Bucknell Men's Soccer to Visit Princeton in First Round of NCAA Tournament

16-5 Bison Captured Patriot League Title on Sunday

Sean King and the Bison seniors will be making their second NCAA Tournament appearance.

Nov. 16, 2009

NCAA Tournament Bracket

Selection Show Video & Interviews video camera

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell men's soccer team will be on the road to start the NCAA Tournament, traveling to Princeton for an opening-round matchup on Thursday at 7 p.m., at Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium. Now 16-5 on the season, the Bison punched their ticket to the national tournament for the second time in the last four years by defeating American 1-0 in the Patriot League championship match on Sunday. Princeton is 9-5-3 overall and finished third in the Ivy League behind Harvard and Brown.

The Bucknell-Princeton winner will meet national No. 2 seed Virginia in the second round on Sunday. The last time Bucknell played in the NCAA Tournament in 2006, it defeated George Mason 1-0 in overtime in the first round, then lost to Virginia 4-0 in round two.

Bucknell is making its fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Bison are 2-4 all-time in NCAA play, having defeated Penn State 1-0 in 1974 and George Mason in 2006.

Bucknell and Princeton have met only twice previously on the soccer pitch, that coming in a home-and-home series in 2005 and 2006. The Bison won the first meeting on Princeton's home field, 1-0, but the Tigers returned the favor the following season, winning 1-0 in Lewisburg.

Both teams feature double-digit goal-scorers. Bucknell's Conor O'Brien, the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, has a league-high 11 goals, the last coming in overtime to beat Lafayette in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. O'Brien also has a league-best eight assists on the season. For Princeton, Antoine Hoppenot leads the way with 10 goals, and he is coming off a hat trick in a 4-0 win over Yale on Friday.

Princeton will be making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and its first since 2001. The Tigers played three Patriot League teams during the regular season, winning them all by shutout. Princeton defeated Lehigh (1-0), American (3-0) and Colgate (3-0).

Bucknell has broken the program record and tied the Patriot League mark for wins in a season. The 16 victories are third-most in the nation, trailing only No. 1 overall seed Akron (20-0-0) and Monmouth (18-1-1). Of those 16 wins, 11 have come by shutout, including nine 1-0 results.

Information on multimedia coverage of the Bucknell-Princeton match will be announced in the coming days.

Online Auction: 2009 Patriot League Men's Soccer Autographed Championship Ball (ends Nov. 23)