Defense, Faceoffs Carry No. 13 Bucknell Past No. 14 Army, 7-4, in Men's Lax

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Rick Carolan's 11-for-15 showing on faceoffs was a key to Bucknell's 7-4 win over Army.

Bison Lead 6-0 at Half, Freshman Danylyshyn Has Three-Point Night

April 4, 2008

Final Stats

LEWISBURG, Pa. - With Rick Carolan (Wellesley, Mass./St. Sebastians) controlling the faceoff X, the defense pitching a shutout until the third quarter, and freshman middie Mike Danylyshyn (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) enjoying the best game of his young career, the 13th-ranked Bucknell men's lacrosse team defeated No. 14 Army 7-4 before a spirited crowd of 1,150 Friday night at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

The verdict left both teams with 3-1 Patriot League records and kept the Bison in the hunt for the regular-season title. Bucknell won its third straight game to get to 8-2 overall, while Army, whose only previous losses were one-goal setbacks to Syracuse and Cornell, fell to 7-3.

Each of the last six Bucknell-Army matchups were decided by one goal, but the Bison completely dominated the first half. A goal by Tim Brandau (Owings Mills, Md./McDonogh) just 46 seconds into the game got them going, and by halftime Bucknell had a stunning 6-0 lead.

Doug Buckley (Wantagh, N.Y./Chaminade) made it 2-0 with a diving shot with 2:31 left in the opening period, then Bucknell gave itself plenty of breathing room with a huge second quarter.

Bucknell scored four times in the period, three coming in the final three minutes, and outshot Army 13-2. Carolan won 4 of 6 draws and the Bison were 5-for-5 on clears and 2-for-2 with an extra man in one of their best 15-minute stretches of the season.

Army was whistled for the first penalty of the evening early in the second period, and the Bison took advantage when Joe Mele (Westbury, N.Y./Kellenburg Memorial) fed Danylyshyn on the doorstep for his first of two goals.

Again up a man with 3:00 left in the half, Brandau turned in the highlight-reel goal of the night. He took a pass from Danylyshyn on the right side of the crease, and with a double team coming Brandau stuck a behind-the-head wrap-around shot past a frozen Adam Fullerton to make it 4-0.

Carolan kept winning draws, and the Bison took advantage with two more goals late in the half. Middie Nick Marks (Barrington, Ill./Salisbury School) skipped in a shot from 15 yards out with 1:50 left, and with 30 seconds before halftime Mele scored from close range after a nice feed from John Togneri (Longmeadow, Mass./Loomis-Chaffee).

The Black Knights, who had just scored 13 goals in a win over Colgate to raise their season scoring average to 10.4 goals per game, finally solved goalie Nick Sciubba (Sea Cliff, N.Y./Salisbury School) when Brooks Korvin scored from a sharp angle 4:31 into the third quarter.

Bucknell answered right back when Danylyshyn scored his second goal and third point of the night with a tracer from high on the right side, making it a 7-1 game.

Army would not scratch again until the 7:49 mark of the fourth quarter, when Kevin LoRusso scored from the right side of the cage after a nice dodge. The Black Knights outshot Bucknell 13-2 in the fourth quarter and managed two Justin Bokmeyer goals in the final 5:25, but the Bison's big lead was never in serious peril.

Danylyshyn recorded his first multi-point game last time out when he had a goal and an assist in a 7-2 win at Holy Cross last weekend. He surpassed that output with two goals and an assist against Army. Brandau's two goals give him seven multi-goal games in 10 outings this season. Buckley and Mele also had multiple-point nights with a goal and an assist.

Top scorer Austin Winter (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes) was held to just one assist, but he extended his points streak to 25 games dating back to the start of his career.

Carolan might have been the No. 1 star of the game for the Bison, as he won 11 of 15 faceoffs against an Army team that came in winning nearly 51 percent of its draws on the season. Long-pole wingman Scott Monfort (Worthington, Ohio/Worthington) picked up ground balls on four of those faceoff wins.

Evan Burns (Baltimore, Md./Boys' Latin) led the close defensemen with four ground balls, while All-Patriot Leaguer Billy Haire (Darien, Conn./Darien) helped keep Army's top goal-scorer, Jason Peyer, off the scoresheet. Bucknell won the ground ball battle 21-16.

Sciubba finished with 10 saves, upping his season save percentage to .589. Fullerton had nine saves for Army.

Bucknell has another important Patriot League game next Friday at Lehigh at 7:30 p.m.