By Eric Brod
Senior Writer
The Orange and Blue head into the final stretch of the regular season at 7-7-2 after playing a tough Penn State squad to a 0-0 draw at home Wednesday night and losing to Patriot League rival Army 2-1 last Saturday in West Point, NY.
On Wednesday night at Emmitt Field, the Bison had numerous scoring opportunities but were unable to find the back of the net as they played the Nittany Lions to a scoreless draw. Marc Hartmann ’12, making his third start of the season in net, made all four of his saves in the second half and overtime to preserve the scoreless tie. Josh Plump ’13 had numerous scoring chances throughout the game, while CK Kumah ’13 had a stellar chance at the end of the second half when he sent a strike in but was stopped on the near post.
With 24 minutes left in regulation, Andrew Powell ’12 just missed on a shot to the left post. A Penn State goal was waved off due to an off-sides penalty just 90 seconds into the overtime session. After that, neither team was able to generate much offense, but Hartmann made some saves to help preserve the tie.
On Saturday, the Bison fell to Army 2-1 in a tightly contested battle as the Orange and Blue fell to 2-3 in league play. After falling behind 1-0 early in the first half, the team rallied to tie the game in the 54th minute when Plump scored his third goal of the season off a beautiful crossing pass from Brendan Burgdorf ’13.
In the 73rd minute, Army’s Arnold Chun netted what eventually proved to be the game-winner. Despite outshooting Army 19-11, the Bison were unable to extend their league winning streak to three games. Tommy Caso ’12 played another solid game in goal, making two saves. After the game, head coach Brendan Nash stressed the importance of retaining a positive attitude.
“The biggest things are to just keep working hard and believe we can still reach our goals,” Nash said. “We have one of the best teams in the PL and the whole league realizes this is the case.”
The Orange and Blue return to action tomorrow when they travel to upstate New York to take on Colgate in a crucial Patriot League match. The Bison must at least tie to have a chance at making the Patriot League tournament. Nash believes this is possible.
“If our student-athletes keep doing what we have been doing, the unlucky bounces will start going our way,” Nash said. “We are very close to where we need to be, but we have to work a little harder and focus a little more to reach that next level. When we do this, everything else will fall into place.”