will Hopkins. In the goal, Jaz Zanelli played very well and Max Nolan kept the ball out of the cage for the entire fourth quarter! Â
Earlier this month the University started tearing down half of the "Mods" on West Campus. I have to admit I was a little taken aback when I saw the demolition. There is no doubt in my mind that we lost a lot of memories that day. I have attached a few pictures.
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In closing, we have a significant 24-hour period approaching for our program. The annual One Herd One Day 24-Hour Giving Challenge will be on March 28-29 from 10:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. Our program has historically been very competitive with the sports across the athletic department during the challenge. I hope we can all come together in March to turn in a huge day for the men's lacrosse program.
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Next time you hear from me we will be well into our season and battle-tested!
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Sincerely,
Â
Frank Fedorjaka
Head Men's Lacrosse Coach
Bucknell University
fedorjak@bucknell.eduÂ
Bison Club support is the driving force behind Bucknell Athletics. Your donations directly impact the holistic development of student-athletes from 27 Division I varsity programs who are building a foundation at Bucknell to become leaders and difference-makers around the globe. Make your gift online, or call 570-577-1771 to support your favorite Bison team today.
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We are super excited to begin the 2023 season as we prepare for a home game vs. Mercer on Saturday! As I look back at all of the work that it's taken to get to this point, I can't help but think that there are good things and not-so-good things that come with being a "spring" sport at the collegiate level. The best thing is that you have most of the year to prepare your team before you have to play in real games. That allows you as a coach to get your first-year players acclimated to the college game and work on and finely tune your system. The biggest negative thing that comes to mind is that we all have to wait so long to actually play in, or as fans watch, the real games. Â
Â
We had a great scrimmage against Penn State back on 1/21. We played our starters vs. PSU starters for a little over three quarters of play, and during that stretch, we outscored them 9-7. I was very pleased with our performance as a number of guys stood out. On the offensive side of the ball, Connor Davis (4 goals) and Dutch Furlong (2 goals, 3 assists) picked up where they left off from last year. In the cage, Richard O'Halloran and Jaz Zanelli split time for the first three quarters and both played very well. Overall on the defensive side of the ball, we were very physical and caused a lot of turnovers. Hank Bethel, Andrew Stanzell, Duncan Hill, Ethan Gyllenhaal, Ben Bonafede, Richie Striano, and Danny Striano all made numerous plays to help neutralize the Penn State offense. Some first-year guys that played well for us were Michael Meyer, Will Hopkins, Patrick Reilly, Griffin Shaffer (7/14 on face-offs), John Young, Will Pickering, and of course Jaz Zennelli.
Â
On January 13 we made what now has become our annual trip out to the Cowan Conference Center located about eight miles from Bucknell's campus. It's a really neat place that is out in the woods with no wi-fi. So, we have the team's attention. We have a catered dinner and play lots of games, including ping pong and cards, etc. We also take advantage of the opportunity to have a really productive heart-to-heart discussion amongst the team and coaches about what we want this team to be known for. It was one of our better meetings and the long short of it is that this team is ready to commit to being that team that no one wants to play! Part of that includes an us-versus-them mentality.Â
Â
I thought another cool thing that came out of our team retreat was an exercise where the guys volunteered to step up and make sure that they brought a certain trait/attitude/characteristic to every practice and game for the rest of the year. An example is that we had six guys that have committed to bringing confidence every single day, which means that they not only commit to themselves being confident but they will do what they can to influence other members of the team to do the same. Some other things that the team committed to being accountable for include Emotional Investment, Mental and Physical Toughness, Passion, Respect, Close Knit, Gritty, Doing Your Job, Swagger, Playing with a Chip on your Shoulder, and more.
We also voted for captains. I am happy to announce that we have five captains this year. In my 18 years as head coach at Bucknell, we have only had two unanimous captains, and now we have a third. Danny Striano was voted to be captain by every teammate. The previous two were Billy Haire '09 and Will Sands '18. Congratulations Danny. The other captains are CJ Baroni, Jack Feda, Connor McCusker, and Andrew Stanzel - all seniors. This is a great group of young men.
This past weekend we had our annual scrimmage against Towson. As you can imagine it was very physical. As far as I can determine, there is no more physical team than Towson University. After a slow start and falling behind 7-2, we were able to put together a 9-0 run that started about five minutes into the second quarter and lasted until the latter part of the third. After the quarters both teams pulled their starters. There were some outstanding performances in the game. The close defense of Hank Bethel, Andrew Stanzel, and Duncan Hill once again provided tremendous physicality. On this day, the Herd was more physical than Towson - it's a new look for us and I love it. On offense, Dutch Furlong and Conor Davis were lighting up the scoreboard along with freshman Will Hopkins. In the goal, Jaz Zanelli played very well and Max Nolan kept the ball out of the cage for the entire fourth quarter! Â
Earlier this month the University started tearing down half of the "Mods" on West Campus. I have to admit I was a little taken aback when I saw the demolition. There is no doubt in my mind that we lost a lot of memories that day. I have attached a few pictures.
Â
In closing, we have a significant 24-hour period approaching for our program. The annual One Herd One Day 24-Hour Giving Challenge will be on March 28-29 from 10:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. Our program has historically been very competitive with the sports across the athletic department during the challenge. I hope we can all come together in March to turn in a huge day for the men's lacrosse program.
Â
Next time you hear from me we will be well into our season and battle-tested!
Â
Sincerely,
Â
Frank Fedorjaka
Head Men's Lacrosse Coach
Bucknell University
fedorjak@bucknell.eduÂ
Bison Club support is the driving force behind Bucknell Athletics. Your donations directly impact the holistic development of student-athletes from 27 Division I varsity programs who are building a foundation at Bucknell to become leaders and difference-makers around the globe. Make your gift online, or call 570-577-1771 to support your favorite Bison team today.