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After Wild Finish, Bucknell Men's Soccer Gets 1-1 Draw with Navy
Oct. 6, 2012
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LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The two top teams in the Patriot League in terms of overall records squared off on Saturday at Emmitt Field, and after 110 minutes of intense back-and-forth action that included both teams hitting crossbars in the final 80 seconds, Bucknell and Navy settled for a 1-1 draw. Brendan Burgdorf scored his third goal of the season and Mike Lansing made seven of his nine saves in overtime for the Bison, who are now 5-3-3 overall and 1-1-1 in the Patriot League. The Midshipmen (5-2-3, 1-0-2 PL) extended their unbeaten streak to seven in a row but fell a goal short of winning in Lewisburg for the first time since 1998. This was a game of wild momentum shifts, as Bucknell came out strong in both halves, but Navy used its depth to its advantage and controlled the end of the first half and most of the overtime periods. The Midshipmen subbed early and often, with 19 different field players seeing at least 25 minutes of action. While Navy had only one field player go the full 110 minutes, the Bison needed to play seven men the full 110, as some injuries and illness hampered the team's depth. While the end of the game was played at a frenetic pace, there was very little action at the start, as neither team attempted a shot for the first 15 minutes. Navy's first shot was a good one in the 16th minute, a hard strike from Joseph Greenspan that Lansing blocked away. Bucknell's first shot of the day came exactly 18 minutes into the match, and it found the back of the net. The sequence started with Lansing booting a long ball off the ground from his own 18. Joe Meyer sent a leaping header forward to Jesse Klug, who turned and angled a through ball to Burgdorf streaking in from the right wing. Burgdorf took an excellent first touch with two defenders draped all over his back, and he was able to slip a shot past Gavin Snyder. That was one of only two first-half shots for Bucknell, as Navy's bench completely shifted the tide in the last 15 minutes of the half. The Midshipmen controlled possession and were rewarded in the 38th minute. A shot was blocked in the box by a Bison defender and the rebound was hustled down on the end line by Jamie Dubyoski. His centering pass rolled cleanly through several sets of legs and onto the foot of a wide-open Thomas Shiiba, who was able to settle and score with his left foot to tie the game at 1-1. After being outshot 7-2 in the first half, Bucknell came out flying in the second and outshot Navy 16-3 in the period. Meyer had an open look from 15 yards out but his shot went right at Snyder. With 27 minutes remaining Burgdorf took a great pass from Chris Thorsheim and got behind the Navy defense, but his shot sailed over the bar. Snyder made two tough saves in the final 10:30. First he came off his line to cut down the angle on a Klug shot, and then with 1:04 left Josh Plump beat his man coming in from the left side only to have Snyder get a piece of his shot attempt. Navy clearly had the fresher legs in overtime, outshooting the Bison 6-0 in the first extra period and 5-4 in the second. But Lansing was up to the challenge, making seven big saves in that span, including a two-save flurry in a frantic scramble in the final 10 seconds of the first OT period. Both teams had great scoring opportunities in the final 3:20 of the second overtime period, only to walk away shaking their heads. First it was Navy drawing Lansing well off his line with an angled pass into open space near the top of the box. David Jackson got there first and took a wide touch. His centering pass was broken up by a Bison defender, but the ball fell to Navy's Dave Arnold, whose volley skipped just wide of the left post. Two minutes later the Bison thought they had a game-winner. Burgdorf used a late burst of speed to break in on goal from the left flank. Snyder got a piece of Burgdorf's shot at the left post. The rebound leaked all the way across to a wide-open Patrick Figgie on the right side, but Figgie's shot toward a gaping net struck the underside of the crossbar and bounded back out. Klug tried to flick in the rebound with his back to the goal, but that attempt went just over the bar with 1:20 left. After a brief delay to attend to an injured Navy player, the Midshipmen nearly scored themselves. Nick Dubee dribbled 45 yards down the left side all the way to the end line, then somehow worked through two Bison defenders to keep the ball alive. Dubee slipped a pass to Greenspan at the top of the six-yard box, but his left-footed one-timer rocketed off the crossbar. "The end of the first half did not go our way, but I was very pleased with how our guys responded to our halftime adjustments," said coach Brendan Nash. "We had them on their heels for awhile in the second half and had a lot of chances, we just could not find that final piece to the puzzle. For about 35 of the 45 minutes of the second half I was very pleased, and then the overtime was just helter-skelter for 20 straight minutes. I'd say 1-1 was definitely a fair result. We will take the point, then figure out where we can get points further down the road." Bucknell finished with a 22-21 shot advantage and led 5-4 in corner kicks. Lansing was credited with nine saves, while Snyder had six. Bucknell had its six-game series winning streak snapped, but the Bison were able to extend their unbeaten string against the Mids to 11 in a row. Navy's last win over Bucknell was a 2-1 overtime decision in Annapolis in 2001, and its last win in Lewisburg came all the way back in 1998. Burgdorf's goal was the 20th of his career, and he needs just three more to move into the top 10 on Bucknell's career list. The Bison have a non-conference game at home on Wednesday night against Hartwick at 7 p.m., and then they will resume Patriot League play at Holy Cross next Saturday at 2 p.m. in Worcester, Mass. The Crusaders are also 1-1-1 in the league after earning a 1-1 draw at Colgate on Saturday.
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