Category: Men

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Golf Men Sports

Men’s golf strong at Cornell

Alex Wagner

Sports Editor

Despite tough conditions, the men’s golf team had a successful outing over the weekend at the Cornell Invitational, finishing fourth in a 13-team field. Dan Bernard ’13 finished in the top ten for the third time this season.

After opening play with a round of 73, Bernard shot a 75 in the final round, earning him a fourth-place tie in the individual standings. He has been the low player for the Bison in all three competitions so far, after a win at the Bucknell Invitational and a tenth place tie at the Colgate Invitational. 

“Our key to success was our ball striking, since the weather conditions were not ideal. Also, golf is a fickle game in that one day you can be playing well and another badly, so we have to make the most of what we have every round,” Bernard said.

Schuyler Stitzer ’14 was not far behind Bernard’s lead, shooting a 152 total (75-77), earning him a tie for 16th place. Zach Pogust ’15 improved off of his opening round of 78 with 76 in the final round.

“While our team did put together a few good rounds this weekend … we head into every tournament looking to win,” Pogust said. “In order to improve, I think we have to work on keeping the ball in play off the tee and learning to make smart decisions regarding when to fire at pins and when to play towards the middle of the green. Some things that I thought we did well at Cornell that led to our success was our ability to grind out rounds in tough conditions. We were also able to pick up a few strokes on the field by limiting our three putts.”

Both Luke Edelman ’16 (74-81) and Thomas Walter ’14 (78-77) finished with a total of 155. Playing as an individual, Pete Scialabba ’15 shot an 82 on Saturday and 77 on Sunday.

Binghamton was the champion of the tournament, with a 297-296 score.

The Orange and Blue will have a week for practice and recovery before competing in the Binghamton Invitational on Oct. 7 and 8.

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Men Soccer Sports

Men’s soccer wins Patriot League opener

 

Chloe Chou | The Bucknellian
Jess Klug ’16 attempts to cross the ball. The Bison took a strong first step in Patriot League play with a 1-0 win at Lehigh.

Chris McCree

Sports Editor

The men’s soccer team opened up Patriot League play this past weekend with a 1-0 win at Lehigh and a 1-0 loss to St. Joseph’s. Jesse Klug ’16 scored the lone goal for the Bison in his first career Patriot League game, while Mike Lansing ’16 recorded seven saves for his third shutout of the season.

“It was very important for us to win our first league game and to make sure that our first step was forward,” Lansing said. “The Lehigh game was a scrappy game with lots of physical play and not too much pretty soccer was involved. We didn’t play our game, but we managed to come away with a win.”

Traveling to Bethlehem on Saturday, the Orange and Blue were forced to wait until Sunday to take on the Mountain Hawks after a sudden downpour drenched the field minutes before kickoff. The game quickly turned into a defensive battle as neither side could register a goal in the first half. Then, 10 minutes into the second half, Brendan Burgdorf ’13 centered a ball across the box for Klug who placed it in goal for his second goal of the season.

For the game, the Mountain Hawks managed to outshoot the Bison 18-16, but Lansing and the Bison defense stood strong, extending their goalless streak to 381:07. The program record stands at 559:40 set during the 1983 season.

Against St Joseph’s, the Orange and Blue fell victim to a late goal from the Hawks with less than 10 minutes remaining. The Bison amassed 23 shots for the game, but only managed to put two of them on target. Klug led the team with eight shots and Burgdorf had four.

“The game against St. Joe’s was not a pretty one,” Lansing said. “We went into the game thinking we had nothing to lose and the other team really came to play. Again, we did not play to our potential and St. Joe’s took advantage.”

Before the goal, the Bison managed to extend its shutout streak to 462:06 to earn the second longest streak in program history. The last goal that the team surrendered was against La Salle on Sept. 7.

The Bison will try to remain undefeated in league play tomorrow at American at 1 p.m.

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Men Sports Water Polo

Men’s water polo goes 0-3 on road

 

Scott Padula

Staff Writer

The men’s water polo team kicked off league play this past weekend with a losses to No. 17 Navy, George Washington and Johns Hopkins. The Orange and Blue, under second year coach John McBride, are now 4-8 on the season and 0-3 in conference play.

To start the road trip, the Bison lost 11-6 to No. 17 Navy. The Orange and Blue were unable to stop the overwhelming Navy offense, allowing three goals in each of the first two quarters and being outscored in the first three. Despite the disappointing result, Jack Else ’14 was fantastic for the Bison, drawing a school record-breaking 10 ejections in the loss. Mike Kimble ’14 led the Orange and Blue in scoring, finding the back of the net twice for the team’s only multi-goal performance. In goal, Matt Napleton ’13 stopped seven shots in 32 minutes of play.

In the team’s second game, the Orange and Blue lost a disappointing game to George Washington, 15-12. The Bison looked flat to start the game, getting outscored 9-2 in the first half. The majority of the deficit was the result of the second quarter, in which the Orange and Blue were held scoreless while allowing five goals. Despite outscoring the Colonials 6-1 in the fourth quarter, the Bison were unable to overcome the seven goal deficit in the second half.

Against the Colonials, Else scored a personal best of seven goals and tallied six more ejections. His seven goals were the most scored by a Bison since 2007. Other multi-point performances came from Kimble, Brian Barron ’13 and Stefan Aleksic ’16. Kimble scored three goals and had an assist, while Aleksic had five assists and Barron two. Napleton was strong in goal again, making eight saves in 32 minutes.

To wrap up the trip, the Orange and Blue went to Baltimore to face Johns Hopkins. The Bison jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, outscoring the Blue Jays 5-3. The Bison had another weak second quarter where they were held scoreless while allowing four goals. In the second half, the Orange and Blue outscored Johns Hopkins 8-7 but were unable to overcome the two goal deficit. The Bison failed to tie the game in the final possession of the contest, leading to a 14-13 loss.

Barron and Aleksic led the team in scoring with three goals apiece. Else and Kimble also had multi-goal performances with two goals each. In addition, Else recorded seven more ejections, pushing his total to 43 on the season and 148 in his career. Else’s season total is more than three times that of anyone else on the team and his career mark of 148 is now fourth on the Bison’s career ejection total. In the losing effort, Napleton stopped seven shots in 32 minutes of action. Napleton now has 100 saves on the season.

“We came out flat for a couple of the games and our opponents took advantage. The biggest thing we need to fix heading into the Bison Invitational is our attitude and approach to the games. Every time we enter the water, we have to set the tone with physicality and urgency. We’re a talented team and we’re underperforming. It’s time to get angry and do something about it,” co-captain Napleton said.

The Orange and Blue will try to gain momentum this weekend when they host the Bison Invitational on Sept. 29 and 30. The Bison will kick off the invitational against MIT at noon on tomorrow. They will also face the University of Toronto, the Naval Academy’s “B” team and Harvard this weekend.

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Football Men Sports

Football falls short against Lafayette

 

Wilson Hunt | The Bucknellian
The Bison line up before the snap. Unfortunately, they were unable to defend their home turf as they fell to Lafayette 20-14 on Saturday.

Eric Brod
Senior Writer

In 2011, the Bison prided themselves on taking care of the football and forcing other teams into mistakes, leading them to have the highest turnover margin in the nation. The Orange and Blue fell victim to such mistakes, turning the ball over three times en route to a 20-14 loss in their home opener Saturday afternoon against Lafayette.

Despite the three turnovers, the Bison showed tremendous fight. Trailing Lafayette 20-7 with 6:44 to play, Brandon Wesley ’14 led the offense on a nine play, 73-yard drive that was capped by Wesley’s 12-yard rushing touchdown that cut the deficit to 20-14. After failing to recover the ensuing onside kick, the Bison were able to force the Leopards to punt, giving the Bison a chance to score the go-ahead touchdown. The offense began the drive at their own 20-yard line, and could not move past midfield as Wesley was unable to connect with receiver Josh Brake ’15 on a 4th-and-21 that sealed the Orange and Blue’s fate.

Throughout the game, the Orange and Blue were uncharacteristically undisciplined, committing eight penalties and three turnovers (two interceptions and one fumble).

“Our offense is built on the run setting up the pass. We need to be better at staying on schedule in early downs to maintain a run-pass conflict,” Head coach Joe Susan said. “Our turnovers are something we must eliminate in order to have a chance as a team. We also need to create turnovers by our defense and special teams. We practice ball security and ball disruption every day. This will change.”

Even in the loss, the defense once again showed why they are one of the top units in the league. The defense, led by a team high 10 tackles from safety Ryan Morgan ’14, held the Leopards to just 11 yards rushing on 31 carries. The team as a whole registered 13 tackles for loss, led by three and a half from safety Lee Marvel ’15. Defensive back Donald Quarles ’13, had a career day with five passes deflected.

“I am impressed by how our defense has stopped the run. We are ranked fourth in the FCS in rushing defense and 28th overall,” Susan said.

Wesley had an up and down day, going 18-33 passing for 239 yards with two touchdowns (one rushing) and two interceptions. He also tied a career high 76 yards rushing.

After trailing 17-7 at halftime, the Bison outgained the Leopards on offense 223-128.

The Orange and Blue will look to rebound tomorrow night at 6 p.m. as they welcome Cornell to Lewisburg.

“Cornell is an offense based on the production of their passing game. Their QB like ours is a three year starter and one of the better QBs we will see this year,” Susan said. “One of the best ways to defend a team like this is our offense moving the ball more effectively and not putting our defense in compromised field position.”

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Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis sizees up competition

Cooper Mead

Writer

The Bison traveled to Philadelphia for the Saint Joseph’s Invitational this past weekend, getting off to an explosive start by winning nine of their first 11 matches on day one. Five of those matches were in singles play and two of them were against fellow Patriot League contenders.

Evan Zimmer ’13 defeated Jose Sierra from Saint Joseph’s by a score of 6-4, 6-4 in Flight 1 singles action. Nick Bybel ’16 defeated Thomas O’Brien of Villanova 6-3, 6-3. Bybel and Zimmer also competed in a doubles bout against Lafayette’s Brandon Goldstein and James Oliver, winning 8-1. The duo proceeded through to the quarterfinals and defeated Max Montague and Andreas Urrea of Saint Joseph’s by a score of 8-3.

Partners Josh Katten ’13 and Kelly Morque ’13 also had significant doubles wins as they defeated Army’s Rashad Shelton and Ben Davies by a score of 8-6 and then defeated Hofstra’s Ari Richman and Adrien Bailly by a score of 8-5. Other victories on day one included Katten’s defeat of Kristian Broaddus 6-3, 6-0, and Aidan Lynch ’14 and Jonathan DeFrancesch ’15 also won their singles bouts.

On the second day of the invitational, the Bison emerged with a .500 record on the day. Singles action was highly contested, with three matches going into super tiebreaks.  Zimmer defeated Mark Miller of Villanova 3-6, 6-3, 10-5, but he later lost in the quarterfinals to Skyler Davis of Drexel 6-4, 6-4. Similarly, Octavio Canibe ’15 defeated Max Montague of Saint Joseph’s 3-6, 6-0, 10-5, but fell to Army’s Roman Cacha 6-1, 1-6, 10-4 in his second super tiebreaker of the day in the quarterfinals.

Katten and Lynch tallied victories in the second round against Patriot League opponents, with Lynch beating Army’s Ron Verano 6-2, 6-1 and Katten defeating Chris Matturri of Lafayette 6-4, 6-0. Morque also won his consolation singles match 7-5, 6-4 against Hofstra’s Antonio Pena.

The final day of the Saint Joseph’s Invitational was a struggle for the Bison. Morque and Katten lost to Alex Veronis and Jose Sierra from Saint Joseph’s 9-7 in the quarterfinals. Bybel and Zimmer also failed to defeat Alex Holland and Henry Jang-Milsten from Army, losing 8-3. Despite the doubles struggles, Morque won the Flight 2 singles consolation draw  by defeating Pierre Brondeau of Saint Joseph’s winning the first set 6-2, dropping the second in a tiebreaker, and winning in a super tiebreaker 10-6. He then proceeded to defeat Joseph LaBate from La Salle 6-2, 6-4.

“It was a really up and down weekend for us. We had some solid individual performances across the board, but we never really gained momentum throughout the weekend,” Morque said.

“This was a very good tournament, aside from the injuries,” Lynch said. “Everyone got a lot of matches, which is always important early on in the year. We saw some very good things and hopefully will continue to get better this weekend.”

The Bison will attempt to improve on the week’s performance as they get ready for their last home matches of the fall in the Bucknell Invitational this weekend.

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Men Sports Water Polo

Water polo goes 1-2 at North/South

Scott Padula
Staff writer

On Sept. 15 and 16, the men’s water polo team competed in the North/South Tournament, going 1-2 on the weekend. The Bison defeated host team Harvard 11-3 before losing to No. 20 St. Francis 7-6 and No. 13 Princeton 13-9. The Orange and Blue are now 4-5 on the season.

The Bison coasted to an easy victory against the Crimson, thanks in part to a tremendous defensive effort. In the first half, the Orange and Blue scored six goals while holding Harvard scoreless. The Bison carried their momentum into the second half, outscoring the Crimson 5-3.

Matt Napleton ’13 was great in goal throughout, allowing a mere three goals with 10 saves in 32 minutes of play. Brian Barron ’13, Alex Nowlin ’14, Andrew Somers ’14 and Stefan Aleksic ’16 each found the back of the net two times. Nowlin added three assists to lead the team in points with a total of five.

In the final game of the invitational, the Orange and Blue fell to the highest-ranked east coast team Princeton 13-9. The game was competitive throughout, with the Bison leading in the first quarter 2-1 and taking a 4-4 tie into the intermission. The Tigers were too much for the Orange and Blue in the second half, particularly the third quarter, scoring five times without allowing a single Bison goal.

Mike Kimble ’14 scored a career-high five goals, while Jack Else ’14 provided a season-high five ejections. In goal, Napleton recorded 10 saves in 32 minutes of action. His effort on the weekend earned him the honor of being the CWPA’s Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week.

The Bison will now shift their focus to conference play by traveling to face Navy, George Washington and Johns Hopkins this weekend.

Categories
Football Men Sports

Bison football training, diet regiment

Sami Shein

Writer

The Bison football team is stronger than ever due to their rigorous summer training and diet regimen.

After numerous players participated in voluntary summer workouts, the entire team reported to campus to start football training camp on Aug. 7. It was not hard for the Orange and Blue to get back into the swing of things since every teammate pushed himself over the summer.

“During camp, we are on a tight schedule that includes practicing, working out, meetings and meals. Our nutrition is monitored to maintain or change our weights so that we will be most effective when we are out on the field,” co-captain Beau Traber ’13 said.

“Our schedule was tough. A typical day was waking up at 7 a.m. and pretty much going to meetings, lifts and practices until curfew. We also had breaks throughout the day to eat and rest,” co-captain Joseph Francis ’13 said.

There was no unified diet for the team, but some players who needed to lose or gain weight for their position were advised to eat certain foods. The players tried to eat about 4,000 calories per day and hydrate as much as possible to feel energized and strong.

The Bison enjoy their intensive training schedules and are not intimidated by the workouts because the training is fairly similar to years before. Since they know what to expect, they set goals in order to improve.

“Everyone’s attitude was focused on taking it day by day and not worrying about what we had to do next,” Francis said.

“This year, camp went well, and we attribute that to all the hard work we have put in since the end of last season,” Traber said.

Due to all their discipline and dedication, the Orange and Blue feel more than ready to take on their opponents this season.

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Football Men Sports

Football falls to No. 13 Delaware

Courtesy of Athletic Communications
The Bison attempt to take control at the line of scrimmage. Unfortunately, the Bison were unable to overtake the Blue Hens after a strong first half, falling 19-3 to end the game.

 

Eric Brod

Senior writer

Head coach Joe Susan returned to his alma mater, Delaware, last Saturday, and despite a hard fought effort from the Bison, they were unable to get past No. 13 Delaware in a 19-3 defeat.

The Blue Hens’ offense was averaging 40 points per contest, but the Orange and Blue defense held the Blue Hens from getting a touchdown during their first three trips inside the Red Zone. However, Delaware kicker Sean Baner tied their school record with four field goals.

The Bison’s score came from the first play of the second quarter on a 21-yard field goal by Sean Cobelli ’14. The field goal finished a 13-play, 80-yard drive led by quarterback Brandon Wesley ’14, who was stopped four yards short of the goal line on a third-down play.

By the end of the first half, the Bison had an offensive yard advantage over the Blue Hens, 174-132, but found themselves trailing 6-3 at the half. The Blue Hens pulled away in the second half behind running back Andrew Pierce, who rushed for 101 yards on 21 carries. 

“We need to eliminate negative yardage runs. This puts your offense off schedule when it comes to down and distance. We also had some pre-snap penalties,” Susan said. “Against a team like Delaware, you must be right in both of these instances.”

Despite the loss, the Bison showed why they are considered one of the most improved teams in the Patriot League and why they are serious contenders for the league title this year. The defense was led by linebacker Evan Byers ’15, who tied a career-high 10 tackles, and safety Ryan Morgan ’14 added in nine. Sean Sellers ’14 led the defensive line with 1.5 sacks, one of which resulted in a 15-yard loss on a third and goal for the Blue Hens early in the game.

“Our defense played hard the entire game. We knew that we would have to challenge Delaware by defensive front movement and both linebacker and secondary pressure,” Susan said. “We limited their big plays, which can change the score quickly. We attacked their offensive line and that was a key throughout.”

On offense, Wesley completed 21 of 37 passes for 197 yards, and Jeremiah Young ’13 led the rushing attack again with 11 carries for 44 yards. It was also a milestone for wide receiver Victor Walker ’14, whose six catches for 74 yards put him over 1,000 receiving yards in his career.

“We came out of the game healthy. That is critical as we move into league competition. Our team is focused on doing what it takes to win,” Susan said.

The Bison will look to rebound tomorrow in their home opener against Lafayette. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

“I would like to send a personal message to the Bucknell students and faculty: please come to our game this Saturday. The game is televised nationally on CBS Sports Network. Please join us and support your team,” Susan said.

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Men Sports Tennis

Men’s tennis gets early experience

Cooper Mead

Writer

The men’s tennis team split up last weekend to compete in the Princeton Invitational and the Mount St. Mary’s Invitational.

At the Princeton Invitational, Josh Katten ’13 and Evan Zimmer ’13 both won their singles matches, while Katten also teamed up with Kelly Morque ’13 to win their first-round doubles match and defeat Princeton’s Mohamed El Tonbari and Michael Lin, 8-4. Despite Katten’s first round singles win over Andrew Berman of UPenn (4-6, 6-4, 6-2), he had a tough second round match-up and lost to St. John’s MJ Every after dropping the opening frame 6-1. Zimmer’s first match went well as he beat Cornell’s Alex Sidney 6-3, 6-2, but he was defeated by Yale’s Kyle Dawson 6-0, 3-6, 6-1.

As the tournament progressed, the Orange and Blue struggled as Nick Bybel ’16 lost his match to Arvis Berzins of Fairleigh Dickinson 6-3, 6-0, which ended the Bison’s contention in the singles bracket. Similarly, Morque and Katten brought the team’s competition to a close at the Princeton Invitational when they lost in an 8-5 contest against Wake Forest’s Sam Bloom and Brendan Henry.

In Emmitsburg, Md. the Bison were only able to send two players through to the second round. Octavio Canibe ’15 won 7-5, 3-6, 10-7 over Duk Young Park of Morgan State and Jonathan DeFrancesch ’15 defeated Jordan Kuchta of Loyola (Md.) 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. In the semi-final round, Canibe was a 6-2, 3-6, 10-4 winner over Adam Salam of Mount St. Mary’s and DeFrancesch defeated Morgan State’s Jannick Tash 5-7, 6-3, 10-4 in their Flight B semifinal.

In the doubles arena, partners Canibe and Rosen won 9-8 against Mike Salomon and Salam of Mount St. Mary’s. The Bison duo lost their next round match to Duk Young Park and Tash of Morgan State, 8-4.

On Sunday, Canibe lost to Matt Blake from Mount St. Mary’s in the finals by a score of 7-5, 6-2 to place second in the Flight A title bout. Also competing in the finals was DeFrancesch, who defeated Evan Ward 6-4, 6-4, and won the Flight B singles title, tallying a career best with three consecutive wins this weekend. Aidan Lynch ’14 also defeated Bobby Gorczakowski of Loyola 7-5, 6-4 in the backdraw.

“Overall, it was a successful weekend for everyone. There was solid competition at both tournaments and we got a lot of matches in, which is very important at this point in the season. We hope to have a productive week of practice and be at our best for the St. Joes tournament,” Morque said.

After the Bison’s strong performance at the Mount St. Mary’s Invitational, they will prepare for the St. Joseph’s Invitational in Philadelphia on Sept. 21-23.

 

Categories
Men Soccer Sports

Men’s soccer wins two blowout contests

 

Madelyn Zachara | The Bucknellian
The Orange and Blue attempt to capitalize on a throw in. They found many ways to score over the weekend, compiling eleven goals.

Chris McCree

Sports Editor

Coming off its first two victories of the season, the men’s soccer team exploded for 11 goals last weekend in a pair of wins against Adelphi and Albany on its home turf. The Orange and Blue dominated both games from start to finish, outshooting their opponents 18-7 and 18-9, respectively.

“This weekend was a critical step for our team,” Patrick Figgie ’16 said. “After battling out five difficult games to start off our season, coming back home and being able to play our own game is a great sign of moving forward. We were able to control the tempo of both games more so than in the previous five, which allowed us to keep possession and have more attacking chances.”

On Friday night, the Orange and Blue recorded the highest goal total in 20 years with seven goals, shutting out an Adelphi squad that beat the team 1-0 last season. Conor Keeley ’15 led the Bison with two goals, while five others recorded single goals.

Brendan Burgdorf ’13 got the Bison started with a goal in the sixth minute of play, followed by a headed goal from Jonathan Grad ’15 right before the half. Joe Meyer ’14 scored his second goal of the season early in the second half, while Figgie, Keeley and Mark Leibensperger ’15 all scored their first collegiate goals in the later parts of the contest.

“Coming into the weekend we were riding a two game win streak, so it was important to be able to keep that momentum going–especially at home–in front of a great crowd,” Brian Ward ’15 said. “Last year, we did not get the result we wanted in our home opener, or when we went to Adelphi, so to get the win this year feels even better.”

Following the big win, the Bison continued their strong play against Albany, taking down the Great Danes, 4-0. Defender Mayowa Alli ’14 scored two goals in the first half, while Ward and Burgdorf each added one of their own in the second.

On the defensive side, the Bison were strong once again, allowing just nine shots in 90 minutes of play. Mike Lansing ’16 recorded his second straight shutout of the year, only having to make two saves throughout the match.

“The overall team effort that we gave this weekend was amazing,” Ward said. “Twenty-two different guys played, eight different guys scored, two different goalies got complete game shutouts and no matter what combination of players we had on the field, our level of play never dropped.”

Due to their large goal differential, the Orange and Blue took the Class of ’98 Invitational crown, while Penn State took second.

Playing their best soccer of the young season, the Bison look poised to compete for a Patriot League title. The Bison will travel to Lehigh tomorrow for a nighttime showdown against their rivals.

“After this weekend, we are definitely looking forward to playing Lehigh in our first Patriot League game,” Meyer said. “I think it is important to realize that while we had a great weekend, we still need to come ready to play and ready to work hard. We are confident right now and need to focus on getting ready for Saturday’s match.”