Bucknell Men's Soccer Opens Patriot League Play Saturday at Navy
Sept. 28, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell men's soccer team will bring a three-game unbeaten streak to Navy on Saturday as it opens Patriot League play against the team it defeated to help clinch a postseason berth late last October. The Bison, who are 2-0-1 over their last three contests, return to the road for the first time since a 3-0 win at Rider on Sept. 18. Kickoff for Saturday's match at Navy is at 7 p.m. at Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. Bucknell Men's Soccer Notebook Bucknell Notes - Last year Bucknell defeated Navy 2-0 on Varsity Soccer Field to help clinch a Patriot League Tournament berth. Entering the contest the Bison needed to defeat the Mids and hope for an American tie or loss or a Colgate loss. The Eagles ended up losing to the Black Knights about an hour after Bucknell's victory. - During its recent three-game unbeaten streak, Bucknell has been scoring the majority of its goals in the second half. The Bison scored a pair of goals after halftime against both Rider and Buffalo, and added one more opposite Niagara. Overall this season, Bucknell has scored six of its nine goals in the final 45 minutes of regulation. - Senior co-captain Justin Wolf netted the game-winning goal against Niagara on Sunday with just 1:53 left in regulation. The goal was the second of the season for Wolf, who is tied with Conor O'Brien and Corey Curnutte for the team lead in both goals and points (6). Wolf now has four career goals and 10 career assists for 18 points, the most among current Bison. Alex Russo has 17 points in his three-year career to rank second.
- Wolf, O'Brien, Curnutte and Mark Schmiegel each have two assists for the Bison this year. Last year's team leaders, Nathan LaGrave and Joe Mellott, had four assists, and just seven players had as many as two. - With his 10 career assists, Wolf is just three shy of showing up on Bucknell's career top-10 list. Steve Goldenring, who played from 1979-82, currently holds down 10th place with 13 assists in his career. - Senior goalkeeper Joey Kuterbach continues to move up Bucknell's career lists for shutouts and saves. The Kingwood, Texas, native posted two shutouts last week to bring his season total to three, and his career figure to 13. He stands fifth on the career shutout list, just two behind fourth-place Kevin Meyer. Kuterbach, who has made 31 consecutive starts and has a 0.86 goals-against average, has 27 saves this year, bringing his career total to 188, just 26 shy of landing on the Bison career top-10 list. - Kuterbach's two shutouts last week helped him earn Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week honors. He became the first Bison in 2007 to earn weekly recognition from the Patriot League. - Opening its 18th season of Patriot League play, Bucknell will look to move above the .500 mark in conference openers. The Bison are 8-8-1 all-time in their first Patriot League game and have not lost an opener since 2002, going 4-0-0 over that span. - With a win Saturday at Navy, Bucknell will extend its unbeaten streak to four games, its longest since a four-game unbeaten streak was halted by No. 4 Virginia in last year's NCAA Tournament. The Bison will also be looking for their first two-game winning streak of the season. - Bucknell has outshot its opponents 125-85 this season. The Bison were outshot 346-220 all of last year and have not attempted more shots than their opponents since 2003. Bucknell has fired more shots than each of its last six opponents, including a 22-7 advantage in Sunday's 1-0 last-minute home win against Niagara. - Ninth-year Bucknell head coach Brendan Nash will be going for his 75th career victory Saturday at Navy. Nash owns a career record of 74-66-23. About Navy - Saturday's match begins a stretch where Navy will play four of five games at home. - Sophomore forward Andrew Garcia and senior forward Doug DeVuono lead the Mids this year with three goals apiece. DeVuono was the Patriot League and ECAC Player of the Week last week thanks to a hat trick in a 4-0 win over Florida Gulf Coast University. Senior defender Anthony Parker was also honored by the Patriot League, picking up Defensive Player of the Week honors. - Senior goalie Evan Barnes has started five games for Navy and has three shutouts to his credit. He owns a 0.74 goals-against average and has a save percentage of .765. Up Next |
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