Author: Cooper Sutton

By Joyce Novacek

Writer

Corinne Raczek ’11 tied the program record in career assists at the conclusion of overtime when she passed to Kelly Bruvik ’11, who scored the game-winning goal of the field hockey’s Colgate 3-2 at home on Sunday. With this victory, the Orange and Blue rise to third seed for the Patriot League tournament this weekend.

The Bison outshot Colgate 13-1 in the first half but the first frame was scoreless.  Both teams scored two goals in the second half.

Only a minute into the second frame, Rachel Misko ’14 scored the first goal of the game and her sixth of the season.  Two minutes later, the Raiders responded with a goal to knot the score at 1-1.

The Raiders took the lead when Laura Denenga scored the second goal of the day for Colgate.  Not long after, Katie Durkin ’13 rebounded a shot from Bruvik and scored a diving goal to tie the score at 2-2.

Raczek assisted Bruvik for the game-winning goal with only four seconds left in overtime. With this assist, Raczek earned her 34th career helper, tying her with former teammate Amanda Faust ’09.  Faust and Raczek are the only two Bison ever to exceed 30 career assists.

“We were so pumped up for the game on Saturday. We knew the importance of our game but also knew that we just had to play like ourselves … We knew the whole game that it was our game and we were able to prove it to everyone else in the end,” Misko said.

The game was senior day for the Bison, who have four seniors on the roster: Bruvik, Raczek, Christine Weiss ’11 and Morgan Kauffman ’11.

“The seniors have made a tremendous impact on this program and will be missed so much by all of us. During the game, I wanted more than anything to win for them and you can’t come up with a more exciting ending than when Bruvik scored the game winning goal in overtime,” Durkin said.

“I could not have asked for a better class to start off my college career with. They’ve taught us so much and will be greatly missed next year,” Misko said.

The Bison will face second-seeded Lafayette in the semifinals of the Patriot League tournament  at 1:45 p.m. Friday in Washington, D.C.

By Eric Brod

Senior Writer

The Bison men’s cross country team finished sixth at last weekend’s Patriot League Championships. The Orange and Blue finished with 130 points, while Navy defended its league title with 43 points.

Once again this season,the Bison had a different runner leading the pack. This time it was Dave Brown ’12, who completed the eight-kilometer course in 25:49, finishing 23rd overall.

Brown was very happy with his performance.

“The workouts I did in the weeks preceding last weekend had gone very well but I had not yet translated them to good performances in races,” he said.  “Basically, I knew I was as fit as I was going to be for [the Championship] and whatever I had in me would have to suffice.”

Following Brown was Joshua Clark ’11, who finished 26th in 25:57.

Rounding out the scoring for the Bison were Robert Yamnicky ’13, who placed 28th, Charles Murphy ’11, who placed 30th, and Evan Novakowski ’11, who placed 33rd.

Navy’s Andrew Hanko took the individual title in 24:22.

“Even though our men finished sixth, I was pleased with how they ran the race.  They really ran a great final 3K to make it close among third through sixth,” head coach Kevin Donner said. “We have had a lot of adversity this year with sickness and injury as well as top runners graduating and transferring. We essentially had a whole new team compared with last year.”

The team lacked the one dominant runner it needed. Only 19 seconds separated the top six Bison finishers, but no runner pulled away.

“We are lacking a front runner, so even though our guys packed great, we were a little too far behind,” Donner said.

The men return to action Nov. 13 for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Championships in University Park, Pa.

By Chris McCree

Writer

The women’s cross country team fell just short of claiming its second straight Patriot League title with a second-place finish this past Saturday in Easton, Pa. The Bison were edged out 42-64 by Colgate. They have now finished in the top two in each of the last six years.

“The team is a little disappointed about the second place finish this weekend. Because we have won four of the last five Patriot League Championships, it was tough to be runner-up,” Stephanie Fulmer ’12 said.

The team’s top five runners all finished in the top 20, and three were named to all-conference teams. Fulmer finished first for the Bison, claiming sixth overall with a time of 20:36, closely followed by Sarah Moniz ’11, who claimed seventh with a time of 20:41. Both were given First Team All-Patriot League honors, Fulmer claiming these honors for the third time and Moniz for the second.

“Being selected as First Team All-Patriot League for the third year in a row is definitely not something to take for granted. I have had adversities to overcome every year, but have had the support of my team to help me through. This is a very great honor and shows the consistency of coach Donner’s training,” Fulmer said.

Alysha Hooper ’12 claimed Second Team All-Patriot League honors for the first time in her three year career with her14th-place finish and overall time of 21:16. Rounding out the top five for the Bison were Alaina Chodoff ’11 and Caroline Tolli ’13 who finished 18th and 19th respectively.

“I felt as though our team ran very well. We each gave the best effort that we could for that day, and followed our individual race plans,” Fulmer said.

The Bison have finished either first or second in 12 of the last 14 years.

“We got beat by a team that has truly risen to their potential this year and has two possible candidates to qualify for Nationals in their region. Overall, Bucknell has been the most consistent team within the past decade and while it is disappointing to finish as runner-up, it is still a great honor,” Fulmer said.

Now finished with their Patriot League schedule, the team looks ahead to Nov. 13 when it heads to Penn State to compete in the NCAA mid-Atlantic Championships.

“The team performed well this weekend and we are now looking forward to chasing down Penn State at Regionals in two weeks,” Moniz said.

By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

Coming off its first victory of the 2010 season, the football team failed to repeat against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks last Saturday, falling 32-10 in Bethlehem, Pa. The Orange and Blue fell to 1-1 in the Patriot League and 1-6 overall with the loss.

“We played well at times but without consistency,” head coach Joe Susan said. “The most important thing we can do is stay on schedule in terms of down and distance. We also turned the ball over three times. Our offensive line continues to improve.”

The Bison fell behind early after Lehigh scored a touchdown on its opening drive. The Mountain Hawks moved the ball 67 yards down the field, capping off the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chris Lum to wide-receiver Ryan Spadola, their first of three touchdown connections of the game. The Orange and Blue blocked the extra point, keeping the Lehigh lead at 6-0.

“We had some match-up issues in our secondary that they were able to exploit,” Susan said of his defense. “When you try to pressure it challenges you in coverage. We had to vary with zone and man concepts. They did a good job of passing the ball and this helped them be more effective in the run game. We missed some assignments in our secondary and will work to fix that.”

On their first two series the Bison combined for just 39 yards of offense. Their second drive ended after four plays as the Orange and Blue turned the ball over to Lehigh on a fumble. The Mountain Hawks responded with their second scoring drive of the contest. Running back Zach Barket ran in from nine yards out to give Lehigh a 13-0 advantage early in the second quarter.

Trailing by 13, the Orange and Blue responded with a touchdown. Starting in Lehigh territory, the Bison needed just five plays to put the ball in the endzone. From three yards out, Travis Friend ’14 scored on a rushing touchdown to cut the Mountain Hawks lead to six.

Lehigh scored the next 10 points to end the first half and outscored the Orange and Blue 9-3 in the second half to give the Mountain Hawks a 22-point victory.

Quarterback Brandon Wesley ’14 continued his solid rookie season. Although he threw two interceptions, Wesley completed 18 of 28 passes for 155 yards to help the Bison to two scoring drives.

“Brandon has been a very important plus as we build this program,” Susan said. “He has done a very good job as a quarterback, managing the offense, making the right decisions at the line of scrimmage and being pretty smart with the ball.”

Trying to get back over .500 in the Patriot League, the Bison return home for their Homecoming game. The Orange and Blue face Lafayette at 1 p.m. this Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

By Andrew Lichtenauer

Contributing Writer

The men’s and women’s swimming teams each won their two meets this weekend, starting the season off with a 2-0 record. Saturday’s meet was at George Mason and Sunday’s was at George Washington.

After trailing George Mason 138-124 late, the men took the first three positions in the 400-yard individual medley, coming from behind to win 153-145. Mike Nicholson ’14 claimed the 400 IM crown, beating out teammates Billy Krause ’13 and Jonathan Podniesinski ’11 as the Bison cut their deficit significantly with only one event remaining. Overall, the Bison had eight first-place finishes against George Mason, with Eric Sokolosky ’11, Christian Treat ’13 and Podniesinski each winning individual races.

In their second meet of the weekend, the men’s team defeated George Washington 157-100. The team was led by Nicholson, Thomas Brown ’12 and Sokolosky, who each won two events. Nicholson has won seven individual races in his first three meets as a Bison.

“Personally, I think that I was able to be successful because of the pressure that is involved in a close dual meet … it really motivates me to perform my best,” Nicholson said.

The women also had a successful weekend. The team beat George Mason 165-132, taking four of the top five positions in the 400-yard individual medley and two of the top three spots in the 200 free relay. Kelly Pontecorvo ’14 won both the 1,650 free and 500 free in the team’s first official victory.

“Having my teammates challenge me in practice every day and then constantly cheering and supporting me at the meet is the ultimate motivator and most definitely the reason for any success I have in the pool,” Pontecorvo said.

In its second meet, the women’s team beat George Washington 151.5-105.5, claiming the top spot in 10 of the first 12 events. Jennifer Brennan ’14 was the only swimmer to win two events, taking first in both the 100- and 200-meter backstroke.

The men’s and women’s squads will return to the pool in two weeks on Nov. 6 in a quad meet with American, Lafayette and Navy. This will be the first home meet for the Orange and Blue. Competition begins at 12 p.m. in Kinney Natatorium.

By Chris McCree

Writer

The men’s water polo team upended No. 11 UC Davis at the Santa Clara Invitational to finish its West Coast trip in dramatic fashion this past weekend in Santa Clara, Ca. The Bison came up with a big win to conclude a tough weekend that began with losses to Air Force, No. 13 Santa Clara, and No. 7 Pacific.

Howie Kalter ’11, Richie Hyden ’11 and Paul Reamey ’11 each had multi-goal performances in the Bison’s 7-6 win. The Orange and Blue limited a strong UC Davis team to six goals and were able to stop a last second push from the Aggies to seal the victory. Goalkeeper Miles Gilhuly ’11 recorded six saves behind a great defensive effort by the Bison defense. With the win, the Bison recorded their second win over a ranked opponent, a week after beating No. 17 Princeton.

The Bison started the invitational with three tough losses. The Orange and Blue played Air Force tough during their first contest but fell 8-7 to the Falcons. In the second matchup, Santa Clara defeated the Bison 13-9. The Bison relied heavily on offensive production from Kalter and Hyden who combined to score 10 goals for the day.

In the first match-up of the second day, the Bison fell to Pacific 16-8.

Kalter had an especially strong weekend for the Bison, tallying 11 goals. His play was pivotal to Bison offensive success, and his three-goal performance against UC Davis propelled them to their upset of the Aggies.

The Bison left California on a high note but were still disappointed about the three losses.

“The team’s expectations going into the trip were very high. We knew that we were comparable to all of the teams we were going to play. We are obviously pleased with our victory over No. 11 Davis, but we would have liked to have taken a few more wins from the weekend,” Kalter said.

The invitational provided the Bison with a good change of pace because they had not played a west coast team up to this point in the season.

“We were excited to play teams we don’t normally,” Kalter said.

The Bison hope to use their big win as a launching point. They get the weekend off this week to prepare for the Southern Championships, which begin Friday, Nov. 5.

By Cooper Sutton

Sports Editor

Charles Murphy ’11 and Allison Donaghy ’12 earned the title of Patriot League Runner of the Week, but the men’s and women’s cross country teams, resting their top runners in preparation for the Patriot League Championships, otherwise struggled in the Lock Haven River Run on Saturday.

Murphy placed 10th overall with a time of 25:31, less than 30 seconds behind the first-place finisher from Lock Haven.  Jake Schroeder ’11 came in eighteenth place with a time of 26:12.

Donaghy finished ninth in 22:40. “I think what allowed me to have my own personal success this weekend was really sticking to my coach’s race plan and not allowing myself to get pulled out too fast.  I ended up feeling pretty strong towards the middle of the race because I didn’t use all my energy in the first mile of the race,” Donaghy said.

Tyler Erhard ’13 and Stephanie Bryan ’14 both received top league honors for rookie runners. Erhard came in 32nd in his race with a time of 26:33 while Bryan came in 18th with a 23:06.

The men’s team placed seven runners in the top 30 in addition to Murphy’s top 10 finish. The Bison came in third behind Lock Haven and Indiana of Pennsylvania, scoring 77 points. Lock Haven blew away the competition with 16 points. “I thought that overall we did really well. The race was small and low-key which made it easy to stay relaxed, find our teammates and settle in to our own pace,” Murphy said.

The women also had seven top-30 finishers, but finished fifth of five teams with 80 points. First-place finisher Indiana of Pennsylvaniaa had 53.

The Bison do not seem concerned with this low outcome because many of the runners stayed on the sideline for the race. “Even though our top eight women did not compete this weekend, I think everyone raced to the best of their ability …  and did not let this factor affect them,” Donaghy said. Considering the lack of top runners, the team certainly held its own this past weekend.

The Bison will be in action again this Saturday at 10 a.m. for the Patriot League Championships in Easton, Pa.

By Joe Ruby

Writer

The men’s soccer team pushed its unbeaten streak to five games this week, earning a 3-3 draw with Colgate (7-4-4, 4-0-1 PL) and defeating NJIT (4-10-0) 2-0. Brendan Burgdorf ’13 and Mayowa Alli ’14 each scored two goals for the Bison. The matches were the Bison’s final home contests for the year.

Against Patriot League leader Colgate, the Bison trailed 3-1 late but staged a dramatic rally in the final five minutes thanks to Alli and Tommy McCabe ’11.

Soon after the Raiders scored their final goal, the Bison earned a corner kick off a shot from Burgdorf. McCabe sent the kick into the box, and Alli headed the ball past Raiders keeper Chris Miller for the first goal of his collegiate career. Fifty seconds later, Alli struck again, heading in McCabe’s free kick at the 85:54 mark for his second goal of the match and the third goal overall in 1:51 to complete the Bison’s frantic comeback. Colgate managed two shots on goal in overtime, but Bison keeper Marc Hartmann ’12 kept the ball out of the net to preserve the draw.

The had Raiders struck first, just 5:28 into the match, on a long shot by Steven Miller. Fifteen minutes later, Josh Plump ’13 fired a shot that Chris Miller saved, but Burgdorf was in the right spot to head in the rebound for his fifth goal of the year. The Raiders added two more goals in the second half.

Overall, the Bison put seven of their 19 shots on goal, while the Raiders had 20 shots, nine of which were on goal.

Against the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Burgdorf scored his Patriot League-leading sixth goal of the season 28:13 into the match, assisted by McCabe and Travis Rand ’11. Just 2:30 later, Vinny Cinotti ’13 netted his first career goal, finishing an Alli throw-in and extending the margin to 2-0. Bison keeper Tommy Caso ’12 made seven saves to earn the shutout.

The Bison (7-6-2, 2-1-2) are 3-0-2 in their last five matches and are competing for a spot in the Patriot League Tournament. The Bison are tied with Navy for the  fourth and final berth, behind Colgate, Lehigh and American. They are safely ahead of Lafayette, Holy Cross and Army. The team will hope to secure the final spot when it travels to Lafayette (6-6-3, 1-3-1) on Saturday for a 3 p.m. game and Binghamton (4-5-4) for a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday.