Author: Andrew Arnao

Categories
Softball Sports Uncategorized Women

Softball opens season

Thomas Walter

Senior Writer

After winning its season opener, the softball team dropped three straight during its road trip in Cleveland last weekend. The final scores were an 8-7 victory against St. Bonaventure, two losses (3-0, 6-2) to Cleveland State and a 4-1 loss to Canisius.

Mallory Lyons ’14 led the Bison with three hits and three RBIs, as the Orange and Blue defeated St. Bonaventure 8-7 in 10 innings. Caryn Connors ’14, who pinch-ran and scored the go-ahead run for the Bison in the ninth inning, was pleased with the Bison’s performance.

“Our first game win was a great start to the season. We battled through 10 innings to get the win so that made it that much more special,” Connors said. “However, there is still a lot more work to be done and we have not lost sight of that.”

The Bison dropped their next three games, two to Cleveland State with a game against Canisius in between. Connors, who also pinch-ran in the fourth and final game of the weekend, said that the team will continue to just focus on the little things as the season gets underway.

“Winning our first game of the season proves that we have a lot of potential this year. It also gave us a perspective on what was successful and what wasn’t which will help us tremendously in the practices and games to come,” Connors said.

Lyons has a team-leading .375 batting average, as well as three RBIs. The Bison will be back in action this weekend as the travel to Farmville, Va. to compete against Stony Brook and Longwood in the Longwood Spring Classic.

Categories
Lacrosse Sports Women

Women’s lacrosse v. Stony Brook; @ Penn State

Andrew Arnao

Sports Editor

The Bison women’s lacrosse team fell in its season openers against two nationally ranked opponents. The Orange and the Blue fell in their home opener against Stony Brook 20-5, and later suffered an 18-2 loss on the road to Penn State.

Against No. 18 Stony Brook, the Bison fell behind 2-0 after the first seven minutes of regulation. A goal by Emily Kookogey ’15 on a free position shot suggested a change in momentum for the Orange and the Blue, but Stony Brook proceeded to score four more to assume a 6-1 lead. After a couple of goals by Cori Thielemann ’15 and Emily Becker ’16, the Stony Brook offense exploded for 12 straight goals to turn a 7-3 lead into 19-3 blowout. Sam Rickels ’16 and Katelyn Miller ’14 rounded out the scoring with two late goals as the Bison suffered their first defeat of the season.

Goalie Caroline O’Neill ’15 allowed 18 goals in 52:27 of play, but also recorded 10 saves for the Bison.

“We started out very strong. Our goalie had one of the best games of her career and the defense looked very solid,” Miller said. “However, Stony Brook was very aggressive and we had a difficult time translating on offense.”

Things were not any easier for the Bison against No. 9/10 Penn State. The offense was shutout during the first half, while Penn State rattled off 13 straight goals in the game’s first 35 minutes. The Orange and the Blue got on the scoreboard with back-to-back goals by Kookogey and Madison Hurwitz ’13, but that was it for the Bison as Penn State finished with off the game with five more goals.

“Penn State [was] expected to be just as good, if not better than Stony Brook,” Miller said. “These two games [were] much harder than any game we expect to see in our conference so this is great preparation for us.”

The women’s lacrosse team will look to get back on track as they travel to Johns Hopkins to face off against the undefeated Blue Jays Saturday at 4 p.m.

Categories
Lacrosse Men Sports

Men’s lacrosse suffers upset

 Reed Dempsey

Writer

After starting the season with a win on the road against Delaware, the Bison traveled to Emmitsburg, Md. on Feb. 17 for a matchup against the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers. Two late fourth-quarter goals helped the Mountaineers rally past the Orange and Blue for a 12-11 upset.

Todd Heritage ’14 opened the day’s scoring with a shot that found the back of the net just six seconds after the opening whistle. Over the next seven minutes, the Mountaineers responded with two goals of their own to take their first lead. Not to be outdone, the Bison quickly leveled the game at two with a Chase Bailey ’13 tally and restored their one-goal lead on a man-up advantage with just under three minutes left in the first quarter. The Mountaineers were able to work the ball down the field and add a goal of their own to tie the game at three as the first quarter came to a close.

As play resumed for the second quarter, the Bison were able to rekindle some of the offensive firepower seen in week one, going on a 4-1 run with goals from Sean Doyle ’16, Peter Burke ’14, Thomas Flibotte ’16 and Heritage. By the end of the second quarter, the Bison squad had limited the Mountaineers to just three shots while forcing three turnovers.

“We got good opportunities and limited our turnovers,” midfielder David Dickson ’15 said. “The offense looked solid.”

As play resumed for the second half, Mount St. Mary’s had a four-goal rally of their own, bringing the score to 8-7 in favor of the Mountaineers. Less than a minute later, Heritage tied the game with his third goal of the day. With time coming to a close in the third quarter, Mount St. Mary’s was able to take advantage of its fourth extra-man opportunity, to regain the lead for the third time.

The Mountaineers added a tally early in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to two goals. Over the next 10 minutes, the Orange and Blue utilized goals from Burke and Heritage to tie the game before Bailey found the back of the net on an unassisted tally to reinstate the Bison lead.

The Mountaineers tied the game with 1:35 left in the game. They then won the ensuing face-off, established the ball on offense and scored to bring the game to 12-11.

The Mountaineers again won the face-off and held the ball until Jackson Place ’14 forced a turnover, allowing the Bison to gain possession on the offensive half of the field with less than 30 seconds remaining. The Orange and Blue were unable to capitalize on their shots before time expired.

“We’ve already put the Mount St. Mary’s game behind us and we now know what it is going to take to win moving forward,” Dickson said.

The Bison look to rebound against the Bryant Bulldogs, who will visit campus Saturday at 1 p.m.

Categories
Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis triumphs

Emily Evancho

Contributing Writer

The men’s tennis team returned to its winning ways last weekend, defeating Niagara and St. Bonaventure 5-2 in two road matches. Kyle Rosen ’14 secured the team’s victories for both matches, bringing the Bison’s record for the season to 3-2.

Against Niagara, the Orange and Blue struggled in doubles matches, only securing an 8-4 win from the team of Octavio Canibe ’15 and Aidan Lynch ’14. For the singles matches, Nick Bybel ’16 succeeded with a dual victory and Kelly Morque ’13 and Josh Katten ’13 both split their opening sets, but were still successful with twin 6-1 final sets. Rosen’s 6-0, 6-4 win in his singles match brought the overall score to a 4-3 victory over Niagara.

“I am happy that we were able to pull out a tough victory,” Rosen said. “A close win like this always gives us confidence moving forward.”

The Bison wasted no time against St. Bonaventure, sweeping away doubles points early in the match. The team of Morque and Evan Zimmer ’13 took control with an 8-6 victory, and Canibe and Lynch cleaned up the doubles matches with an 8-3 win. In singles play, both Bybel and Zimmer finished their matches with two wins each. Rosen won two tough sets, each bringing 7-5 wins, to settle the score at 5-2 over St. Bonaventure.

“I was very impressed with everyone’s ability to stay positive during tough moments,” Zimmer said. “We lost to both Niagara and St. Bonaventure last year, so it felt great to pull both out this year. I hope we can bring the same intensity and focus for this weekend’s matches against Hofstra and Princeton.”

The Bison will return to the court when they challenge Hofstra and Princeton on the road this weekend.

Categories
Sports Water Polo Women

W. water polo goes 3-2

 

Edward Louie | The Bucknellian Barbara Peterson '15 winds up for a shot on goal. The women's water polo team finished with three wins.
Edward Louie | The Bucknellian
Barbara Peterson ’15 winds up for a shot on goal. The women’s water polo team finished with three wins.

Lauren Boone

Staff Writer

The Orange and Blue kicked off their season this past weekend at the Bison Invitational, where the Bison played in five matches against Mercyhurst, George Washington, Brown, Villanova and Marist. The Orange and Blue ended the weekend’s contests with a record of 3-2.

The Bison launched the weekend competition and their season with a 14-5 win over Mercyhurst. Highlight players of the game were Hannah Sunday ’16, Krystle Morgan ’13 and Julianne Valdes ’14. Sunday led the Bison with five goals, while Morgan and Valdes contributed three goals each. The Bison led the Lakers 7-1 at halftime, maintaining a lead of at least six goals throughout the second half.

Against George Washington, the Orange and Blue fell 10-9. The Bison outscored the Colonials 6-3 during the second half, but eventually gave way to George Washington’s offensive pressure. Sunday and Valdes each posted three goals for the Orange and the Blue in the loss.

The Bison then rebounded to defeat Brown 10-9. With the score tied 9-9 and just 1:36 left to play, Taylor Barnett ’15 scored the game-winning goal. To secure the victory, Rena Heim ’14 saved a shot on goal with less than a minute to go.

The Orange and Blue added to their wins with a 9-4 victory over Villanova. Sunday scored four goals, assisting in an 8-0 lead during the game. This win brought the Bison’s weekend record thus far to 3-1.

The Bison lost their final match of the weekend 9-6 to Marist. Entering the fourth quarter, the Bison trailed by only one goal. Within just under two minutes, the Red Foxes posted three goals against the Bison to put the match out of reach.

“This weekend was a great start to our season; it was a highly anticipated weekend because we had been practicing for so long. I think that the team played well together. We made a lot of mistakes but we now know exactly what we need to focus on in practice,” Sunday said.

After the opening weekend’s competition, the Bison will be back in action against Harvard and George Washington on March 2 and 3 .

Categories
Sports Tennis Women

W. tennis splits weekend

Lauren Boone

Staff Writer

The women’s tennis team travelled to Olean, N.Y. to face Niagara and St. Bonaventure this past weekend. After dropping the match against Niagara 4-3, the Orange and Blue pulled out a 5-2 win over St. Bonaventure, snapping a three-match losing streak.

Against St. Bonaventure, the Bison won the doubles point with ease. On the number one doubles court, Maria Cioffi ’16 and Elena Vidrascu ’14 dropped only one game to the Bonnies, winning 8-1. Lydia Colvin ’15 and Stephanie Pino ’16, on the second doubles court, won  8-4. St. Bonaventure defaulted the third doubles court.

The Orange and Blue were successful in their singles matches as well. St. Bonaventure defaulted another match, giving the Bison another victory in the sixth singles position.

At the number three singles position, Colvin won her match with a score of 6-3, 6-2. Jen Bush ’15 was also successful, winning her match 6-1, 6-1. On court five, Pino claimed the final point for the Bison without dropping a single game (6-0, 6-0).

“Overall, the team came out with great energy and focus. We secured the doubles point, winning both first and second doubles with relative ease. As far as singles goes, it was easy to see that we all really wanted to win, supporting one another immensely in the process,” Colvin said.

Against Niagara, Cioffi and Vidrascu gave the Bison a good start in the first doubles match with an 8-5 decision, while Bush and Christie Schneider ’15 also won their doubles match 8-3. Vidrascu and Pino also contributed individual victories, but the Bison were unable to overcome a late Niagara comeback in the loss.

The Orange and Blue will be back on the courts tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Quakertown, Pa. against Hofstra.

Categories
Basketball Men Sports

M. basketball beats Lehigh

Eric Brod

Senior Writer

The true character of a team is best seen in times of adversity.  That was the case as the Bison took sole possession of first place in the Patriot League with a pivotal 61-55 victory over Lehigh on Feb. 18 after falling to Lafayette 63-62 on Feb. 16. The Bison’s record now stands at 22-5 overall and 9-2 in league play. The Orange and Blue have three games remaining to secure home-court advantage throughout the Patriot League Tournament.

The Bison traveled to Stabler Arena with first place in the league on the line and were able to snap their three-game losing streak to Lehigh. On a night when Mike Muscala ’13 and Joe Willman ’13 were in foul trouble in each half, the bench came up huge to give the team a much needed lift. Bryson Johnson ’13 heated up in the second half and led the team with a game-high 19 points to push the Bison past the Mountain Hawks (18-7, 8-3).

The Orange and Blue got off to a quick 7-0 lead, capped off by a three from Cameron Ayers ’14, but Muscala, who finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, picked up two quick fouls. Brian Fitzpatrick ’13 provided a tremendous spark off the bench with six first-half points and 10 rebounds in place of Muscala. 

“Obviously Mike [Muscala] is our best player, so with him out it is definitely a big loss. I just went out there and played my game. I played good defense, rebounded and scored when I got the opportunities,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick’s effort helped the Bison maintain the lead for much of the first half, but a 13-4 run by Lehigh to end the half gave the Mountain Hawks a slim 24-23 lead going into halftime.

The first 7:20 of the second half were frantic with seven lead changes and three ties. Johnson, who struggled for much of the first half, found his stroke as he made two straight three’s to break the 37-37 time to push the Orange and Blue lead to 43-37. A three-point play by Muscala and two more threes from Johnson and Ben Brackney ’14 gave the Bison a 52-41 lead. Lehigh cut the Bison lead to 52-48 with 5:59 remaining in the game.

Driving baskets by Johnson and Ryan Frazier ’16 extended the lead back to 58-51 with 1:57 left. Frazier also provided a tremendous defensive effort off the bench, holding Lehigh guard Mackey McKnight to just two points in the final 15 minutes of the game.

The Orange and Blue could not put the game away at the foul line, and a Lehigh basket cut the lead to 58-55 with just 51 seconds remaining. Trying to use up as much clock as possible, the Bison ran the clock down near the end of the shot clock, at which time Ayers drove to the basket and somehow got a miraculous circus-like layup in the basket to give the Bison a 60-55 lead that virtually sealed the victory.

After shooting just 29.6 percent in the first half, the Bison shot 51.9 percent in the second half, while holding Lehigh to 40.0 percent shooting for the game. After Lehigh shot 10-18 three-pointers in the first match-up between the two teams, the defense held them to just 1-15, while the Bison shot 6-17 from three-point range.

The Bison saw their five-game winning streak come to an end on Feb. 16 when they lost to Lafayette on guard Tony Johnson’s game winning jumper with just 4.5 seconds remaining. Muscala recorded 29 points and 15 rebounds while Ayers had 20 points and was 8-12 shooting overall and 4-6 from beyond the arc.

Ayers, who scored 17 of his 20 points in a second half effort, nailed a three to give the Bison a 60-59 lead. Ayers then hit another jumper to give extend the Bison lead to 62-59.

The team was unable to put the game away as Johnson and Brackney both missed threes in the final minute of the game. After Brackney’s miss, Lafayette hit the game winning jumper. Ayers contested three at the buzzer came up short to give Lafayette the victory.

“Obviously it’s a huge boost in our confidence.  The loss to Lafayette really stung, and I am just glad we were able to rebound and get a big win,” Fitzpatrick said. “We still got three  big games left in league play to clinch home court. We need to keep getting better as a team because we will most likely see Lehigh again in the tournament.”

The Bison return home this weekend to face Holy Cross at noon on Feb. 24.

Categories
Basketball Sports Women

W. basketball drops two PL contests

Heather Oros | The Bucknellian Katherine Harris '15 fakes out a defender. Her five points and five assists were not enough to overcome a furious Lafayette comeback.
Heather Oros | The Bucknellian
Katherine Harris ’15 fakes out a defender. Her five points and five assists were not enough to overcome a furious Lafayette comeback.

Ajan Caneda

Senior Writer

The women’s basketball team had a solid start against Lafayette on Feb. 16, but the Leopards’ second half turnaround guided them to a 66-61 overtime victory over the Orange and Blue. After a low-scoring first half at Lehigh on Feb. 20, a late scoring run by the Mountain Hawks gave the Orange and Blue a 49-37 loss. The team is now 13-13 overall (4-7 in conference play) with three regular season games remaining.

Audrey Dotson ’15 scored nine points that led to a 13-9 start for the Bison. The Orange and Blue ended the half on a 20-5 run, leading to a 37-21 advantage at the break. Katherine Harris ’15 started the run with a jumper, while Lindsay Horbatuck’s ’13 free throw shooting and Shelby Romine’s ’14 two three-pointers cushioned the Bison lead.

The Leopards opened the second half with a 10-0 run. Dotson countered the blitz with back-to-back lay-ups to make it a 13-point game. Despite the effort, the Leopards scored 12 unanswered points. The Orange and Blue countered with a 6-0 run of their own and carried a 54-47 lead with 2:38 remaining.

“I think we went through too long of a scoring lull and allowed Lafayette to score the way they wanted to in the second half. They hit some important shots and made great plays and we needed to shut that down earlier in the half,” Dotson said.

Lafayette fouled Alyssa Dunn ’13 with seven seconds left in the game. She made one of two free throws to make it 55-53. Lafayette forced the game into overtime on a game-tying jump shot as time expired.

In overtime, Lafayette got its first lead of the game since the opening minutes of the game. The Bison were unable to regain the advantage, as they were outscored 11-6 in the extra period. Dotson led all scorers with 19 points. Romine was also in double figures with 11 points to go along with five assists.

Despite the Bison’s 16-point halftime lead, Lafayette’s 53.8 percent showing in the second half (14-26) propelled them to force overtime and claim the victory.

“The Lafayette game served as a reminder that the game isn’t over until the time runs out. In this league anybody can beat anybody and just because you have a lead doesn’t mean that the game is over,” Dotson said.

At Lehigh, the first half score was 18-8 in favor of the Mountain Hawks. The Bison offense was stronger in the second half, as they cut the lead to two with 4:31 left in the game. Unfortunately, Lehigh engineered a 12-2 run to steal the win. Romine led the Orange and Blue with 20 points, while Dotson scored 12 points and registered four blocks.

“I think in future games we need to keep focusing on our game plan and what we need to do to win games. We know that to win games we need to play our defense, outrebound our opponents and win the toughness battle,” Horbatuck said.

The Bison return to action on Saturday when they travel to Holy Cross before facing American in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 27.

Categories
Men Sports Wrestling

Wrestling loses twice

 

Estie Pyper | The Bucknellian Adam Healey '13 stares down his opponent in a recent match. The men's wrestling team dropped both its matches this weekend against American and Clarion.
Estie Pyper | The Bucknellian
Adam Healey ’13 stares down his opponent in a recent match. The men’s wrestling team dropped both its matches this weekend against American and Clarion.

Billy Tyler

Assistant Sports Editor

The men’s wrestling team dropped its last two road dual matches of the season this past weekend. The Bison fell to Clarion 25-16 on Feb. 15 and were defeated by American 21-17 the next day.

The Orange and Blue put in a solid effort against Clarion, but were unable to overcome a forfeit in the 125 lb. match, despite winning four of the nine contested bouts. Paul Petrov ’16, Corey Lear ’13 and Joe Stolfi ’15 all entered the match against Clarion on hot streaks, continuing them in the match. Petrov, winner in seven of his last nine matches, won a major decision 16-6 in the 133 lb. match. Building on his 15-2 record in his last 17 matches, Lear gained a victory against Clarion on a 16-0 technical fall. Stolfi won his match in a 10-2 major decision to build his winning streak to 10 in the last 11 matches. Also finding victory for the Bison was Robert Marchese ’16 who doubled his season wins in his last six matches with three wins. Marchese won by an 8-4 decision in the 184 lb. match.

A similar story unfolded for the Bison the next day. Although the team won five of its nine contested bouts, it was unable to overcome a forfeit in the 125 lb. class and a pin in the 149 lb. class. Despite entering the final bout of the match with a chance to win following Tyler Lyster’s ’15 technical fall victory in the 197 lb. match, the Bison were unable to pull out the victory. Other Bison winners in this match include Petrov (7-3 decision), Derrik Russell ’13 (5-2 decision), Vincent Favia ’16 (3-2 decision) and Lear (4-3 decision).

The Bison close out their regular season Friday at 7 p.m. in Davis Gym against Lehigh.

Categories
Men's Volleyball Sports

Club volleyball starts 2-0

Shane Kiefer | The Bucknellian King Gorospe '15 prepares to spike the ball in one of the club volleyball team's opening matches.
Shane Kiefer | The Bucknellian
King Gorospe ’15 prepares to spike the ball in one of the club volleyball team’s opening matches.

Billy Tyler

Assistant Sports Editor

The men’s club volleyball team, fresh off a couple of victories this past weekend, is back in action. The Bison are coming off a fantastic season, finishing ninth at Nationals last year. With only one senior graduated from that team and the addition of several talented new members, the club volleyball team has high hopes for an even more successful season this year, which should be capped with a great performance at Nationals in Dallas, Texas.

The Bison began their season this past week with two solid victories over Lock Haven and Desales University. In their first match they handily defeated Lock Haven 3-1, behind solid performances from Mike Wolf ’14 and Andreas Bub ’15. The next match was a similar story. Led by Alex Lin ’13 and Captain Shane Kiefer ’14, the Orange and the Blue shut out Desales 3-0.

“All of us are really excited for how the season is shaping up,” Kiefer said. “The season has just got underway for us, but we started off with two big league wins and we really think that we can make a huge run at Nationals again this year.”

The Bison will be in action this Sunday at 12:30 p.m. in Davis Gym as they take on Penn Tech and Scranton.