Category: Lacrosse

Reed Dempsey

Senior Writer

The men’s lacrosse team travelled to Hamilton, N.Y. on April 20 to face the Colgate Raiders. Four assists from David Dickson ’15 and an 8-1 second half run propelled the Bison to a 13-8 win and secured the second seed for this weekend’s Patriot League Tournament.

Sean Doyle ’16 opened the day’s scoring with an unassisted tally at the 9:54 mark, but the lead only lasted for two minutes as the Raiders added a goal of their own to level the contest at one.

Doyle again found the back of the net, sparking a three-goal Bison run that included goals by Ryan Joseph ’15 and Thomas Flibotte ’16. The 4-1 lead would hold for just a minute as Colgate scored with just under two minutes left in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, the Raiders took advantage of a man-up situation, following a pushing call against the Bison, pulling the game back within one. As time was winding down in the first half, Kyle O’Keefe ’13 took a feed from Alex Spring ’16 and fired off a shot that crossed the goal line as time expired, bringing the score to 5-3 in favor of the Bison.

In the opening eight minutes of the second half, the Orange and Blue surrendered four straight goals and the lead.

“We had some unforced turnovers during that stretch which we really could have limited. Some Colgate defensemen made a couple of nice plays and picked off a few passes … we just weren’t moving our feet hard enough and it cost us for a little,” Dickson said.

Head coach Frank Fedorjaka then pulled his all-league goalie, Kyle Feeney ’13, in favor of Sam Grinberg ’15. Grinberg was no stranger to this move, having replaced Feeney in a win against Drexel a year ago, making 11 saves and leading the Bison to victory.

“When I first got in, we were down 7-5, and I basically told the defense that we had Colgate where we wanted them,” Grinberg said. “The whole season we have battled back from deficits, so even after giving up four straight, I think the team was still confident that we would make a run and take the lead back.”

In the minutes following the switch, Doyle reignited the Bison offense off of a Chase Bailey ’13 feed, before Tom Black ’14 added a goal of his own on an extra-man opportunity, tying the game at seven.

Colgate then found the back of the net on its first shot against Grinberg, but the Orange and Blue defense then settled down, limiting the Raiders to just seven shots during the final period of play, and Ryan Gutowski ’13 dominated faceoffs down the stretch.

On the offensive side of the field, the Bison exploded for six goals, including two from Bailey and individual tallies from Todd Heritage ’14, Peter Burke ’14, Doyle and Flibotte.

“[The team] just got back to the basics and started to play loose but also with a sense of urgency,” Dickson said. “We ran a few set plays that worked beautifully and then our offense just started to flow.”

During that final 8-1 run, Dickson tallied four assists. Dickson ended the night with 42 assists total this season, a new Bison single-season record.

With the win, the Bison secured the second seed for this weekend’s Patriot League Tournament and will face Army Friday at 4:30 p.m. in Bethlehem, Pa.

Reed Dempsey

Staff Writer

In a game to determine the host of this year’s Patriot League Championship, a 5-0 run by Lehigh proved too much for the hosting Bison, propelling the Mountain Hawks to an 11-7 win and the Patriot League Regular Season title.

With strong defensive play on both sides, the game remained scoreless over the first six minutes, before Brock Ghelfi ’16 found the back of the net at the 8:50 mark. Just 31 seconds later, the Bison would extend their lead when Peter Burke ’14 scored off a pass from David Dickson ’15. Lehigh finally put itself on the board at the 7:07 mark, but the Orange and Blue would respond with another goal of their own to regain their two-goal lead.

Over the next two quarters, the Mountain Hawks completely shut down the high-powered Bison offense, aided by a 12-save performance by the Lehigh goalie. During the second quarter, the Mountain Hawks were very efficient, scoring three goals on just five shots and taking their first lead of the night.

As the second half opened, Lehigh scored twice more, establishing a three-goal advantage.

The Bison stopped the bleeding at the 7:41 mark, when Dickson found Chase Bailey ’13 to cut into the Lehigh lead. The Orange and Blue then fired off 12 shots, but were unable to convert for a goal. On an ensuing clear, the Mountain Hawks’ goalie fired the ball downfield against the Bison 10-man ride, finding the back of the net and pushing the Lehigh lead to three.

The Orange and Blue were able to respond with a goal by Todd Heritage ’14, but a pushing call against the Bison at the very end of the third quarter allowed Lehigh to take advantage of a man-up situation, adding another goal. Lehigh then added another point, bringing the score to 9-5.

Sean Doyle ’16 then scored his first goal of the day, but the Mountain Hawks would find the back of the net twice over the next eight minutes, for a comfortable five-goal lead. Bailey added his third goal of the game with just under a minute to play, but Lehigh would hold out for the win.

The Bison will be back in action Saturday, visiting Colgate for their final regular season matchup. The game will be shown live on CBS Sports Network at noon.

Reed Dempsey

Staff Writer

In a crucial Patriot League matchup against Army on April 6, the No. 11 Bison rebounded from a 5-3 halftime deficit to squeeze out a 9-8 victory over the hosting Black Knights.

The Orange and Blue found themselves in a hole early, as Army rattled off two goals in the opening five minutes of play. Three minutes later, Thomas Flibotte ’16 would put the Bison on the board, cutting the deficit to just one.

The Orange and Blue offense gained possession at the beginning of the second quarter, where David Dickson ’15 found Chase Bailey ’13 to tie the game at two apiece. Dickson would then add a goal of his own to give the Bison their first lead of the day. The advantage wouldn’t last long as Army’s faceoff man won the ensuing draw, rushed down the field and scored just seven seconds later. Before the end of the half, the Black Knights added two more tallies to reestablish a two-goal lead. 

Down at halftime, the Bison knew they would need to turn it around, but never questioned their ability to do so.

“We weren’t at all in a panic mode. We knew that we were just about to break through on offense and the D was a couple of plays around from shutting them out,” Kyle Feeney ’13 said.

Army came out firing in the third quarter with a total of 11 shots. Solid defense in combination with three big saves from Feeney kept the Black Knights off the board. Meanwhile, the Orange and Blue kept busy with a second goal by Dickson to open the second half, followed by unassisted tallies from Peter Burke ’14 and Bailey. 

Army finally broke their scoreless streak at the beginning of the fourth period, tying the game at six. With a slashing call on Army one minute later, the Bison were able to take advantage of a man-up situation when Burke found Bailey to restore the Orange and Blue lead. Sean Doyle ’16 would score on an assist from Todd Heritage ’14 to put the Bison up two.

After the Black Knights cut the lead to a single goal, the Bison again found themselves in a man-up situation. The Orange and Blue would work the ball around before Doyle found Heritage, bringing the score to 9-7.

Army would add a man-up goal of its own at the 4:08 mark, but the Bison held onto their 9-8 lead over the final minutes of play, securing their 10th victory of the year.

The Bison look to avenge last year’s loss in a critical Patriot League matchup versus No. 18/19 Lehigh on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

“Last year it was a heartbreaker to lose to a team that took your stuff and beat you with it. I know a lot of guys are excited to get some revenge on them,” Feeney said.

Reed Dempsey

Senior Writer

Following a tough loss to Penn State, the No. 6/7 Bison had a strong rebound, scoring 11 goals in the first half to cruise past Holy Cross 16-9.

After being held to just three goals against a solid Penn State team, the Orange and Blue looked to come out strong against the visiting Crusaders.

“We wanted to make sure that we came out more fired up than Holy Cross,” Brock Ghelfi ’16 said.

The Bison looked like they were fired up as Ghelfi and Todd Heritage ’14 each scored in the opening five minutes to give the Bison an early two-goal lead. Holy Cross responded with a goal of its own at the 9:05 mark, only to then allow four straight tallies by the Orange and Blue, including a second goal for both Heritage and Ghelfi.

Just before the end of the first quarter, the Crusaders were able to get back on the board and close the Bison lead to 6-2.

The Orange and Blue continued their domination in the second quarter, holding Holy Cross scoreless, as the offense went to work, adding five more goals. According to Ghelfi, the team was executing their game plan perfectly.

“We can attribute the success of our first half to the intensity and mental focus that we brought from the first whistle,” Ghelfi said.

With a nine-goal lead heading into the second half, the Bison game plan was to run out the clock with long possessions on offense. The visiting Crusaders scored two goals in quick succession at the outset of the second half, but the Orange and Blue responded with a pair of their own by Chase Bailey ’13 and Thomas Flibotte ’16, bringing the score to 13-4.

Although Holy Cross added three additional goals over the final minutes of the third half, compared to just one from the Bison, the Orange and Blue lead was safe at seven goals.

The Crusaders would score twice in the final quarter, but two insurance goals by Sean Doyle ’16 helped seal the victory.

Doyle and Heritage led the Bison offense with four goals apiece, as Ghelfi and Bailey each added three of their own. David Dickson ’15 and Peter Burke ’14 combined for eight assists.

The Orange and Blue will travel to West Point, N.Y. Saturday for a game against Army.

Reed Dempsey

Staff Writer

The Orange and Blue traveled to Albany, N.Y. on March 23, where they exploded for a season-high 18-goal performance against the No. 20 University of Albany Great Danes in an 18-12 victory. The Bison also fell to No. 16/17 Penn State 11-3 in a home match on March 26.

Early in the first quarter against Albany, the Bison and Great Danes traded a pair of goals before the Bison added two straight to open up a 3-1 lead. Not to be outdone, Albany mounted a three-goal run over the final minutes of the first quarter and into the second, giving them the advantage. The Orange and Blue quickly responded with an equalizer, but red-hot Albany went back-to-back-to-back, increasing its lead to three goals.

In the early minutes of the second half, the teams brought the game to a 9-6 score in favor of the Great Danes, before Ryan Gutowski ’13 won the ensuing faceoff, rushed the ball down the field and scored his first goal of the season. This began an explosive 6-1 run for the Bison, that included two goals by Brock Ghelfi ’16 and single tallies from Thomas Flibotte ’16, David Dickson ’15 and Peter Burke ’14, giving the Orange and Blue a 12-10 advantage.

The Great Danes scored twice in the opening minute of the final period, in what would be their final goals of the game. Over the final 14 minutes, the Bison defense shut down Albany, as the offense opened up for another six-goal run.

The Orange and Blue were led by four-goal performances from Todd Heritage ’14 and Flibotte, in addition to a career-high seven-point effort by Dickson.

Following this decisive win, the Bison received a bump in the polls, moving up ten spots to No. 6/7, an all-time high. The Orange and Blue faced a quick turnaround as the No. 16/17 Penn State Nittany Lions visited Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

The two high-powered offenses were overshadowed by strong defensive performances in the first half, as the Bison were only able to capitalize on two extra-man opportunities while the visiting Nittany Lions found the back of the net three times to take a one-goal lead heading into the half.

Several minutes into the third quarter Ghelfi found the back of the net to tie the game at three goals apiece, in what would be the final Bison goal of the game. During the rest of the game, the Orange and Blue were completely shut down by the visiting defense. Heritage linked the offensive drought to Penn State’s style of defense in addition to an inability to execute their normal offensive play.

“We came out and didn’t run our offense exactly how we wanted to. Penn State runs a different defense than most we see during the season,” Heritage said.

At the same time, the opposing offense continued to fire on all cylinders, scoring eight straight goals. Team Captain Kyle Feeney ’13 was obviously disappointed with the team’s performance.

“We came out a little flat … we were in a position we had never been (No. 6 in the nation) and I unfortunately didn’t think we handled it well. We didn’t stay true to who we are as a team,” Feeney said.

Coming off the tough loss, the Bison look to rebound Saturday at 1 p.m. in a Patriot League matchup against Holy Cross at home.

Reed Dempsey

Writer

Reed Dempsey

Writer

The Bison hosted the Bryant University Bulldogs on Feb. 23 for the 2013 home opener, defeating them 10-8. Strong performances from the defense and face-off men, in addition to a four-point day for Chase Bailey ’13, helped propel the Orange and Blue to their second win of the season.

The visiting Bulldogs opened the day’s scoring, finding the back of the net just a minute-and-a-half into the contest. The Bison responded with a goal from Tom Black ’14 off of a pass from Bailey. Three minutes later, Bailey added his first goal to give the team a 2-1 lead. As the teams jostled for position, Bryant had a response to each of the Bison tallies. The Bulldogs tied the game up at four with 10:12 remaining in the first half.

During the remaining time, the Bison found the back of the net on four occasions. After the first two goals came from all-even play, the Orange and Blue took advantage of a 30-second shot-clock situation when David Dickson ’15 found Bailey for his third goal of the game. Following the tally, the Bulldogs were charged with an unnecessary roughness penalty, giving the Bison another man-up opportunity. Dickson then assisted on a another goal, this time to Todd Heritage ’14, extending the lead to 8-4.

“The offense was possessing the ball so well; we were able to have energy on our side of the field to be focused and fly around to make plays,” defender Jackson Place ’14 said.

Coming out for the second half, the Bison looked to maintain long possessions on offense to keep the defense fresh and run out the clock. Four penalties on the Bulldogs during the third quarter gave the Orange and Blue the opportunity they needed to achieve these goals.

“Our man up was really trying to kill the clock in the third quarter, something Coach Fed[orjaka] likes to do when we have a comfortable lead,” Bailey said.

After the teams traded goals around the five-minute mark, the Bulldogs found the back of the net twice to close out the third quarter and cut the Bison lead to two.

“Almost every game we’ve been a part of in the last three years has been a one goal game…[we] knew we had to keep our composure while still executing the game plan like we had been all day,” Place said.

Black would add another goal in the fourth quarter to reinstate the Orange and Blue lead to three. While the Bulldogs added a tally with 1:29 left, the Bison defense then locked down as goalie Kyle Feeney ’13 stopped three consecutive shots to close out the contest.

The Bison open Patriot League play at home against Navy on Saturday at 1 p.m.

“We are preparing for a very physical battle on Saturday. Any time you play one of the Academies, you have to be able to be prepared for high contact and be ready to play a full 60 minutes. We have to match their intensity and physical play,” head coach Frank Fedorjaka said.

 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.

Reed Dempsey

Contributing Writer

The No. 18 Bison men’s lacrosse team traveled south to Newark, Del. on Feb. 9 for its season opener against the University of Delaware Blue Hens. Three goals by Todd Heritage ’14 in front of an 11-save performance from veteran goalie Kyle Feeney ’13 helped the Bison tally their first win of the year.

The high-powered Bison offense came out firing, as Chase Bailey ’13 put the team up 1-0 just 39 seconds into the contest. Over the next 16 minutes, the Bison offense recorded four more goals, featuring career firsts for Brock Ghelfi ’16 and Sean Doyle ’16, as the defense kept the Blue Hens off the scoreboard with five straight saves by Feeney.

Delaware began to find its groove in the middle of the second quarter, hitting the back of the net three times over a six minute stretch to bring the Bison lead down to two.

With 2:26 remaining in the first half, Thomas Flibotte ’16 took the ball from the wing, beat his defender and scored top-right for the first goal of his career.

Delaware opened the second half with three straight goals to tie the game at six, but it was short-lived as the Bison took advantage of a man-up opportunity to regain their lead when Peter Burke ’14 fed Heritage for his third goal of the match. The Blue Hens fired back with another two goals to start the fourth quarter and take their first lead of the game.

Although the Bison were trailing for the first time, the team never doubted itself.

“Many others on the team, including myself, did not ever have the thought of a loss cross our minds,” Heritage said. “We knew we had to keep doing exactly what we had been doing the whole game and work for longer possessions to let our defense have energy.”

Just two minutes later, David Dickson ’15 (three assists) found Ghelfi to tie the game up at eight. Following three minutes of back and forth play, the Orange and Blue worked the ball around on offense for nearly a minute before Flibotte dodged his defender and found himself open for a shot, beating the Delaware goalie lower-left off a bounce.

Over the final three minutes, Feeney’s defense completely locked down the Blue Hens, including a save by the veteran goaltender with 22 seconds remaining.

“I think this is the best the D has looked after game one in my four years here,” Feeney said.

The Bison will travel to Maryland to face Mount St. Mary’s for their second game of the season on Feb. 17.