Author: Alex Wagner

Categories
Men Sports Water Polo

Water polo goes 2-3 at Rodeo

Scott Padula

Staff Writer

The men’s water polo team went 2-3 when they traveled to Santa Clara, Calif. to compete in the Santa Clara Rodeo. The Bison started by defeating host team No. 19 Santa Clara 10-7 and then dropped their next three decisions to Cal Baptist 6-5, No. 13 Air Force 9-6 and No. 4 Stanford 14-2. They bounced back in their final game of the invitational by besting No. 16 UC Davis 14-6. The Orange and Blue are now 11-13 as they head into championship season.

To kick off the weekend, the Orange and Blue faced Santa Clara. The Bison and Broncos played an even game throughout. The Bison gained an edge in the third quarter by outscoring the Broncos 5-3. Jack Else ’14 led the Bison in scoring with a hat trick. Mike Kimble ’14 and Nick Hale ’16 rounded out the Bison with multi-goal performances, netting two goals apiece.

“We were finally able to put together a solid set of games and that was a huge positive going into playoff season. Our team defense looked fantastic and our offense was really on point. If we can stick to our fundamentals and not get flustered during games, we should be able to make a run during the championship season,” Kimble said.

In their second game, the Orange and Blue lost to Cal Baptist. The teams traded goals regularly in the first two quarters, leading to a tie at half. The Orange and Blue scored the lone goal in the third quarter, taking a 5-4 advantage into the fourth. The Lancers held the Bison scoreless in the final quarter while scoring two goals of their own. Despite the loss, co-captain Matt Napleton ’13 looked strong in goal, recording 16 saves in the 32 minutes of play. Again, Else and Hale led the Orange and Blue offensive with two goals each. Else also tallied four ejections drawn. On defense, co-captain Brian Barron ’13 registered a team-high four steals in the contest.

The Orange and Blue fared worse in their second game of the day against Air Force. In the first half, the Falcons scored five times, while the Orange and Blue only found the back of the net once. Despite scoring five times in the second half, the Bison could not overcome the four goal first half deficit. The Orange and Blue had a very balanced attack against the Falcons with all six Bison goals coming from different players. Stefan Aleksic ’16 was high point man for the Bison with three points coming from one goal and two assists. In goal, Napleton recorded 15 saves.

“There were times in the weekend where we were not as focused as we should have been, and it showed in our play. Our offense was inconsistent. We showed flashes of brilliance and stretches of where we couldn’t get much going. We need to become more consistent offensively, which will in turn help our defense,” Napleton said.

Next, the Orange and Blue faced Stanford. The Orange and Blue were held scoreless in the first, second and fourth quarters. The two Bison goals came in the third from Aleksic and Kimble. Splitting time in goal, both Napleton and Keegan Williams ’15 made eight saves and allowed seven goals in 16 minutes of play.

The Bison showed their resilience in their final game of the weekend by defeating UC Davis. The Orange and Blue fell behind 4-2 early in the first quarter, but responded by rattling off 11 straight goals. By the time the Aggies ended the 11-0 run, the Orange and Blue had a 13-4 lead. The Bison dominated the second quarter, thanks to a tremendous effort from Aleksic, who had nine points from four goals and five assists. This placed him in a tie with Barron for the most points tallied by a Bison in a game. Julian Colina ’14, Kimble and Barron also had multi-goal games. In net, Napleton stopped 10 shots, pushing his career-high season save total to 252.

“The weekend gave us some good experience and confidence heading into the end of our season. We proved we can win against some high level competition, and that if we can bring a high level of focus to each game, we are a tough team to beat,” Napleton said.

The Orange and Blue will have a week off to train before hosting the Southern Championships on Nov. 2-4.

Categories
Soccer Sports Women

Women’s soccer fights for playoff spot

Ajan Caneda
Copy Editor

The women’s soccer team defeated Lafayette 1-0 this past weekend to put itself in prime position to secure a playoff spot. Earlier last week, the Bison suffered a 2-1 loss at Lehigh in a double overtime thriller. The Orange and Blue are currently fourth in the Patriot League standings with one regular season game left to play.

“Going into the Lafayette game, we knew we had to win. Our team handled that pressure and I thought we remained composed even though it was 0-0 for the majority of the game,” Kayla Yee ’13 said.

On Sunday, the Bison defeated Lafayette 1-0 in a hard fought match-up. Defense was the focus for both teams, as they combined for only four shot attempts in the first half.

The Orange and Blue pressured the Leopard defense, as they attempted six shots in the second half. In her first minutes of the match, Jenna Tryon ’13 launched a cross pass that found Taryn Boucher ’13, who scored the game winning goal on a leaping volley with seven minutes and six seconds remaining in the game. Boucher also shined on the other end of the field, leading to her first career Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week award.

“Taryn [Boucher] had a great goal with about seven minutes to play, and after that our defense did great to finish out the game and keep them off the scoreboard,” Yee said.

At Lehigh, the Bison were in unusual territory, as they went into overtime for the first time this season.

Thirty seconds into the first half, Chelsey Garkowski ’14 nailed a goal in the top left corner of the net to give the Orange and Blue the early lead. The Mountain Hawks answered back with a goal in the 12th minute to tie the score. It remained 1-1 at halftime.

The Mountain Hawks picked up the intensity in the second half with 11 shot attempts. The Bison defense remained stout, preventing Lehigh from finding the net. Goalie Sandita McDermott ’13 continued her sensational goalkeeping with a season-high of 12 saves. Unfortunately, the Orange and Blue only had five shot attempts in the second half, two of which were on target. The game remained 1-1 heading into overtime.

Lehigh carried their momentum into overtime with 13 shot attempts. The Bison offense struggled to produce, finishing with one shot attempt in the overtime period. Even with a strong defensive performance, the Mountain Hawk attack was too much, as a Lehigh goal clinched the game in the 106th minute.

Garkowski finished with a team-high four shot attempts. Courtney Nelson ’15 had three of her own, while six players finished with one.

The Bison will conclude their regular season tomorrow in Annapolis, Md. against Navy. The Orange and Blue can clinch a playoff berth with a win or tie against the Midshipmen, or a Lehigh loss or draw tomorrow.

“Saturday is a big game; we have to win or draw against Navy in order to make playoffs. I have complete confidence in my team and am looking forward to Saturday,” Yee said.

Categories
Sports Volleyball Women

Women’s volleyball wins first two in PL play

Katherine Harris
Writer

The women’s volleyball team had a breakout performance at home last weekend, beating both Lehigh and Lafayette in five sets each to end its losing streak and earn its first two wins in Patriot League play.

“The team did an amazing job all across the board. Everybody that came on the court made a contribution, and we were definitely playing as a team this weekend. We were playing for each other,” Kebah Edoho ’13 said.

The Bison faced Lehigh on Oct. 19, trying to break their losing streak. The team started off strong, winning the first two sets of the match, before facing a Mountain Hawks comeback in the third and fourth sets. The Orange and Blue battled back in the final set to take the victory.

Morgan Mientus ’14 and Edoho both had impressive matches, with Mientus finishing with 11 digs, eight kills and four blocks, while Edoho had eight kills and seven blocks. Claire Healy ’16 played strong, grabbing a double-double of 15 kills and 14 digs, as well as four blocks. Her fellow teammates also led in many ways, with Meghan Wentzel ’16 having 21 assists and four service aces, Karen Campbell ’16 recording eight blocks and Katie Price ’16 posting a career-high 22 digs.

“I was really proud of my team this weekend. We finally pulled everything together and took control of the game. It felt great to play up to our potential and finally come away with a W instead of a moral victory. We also had a lot of girls step up,” Kat Tauscher ’13 said. “On Friday it was so much fun to play in front of so many fans. They were extremely loud and supportive and really helped us push through and win that fifth set.”

The Orange and Blue then went on to face Lafayette on Oct. 20. The team started slow, losing the first two sets. They stayed strong and fought back to win the match in five sets.

Mientus, Wentzel, Tauscher and Kristen Titley ’14 all had standout performances on the day, with all four recording double-doubles for the Bison. Leylin Marroquin ’14 also had her best match of the season, recording a season high of 16 digs on the day.

“This is the BUVB I know, and I am glad that we are finally starting to show it,” Edoho said.

The Orange and Blue will continue Patriot League play at home next week when they face Holy Cross on Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. On Nov. 3 the Bison will have their final regular season home game, battling Army at 5 p.m. in Davis Gym.

Categories
Sports

Bison Athlete of the Week: Caroline Tolli ’13

 

Alex Wagner

Sports Editor

Player Profile

Caroline Tolli ’13

Lockport, N.Y.

Education and Spanish

 

Season stats:

8th of 110 (16:21) at Harry Lang Invitational

1st of 97 (18:27) at Detroit Titan Invitational

2nd of 34 (19:43) at Saint Francis (Pa.) Invitational

13th of 243 (21:47) at Pre-Nationals

Caroline Tolli ’13 has been one of the most consistently strong performers on the women’s cross country team all year. Her performance over the weekend at Pre-Nationals in Louisville, Ky. was no exception. Tolli finished in 13th place out of a strong 243 competitor field after finishing the Sawyer State Park’s six-kilometer course in 21:47. She was one of two Orange and Blue runners finishing in the top 100.

“The course at Pre-Nationals is well-made, very flat and fast. It’s unlike any course we’ve run on so far this year, as we’ve been training and racing on hills in preparation for the Patriot League Championship,” Tolli said. “Knowing the course was fast (and the competition good), we all as a team tried to get off to an aggressive start on Saturday and keep moving up in the field throughout the race. It was a lot of fun to run hard on such a nice course–I tried to make the most of the opportunity and enjoy every minute.”

Tolli’s strong performance helped lift the Bison to a 12th place finish out of a 27-team field. Now her focus is on the future as the Patriot League Championships approach.

“My finish definitely gives me momentum in training the next few weeks going into the Patriot League meet, where I just want to do all I can to help my talented, hardworking team win a championship,” Tolli said.

Categories
Golf Sports Women

Lee leads women’s golf

Alex Wagner

Sports Editor

On Oct. 15 and 16, the women’s golf team earned a ninth place finish at the Mid-America Conference Preview tournament in Nashport, Ohio behind a career-best performance from Jen Lee ’16.

Lee shot a 74 on Monday, just two above par, and an 83 on Tuesday to tie for 13th place in individual scores and to become the Orange and Blue’s top performer.

Unfortunately, her strong individual performance did not translate to a top spot for the Bison, who finished in ninth place out of 15 teams with rounds of 320 and 325.

Bridget Wilcox ’14 also performed well, shooting rounds of 77 and 82 for a 159 total, earning her a tie for 20th place, just two strokes behind Lee. Lauren Bernard ’14 finished in a tie for 46th with a 164, Kasha Scott ’14 finished in a tie for 57th with a 166 and Emily Timmons ’15 finished in a tie for 72nd with 171 strokes.

Ball State won the tournament with a team score of 621, followed by Bowling Green State with 624 and Eastern Michigan with 625.

The last event this fall for the Orange and Blue will be the Palmetto Invitational at Kiawah Island, S.C. on Oct. 28-29.

Categories
Football Men Sports

Football drops fifth game in a row

 

Chloe Chou | The Bucknellian
Brandon Wesley ’14 looks for an opening in the opposition’s defense. The Orange and Blue were only able to find the end zone in the final minutes of the game against Harvard.

Eric Brod
Senior Writer

Coming off a hard fought loss to Holy Cross last week, the Bison were stifled by No. 21 Harvard as they dropped their fifth straight game 35-7.

Early on, the Orange and Blue defense proved stout against Harvard, forcing two punts and an interception on their first three possessions. An interception by Evan Byers ’15 gave the possession to the Orange and Blue at the 12-yard line. Quarterback Brandon Wesley ’14, after completing seven of his first 10 passes of the game for 79 yards, threw an interception in the end zone. With 3:01 left in the first quarter, the Crimson took the lead on a six-yard touchdown run.

Harvard was able to pull away in the second quarter by outscoring the Bison 21-0 and outgaining them on offense 237-21. The backbreaking play for the Bison came when a Harvard tight end caught a 20-yard pass, and ran for the touchdown, digging the Orange and Blue in a 28-0 halftime hole.

The Bison played much stronger in the second half, holding the Crimson to only a single touchdown. The offense finally broke through in the game’s final minute when Wesley led the offense on a 10 play, 91-yard drive that ended in a one-yard touchdown run by Jeremiah Young ’13.

“Our team continues to play hard at every position through the course of the game. Evan Byers continues to improve, as does Jordan Dudas [’15], and Matt Steinbeck [’15],” head coach Joe Susan said. “We need to eliminate turnovers and do a better job of catching the ball in our receiver group. We are bringing along more young players. In this league you cannot stay young very long.”

Wesley finished the game 21-29 for 227 yards. Travis Friend ’14, Charles Thompson ’14, Tyler Smith ’13 and Young contributed to 10 catches for 108 yards. Byers had an outstanding game with two interceptions.

The Bison rushing attack was stifled by the top-ranked rushing defense in the nation, gaining just 23 yards on 37 carries.

“We had some match-up issues with their front seven,” Susan said. “Their front four is the best I have seen at this level. They play seven guys and keep the pressure on an opponent.”

The Bison look to snap their five-game slide tomorrow when they travel to Bethlehem, Pa. to take on Patriot League rival Lehigh at 12:30 p.m.

“We have shown resilience as a team. We will work hard to put together an effective game plan against another ranked opponent,” Susan said. “When this turns, it will stay turned.”

Categories
Men Soccer Sports

Men’s soccer fights for a draw

Chris McCree
Sports Editor

The men’s soccer team earned a 1-1 tie at Holy Cross last weekend, moving the team into a tie for fourth place in the Patriot League at 1-1-2. Josh Plump ’13 scored the Bison’s lone goal midway through the first half, but the team was not able to pull ahead despite outshooting the Crusaders 21-9.

“Even though we were really aiming for three points and the win Saturday, tying Holy Cross on the road was not the worst outcome,” Plump said. “The past few games we have come out flat in the first half, which has been a problem for us. We put together a decent second half, but could not find the back of the net.”

The Orange and Blue got off to a slow start, recording just four shots in the first half to the Crusaders’ five. Twenty-three minutes into the contest, Holy Cross’ Luke Melody took a corner kick out of the air and headed it into the back of the net to give the Crusaders the lead.

“It has been a constant weakness in the past couple of games; we start games very slowly. I believe we have conceded almost all of our goals in the first half,” Chris Thorsheim ’16 said. “Our strength has been our ability to respond and dominate the second halves of games.”

The Holy Cross lead was short-lived as Plump quickly knotted the game just four minutes later. On the play, Plump beat three defenders across the top of the box and fired a strike into the back of the net.

Going into the half at one goal apiece, the Orange and Blue came out in the second with a heightened aggression and dominated the half. The team outshot the Crusaders 11-1, but could not manage to get the go-ahead goal. In the closing minutes of the game, Thorsheim fired a very promising strike, but it bounced off of the goalpost, allowing the Crusaders to conserve the tie through the end of regulation.

In overtime, the Bison continued their offensive dominance and outshot their opponents 6-3. The team generated two solid scoring chances from Brendan Burgdorf ’13 and Jesse Klug ’16, but both were kept out by the Crusaders defense.

“We are a fit team capable of outscoring opponents with ease, except we have not been finishing our chances,” Thorsheim said. “In our past couple of games, we have outshot and created many chances. It’s putting these shots on goal that has been difficult for us.”

The tie represented the second straight for the Bison in Patriot League play after earning the same result against Navy on Oct. 6. The team has three league contests remaining on the schedule before the Patriot League tournament begins in early November. The first of these match-ups will occur tomorrow when the team hosts Army at 7 p.m.

“The Patriot League is still up for grabs,” Thorsheim said. “The next couple of games will be extremely important for us. These Patriot League challenges ahead will dictate whether we have the ability and the desire to become a championship team.”

Categories
Soccer Sports Women

Women’s soccer shut out

Ajan Caneda
Copy Editor

After dropping its first conference game against Colgate on Sept. 29, the women’s soccer team bounced back to pick up home wins over Holy Cross and Army. Unfortunately, the Orange and Blue were unable to capitalize on its scoring opportunities against American, falling 1-0 to the Eagles on Senior Day. Seven seniors were honored, including midfielder Taryn Boucher ’13, who had a team high of seven shot attempts in the loss. Currently, the Bison are 9-7 overall, with a 2-2 record in Patriot League play.

“There was a lot of excitement going into the game, but we understood that it was important for us to stay focused on beating American,” Boucher said. “Unfortunately, although I think we were the better team, we could not come back from their goal in the first half. Sometimes that’s just the game of soccer.”

The Bison struggled on offense early, reeling off only three shot attempts in the first half. American countered with eight of their own and found the back of the net in the 25th minute for the 1-0 lead. Despite the low shot production, the Bison kept the pressure on with four corner kicks in the half.

In the second half, the Bison picked things up, trying to even the score. The Orange and Blue outshot the Eagles 11-4 in the half. This included a blocked shot attempt by Boucher that would have been the equalizer for the Bison. Despite the shot advantage for the Orange and Blue, American stayed strong in goal, not allowing anything to go past the net, including a Kayla Yee ’13 penalty kick that sailed over the goal post.

Goalie Sandita McDermott ’13 finished with three saves, while Boucher, Yee and Liz Dwornik ’14 combined for 12 of the Bison’s 14 shot attempts.

“It was definitely a hard loss, especially on Senior Day,” Yee said. “We started out slow in the first half and American capitalized on their chances. In the second half, I thought we were the better team but weren’t able to find the back of the net.”

Yee and McDermott reflected on their journeys as Bison soccer players.

“The past four years at Bucknell have been amazing. My teammates and coaches have been the best part of my experience … and I’m definitely going to miss them next year,” Yee said.

“Being a member of this team really embodies something so much more than yourself and allows you to not only grow as an individual but really grow with a group, particularly with the six other girls in my class. I would say that being a part of this team is what made my Bucknell experience as amazing as it is,” McDermott said.

The Bison start a three-game road trip against two Patriot League rivals this weekend. They will travel to Bethlehem, Pa. tonight to face Lehigh. On Sunday, the Orange and Blue will make their way to Easton, Pa. to battle Lafayette at 1 p.m.

“Although the loss was disappointing, our season is far from over. We have a really important weekend coming up versus Lehigh and Lafayette, and it’s important for us to put this defeat behind us and focus on winning our next three league games and securing our spot in the tournament,” Boucher said.

Categories
Field Hockey Sports Women

Field hockey shut out

Andrew Arnao
Senior Writer

The field hockey team fought hard but eventually fell to No. 14 Lafayette on Oct. 13, suffering a 2-0 shutout against its Patriot League rival. The Orange and the Blue now have a 2-1 record in the Patriot League standings and an 8-7 record overall.

The Bison defense was tremendous throughout the game, holding Lafayette to just two shots in the first half and only one shot in the second half. Unfortunately, two of those well-placed shots managed to get past goalie Erica Perrine ’14, giving Lafayette a 1-0 lead in the first half and an insurance goal early in the second half.

“The game went very well other than the score,” head coach Jeremy Cook said. “They are ranked 14th in the nation for a reason, but we really played well and had them on the ropes for some of the first half and the majority of the second half.”

The Bison offense kept the pressure on the Leopards and proceeded to outshoot them 8-3, including a seven-shot outburst in the second half. Though none of the shots found the back of the net, it was clear that the Orange and the Blue offense was in control for most of the second half.

“[We] outshot them and out cornered them, but they were able to score and hold us off which is something Lafayette has done well all year against good teams,” Cook said. “We had all the right answers, just couldn’t find the back of the net. This does give us a lot of confidence heading in to the final couple weeks of play and the tournament … now we are all hoping we can earn a second shot at them in the title game.”

The Bison continue Patriot League play tomorrow with their final home game against Lehigh at noon. Tayler Siegrist ’13 and Kelly Stefanowicz ’13 will also be honored as part of the team’s Senior Day.

Categories
Men Sports Water Polo

Men’s water polo shines in close games

Estie Pyper | The Bucknellian
Attacker Julian Colina ’14 takes a shot on net. The Bison players made their shots count when it mattered most, especially in the last-second win against Princeton.

Scott Padula

Staff Writer

The men’s water polo team went 3-1 last weekend in a string of games when it hosted CWPA rivals Johns Hopkins, Navy, George Washington and No. 16 Princeton. The Bison are now 5-1 at home on the season.

On Oct. 13, the Orange and Blue began their home stint by defeating Johns Hopkins in overtime 12-10. The match was back and forth throughout, most notably marked by Matt Napleton ’13, who recorded 16 saves. In the field, the Orange and Blue had five different Bison tallying a pair of goals, with a total of seven Bison registering a point. Notable performances came from Jack Else ’14, who drew five ejections, and Brian Barron ’13, who won all six swim-offs, including two extremely important ones in overtime.

The second game against No. 14 Navy was Senior Night for the Orange and Blue. Led by senior captains Napleton and Barron, the Bison fought hard but fell to the Midshipmen 17-11. The contest was close for the majority of play, with the Orange and Blue only trailing by one entering the fourth quarter. In the fourth, the Midshipmen outscored the Bison 6-1 in the final eight minutes of play. Despite the losing effort, the seniors saved some of their best performances of the weekend for this game. Barron found the back of the net eight times, recorded an assist and won two of his four sprints. Barron’s eight goal tally was the most by a Bison since 2000. In goal, Napleton stopped 11 shots in 32 minutes of action, and  additionally registered an assist in the game.

To kick off action on Oct. 14, the Orange and Blue defeated George Washington 13-8. The Bison outscored the Colonials 4-1 in the second quarter, giving them a three goal lead into the half. Alex Nowlin ’14 led the offense for the Bison, netting five goals and tallying two assists. Joining him with multi-point performances were three other Bison: Barron, Else and Stefan Aleksic ’16. Else also matched his career-high for ejections drawn in a game with six. In goal, Napleton made an impressive 15 saves.

In the final game of the weekend, the Orange and Blue defeated No. 16 Princeton 10-9. The Bison led in the first quarter 3-0 and took a 5-2 tie into the intermission. In the third quarter, the Bison held the three goal lead by matching Princeton’s three scores with three of their own. With 49 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter, Princeton tied the score at 9-9 with a buzzer-beating shot. The Bison responded when Else drew a five-meter penalty shot with 36 seconds left to play. Barron found the back of the net, giving the Orange and Blue an eventual win. Barron scoured four goals and registered an assist. Else and Kimble were also invaluable to the Bison, with four and three ejections drawn, respectively. In the cage, Napleton recorded 13 saves.

Next up for the Bison will be the Santa Clara Rodeo in Santa Clara, Calif. on Oct. 19-21.