Nov. 4, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- For the Bucknell men's soccer squad, one final game remains in the 2009 campaign, and there are many subplots to explore as the contest draws near. Patriot League rival Lehigh is the opponent, with game time slated for 7 p.m. Friday night at Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium.
Among the questions to be answered this weekend:
Will Bucknell be the Patriot League regular-season champion? At 5-1 in the Patriot League, the Bison have a two-point lead over American at the top of the table. Bucknell can finish no lower than second, but it would love to host the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2003, and for the first time ever at Emmitt Field. A victory over Lehigh clinches the title, but a loss or tie means the Bison will need help from Colgate, which plays at American on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Who will Bucknell open with in the four-team Patriot League Tournament? Well, right now that question is not easy to answer thanks to a major mess in the middle of the league standings. Entering the final weekend, Lehigh sits in third place with 10 points, while Holy Cross, Lafayette and Colgate all have nine. Only seventh-place Navy and eighth-place Army are eliminated from postseason contention. In addition to Bucknell-Lehigh and American-Colgate, Holy cross travels to Army and Navy visits Lafayette. The top seed plays the No. 4 seed in one tournament semifinal, while the No. 2 plays the No. 3, all at the home site of the regular-season champion.
Can Bucknell keep adding to its record victory total? Last week's 1-0 win over Lafayette on Fox Soccer Channel gave the Bison its school-record 14th win against only four losses. The 14 wins are the third-most in the nation, trailing only No. 1 Akron (16-0) and No. 9 Monmouth (15-1-1). Bucknell can reach another milestone with a win over Lehigh. The Patriot League record for regular-season victories is 15, set by Lehigh in 2006. (The record for overall wins in a season, including postseason, is 16 by Lafayette in 1998.)
Can the seniors equal the program record for wins by a class? Seniors Will Byrne, Sean King, Alex Meisel, Conor O'Brien and Partick Selwood will be honored prior to the game as part of Senior Night ceremonies. That group has been a part of 40 victories over the last four seasons. The school record for wins by one class is 41, set by the Class of 1976, which featured All-American Scott Strasburg, one of the best players in program history.
BISON MEN'S SOCCER NOTEBOOK
Coverage
- Click HERE to follow Bucknell-Lehigh live stats via GameTracker.
Bucknell vs. Lehigh Series Notes
- These two rivals have played 52 times since 1960, and the tightly contested series is deadlocked at 22-22-8. As Patriot League rivals, Lehigh leads 13-6-4, although the Bison are 3-1-2 in the last six meetings.
- Bucknell and Lehigh have met four times in the Patriot League Tournament. Lehigh won 1-0 in 2000 and 2-0 in 2003. In 2004 and 2006 the two teams were tied after 110 minutes and went to penalty kicks. Lehigh prevailed in PKs in 2004, but the Bison upset the then-14th-ranked and top-seeded Mountain Hawks in the semifinals two years later.
- The last meeting in Lewisburg was televised live on the Fox Soccer Channel and was played in front of a crowd of more than 1,200. The Bison won it 3-1 on goals from Conor O'Brien, Alex Russo and Ross Liberati. O'Brien, who also had an assist in the game, scored just 1:45 in to send the Bison on their way. Patrick Cucci scored Lehigh's goal in the 88th minute.
- Last season in Bethlehem, the Bison found themselves behind 2-0 less than 10 minutes into the game, but facing elimination from postseason contention somehow rallied with three straight goals to steal a 3-2 win over the Mountain Hawks. Adam Welch and Matthew McNeil opened the scoring for Lehigh, but O'Brien scored in the 16th minute to bring the Bison within 2-1 at the half. Dirk Swaneveld, a senior defender who had only one other goal in his career, scored early in the second half to tie it. Then in the 64th minute, Lehigh was called for a hand ball just outside the box, and O'Brien hammered in the free kick to make it 3-2.
About Lehigh
- Two weeks ago Lehigh helped out Bucknell by playing then-first-place American to a scoreless tie. That is part of a current four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) for the Mountain Hawks that has them in position for a Patriot League Tournament berth if it can either win on Friday or get help from elsewhere around the league.
- Lehigh is 8-5-3 overall and 3-2-1 in the league. Among the Mountain Hawks' non-conference results were a 2-1 win over Stanford in the season opener, a 3-2 win over then-No. 24 College of Charleston and a 1-1 tie at Penn State (Bucknell lost 3-2 to Charleston and lost 2-1 at home to Penn State).
- In Patriot League play, the Mountain Hawks have beaten Colgate (2-1 OT), Holy Cross (3-0) and Army, lost to Lafayette (1-0) and Navy (2-1 OT) and tied Amerian (0-0).
- Adam Welch is the team's top scorer with 13 points on four goals and five assists. Adam Gazda (3-5-11) and Austin Decker (5-0-10) also rank among the league scoring leaders.
- In goal, Jonathan Nydell has made every start and has 58 saves with 17 goals-against in 16 appearances.
- Lehigh has outscored opponents 26-17 on the season.
About the Bison
- Last time out, Bucknell defeated Lafayette 1-0 at home, with the only goal coming on Luke Joyner's header off Conor O'Brien's corner kick with 12:13 remaining in regulation. The game was televised live on Fox Soccer Channel and drew a stadium-record crowd of 1,464.
- Joyner, who also had a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win over NJIT earlier in the week, was named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week and the ECAC Player of the Week. Joyner hit the double-digit points mark for the season, as he now has three goals and six assists for 12 points. His assist total ranks second in the Patriot League behind only teammate Conor O'Brien.
- Tommy Caso earned his third Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week award of the season on Monday. He earned his seventh shutout of the season against Lafayette, lowering his season goals-against average to 0.90, the second-best mark in the league.
- O'Brien now has an assist in four straight games and a point in five straight. Moreover, he has a point in 15 of the team's 18 games this season, and in 20 of the last 23 matches dating back to last year.
- O'Brien is one of only two players in the nation leading his conference in both goals and assists. Charlie Reiter of Davidson (Southern) is the other.
- Ross Liberati, Andrew Powell, Travis Rand, Jermaine Jarrett deserve major credit for the win over Lafayette. That was Bucknell's back four with co-captain and defensive leader Patrick Selwood unable to suit up because of the flu. Powell moved from the outside to center back and was responsible for shadowing super-quick forward B.J. Glenn, who scored two goals in his last appearance at Bucknell in 2007. Powell and the Bison held Glenn to just two shots, neither of which were on frame.
- Bucknell is now 3-0 on national television over the last three seasons. On Fox Soccer Channel the Bison defeated Lafayette last week and Lehigh in 2007, and they beat Penn State on the Big Ten Network last year.
- Bucknell has now scored a goal in 23 straight games, the longest streak in Division I soccer. The Bison have also scored in 51 of their last 52 games dating back to the 2007 season.
- The Bison lead the Patriot League in both goals per game (1.67) and fewest goals allowed per game (0.82).
- Seven of the team's nine shutouts this season have come by 1-0 counts.
Looking Ahead
- The Patriot League Tournament begins Friday, Nov. 13 and will be played at either Bucknell or American. The championship match will be Sunday, Nov. 15, with the winner advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
