Collin Costello ’13 played a critical role last week as the men’s soccer team turned their season around with two 1-0 victories. The co-captain played every minute of both games, leading the defense that earned the team two shutouts by only allowing NJIT and Colgate a combined 14 shots. His efforts earned him the Brine Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week award.
“Over the past week, our team has been able to record two shutouts because we have defended as a team and not as a group of individuals. This has started with our forwards, and has finished with our goalkeeper,” Costello said. “When we can begin our defensive pressure in the opponents’ defensive third, it makes the other team uncomfortable and more susceptible to make simple mistakes. We have been able to capitalize on these mistakes the past two games.”
Costello did not receive much playing time in his first three years for the Orange and the Blue, but his patience has paid off as he now leads the team in minutes played and has started every game this season. He has even seen some time on the offensive side of the field, as he has two goals and two assists on the year. Despite his personal success, Costello remains focused on what the team as a whole needs to accomplish.
“Our goal is simple: beat Lafayette and clinch a bid into the Patriot League Tournament,” Costello said. “Once you get into the tournament, all bets are off and each team’s regular season record doesn’t matter. At that point, each game will be a battle of which team can defend well and finish their chances. We hope a win this weekend will give us the momentum needed to win this year’s Patriot League Championship.”
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons LeBron James faces tough competition as he attempts to win another NBA Championship and become the most decorated basketball player ever.
Julian Dorey Writer
This NBA season may be the most important one in LeBron James’ career.
Last year, the King finally got his ring after a tiresome, impactful, controversial, trend-settingnine-year quest. The championship definitely provided him with some peace of mind and some long-lost self-assurance.
What it didn’t do for him is silence his greatest detractors.
James has one ring. Not two, not three, not four or five, but one. His physicality, ridiculous career numbers and three MVP’s to this point in his career do not put him in Michael Jordan’s company because his bling collection has only brought in its first item. At age 27 going on 28, he has plenty of time. After all, Jordan was 28 when he got his first. By the sheer wits of father time, James is right on track.
But once Jordan got one, he followed it up with two more in a row. After leaving the NBA for a short time in the mid-90s following his father’s death, Jordan came back and went on to another three-peat.
The moral of the story? James may need to start ripping off championships like Stephen A. Smith rips off stats from a box score if he ever wants to catch the greatest player to ever pick up a ball.
If James truly intends to hold himself to the standard of being the greatest player to ever play the game, as he told the AP last week, this season could be the most critical one of his entire career. Once James and the Heat can prove to themselves that they have the ability to reel off a couple titles in a row, there’s no telling how much their confidence and aspirations could collectively soar. They would enter next season with a real opportunity to establish a dynasty, and to be one of the greatest teams to ever play together.
Perhaps the Heat can be the NBA’s first true dynasty since the Spurs and Lakers earlier in this century. With Dwyane Wade healthy heading into this season and Chris Bosh finally sure of himself and his role as the third wheel on the team, there’s no telling how much better the Heat can get and how many more rings they can collect.
There’s just one problem: this is not Jordan’s NBA.
When Jordan began his meteoric rise to the top of basketball’s Mount Rushmore, certain things fell into place. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were on the wrong side of 30 and their star-powered teams were shells of what they used to be. Some of Isiah Thomas’ key sidekicks on the infamous “Bad Boys” team in Detroit (Dumars, Laimbeer, Mahorn, Aguirre) were getting old. Great players like Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley and David Robinson did not have the sheer scoring ability that Jordan did, and also did not have the sidekicks he did. In other words, Jordan entered his prime right as the rest of the NBA entered a transitional period that would see the style of the game change. When Jordan already had three titles under his belt, came back to the NBA and began his quest for more, the only real threat to his Bulls were the Utah Jazz who bowed to “his Airness” in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals.
To be clear, none of that is to say that Jordan had it easy, or that he doesn’t deserve every one of the accolades he has received as a player. Jordan is arguably the most clutch player of all time and his accomplishments speak for themselves. However, with all of those listed factors in mind, consider what James has to deal with as he begins his mission to collect more trophies.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City. Kobe, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol in Los Angeles. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and a rising young roster representing the lesser-advertised team in Los Angeles. The Brooklyn Nets and Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s continued willingness to throw money at talent to build a champion. Even a young team in the Philadelphia 76ers has rising talent to possibly make them a force in years to come.
The point?
James has tough company. The NBA has evolved into a league of “super-teams.” Organizations feel that the only way they can compete is if they load up on franchise players. It started with James’ move to South Beach in 2010.
Now, as James enters the most important season of his career, a season that needs to end with another parade in Miami, he has to navigate past talented teams that he, albeit indirectly, created.
He could go down as the greatest of all-time, but he’s going to have to play at unprecedented levels to do so if the biggest measurement stick is Jordan’s six, levels that would eclipse Jordan’s playoff performances throughout the years.
The Bucknellian Archives Josh Butzke ’13 eyes the ball. The Bison successfully defended their home turf against Colgate in front of a large Homecoming crowd.
Chris McCree Sports Editor
The men’s soccer team earned a crucial 1-0 win on Oct. 27 over visiting rival Colgate, moving the team into fourth place in the Patriot League standings with one game remaining. Entering the game one place outside of playoff contention, the Orange and Blue received an early goal from Jesse Klug ’16 and held on for the remainder of the contest to improve their league record to 2-2-2.
“The win against Colgate was a big win,” Brendan Burgdorf ’13 said. “It kept our chances of making the Patriot League Tournament alive, which has been our goal all season. Colgate is one of the top teams in the conference, so beating them gives us a lot of confidence that we can compete for the championship.”
Klug’s goal in the first five minutes of play provided an early spark for a Bison squad that has consistently been faced with early deficits throughout the season. Sprung on a breakaway by a Burgdorf header, Klug netted his third goal of the season into the right side of the net, launching an eruption of cheers from a large Senior Day crowd at Emmitt Field.
From that point on, the Orange and Blue defense held strong and allowed the Raiders just six shots throughout the contest. Goalie Mike Lansing ’16 made a key diving save midway through the first half to conserve the Bison lead and the Raiders could not create another legitimate scoring chance from that point on.
“The win was big for a few reasons,” head coach Brendan Nash said. “We had a nice Homecoming crowd, they are the defending champions and we needed to win to stay alive in the Patriot League playoff hunt. The win will help our confidence moving forward.”
Before kickoff, the Orange and Blue program recognized six seniors: Burgdorf, Vinny Cinotti ’13, Collin Costello’13, Jermaine Jarrett ’13, CK Kumah ’13 and Josh Plump ’13. All six players received field time during the match and Burgdorf moved into 10th place all-time on the points list with his assist.
Following the win, the Orange and Blue earned a 2-2 tie at Binghamton on Oct. 30. The team faced an early 2-0 deficit, but rallied in the last 20 minutes of the game to avoid the loss. Cinotti and Mark Kramarchuk ’16 scored the two goals for the Bison, giving the team a much needed boost of confidence heading into this weekend’s decisive match-up against Lafayette.
“There are many different options for the playoffs. However, the easiest thing for us to do is to get a win this weekend and get into the tournament,” Nash said. “Our guys know that once a team qualifies for the playoffs, the title is up for grabs. Yet, we first need to focus on qualifying this weekend.”
Standing in a tie for fourth place with Holy Cross, the Bison are guaranteed a playoff spot with a win tomorrow against Lafayette. The much anticipated game is slated to begin at 4 p.m. in Easton, Pa.
Wilson Hunt | The Bucknellian Brandon Welsey ’14 sprints past Colgate defenders towards the end zone. Despite the quarterback’s impressive performance, the Bison were unable to end their six-game losing streak.
Eric Brod Senior Writer
Despite an impressive offensive performance on Oct. 27, the Bison football team was unable to snap its six-game losing streak, falling to league rival Colgate 47-33. The Orange and Blue are now 1-7 (0-4) on the season. Despite the loss, quarterback Brandon Wesley ’14 set the all time record for career completions with 425.
The offense was once again led by Jeremiah Young ’13, who rushed for 131 yards on the day. Colgate opened up the scoring on quarterback Gavin McCarney’s five yard scamper, which was part of his 18 rush, 121 yard performance.
The Bison were able to close the gap to 7-6 on a pair of Sean Cobelli ’14 field goals. The first score came off a 10-play drive with a 27-yard run by Young and a 22-yarder by Wesley. The second field goal was set up by an interception by safety Matthew Steinbeck ’15, his fourth pick of the season and third in the last two weeks. The defense was unable to stop the Colgate attack as the Raiders scored a touchdown on each of their next six possessions.
“Colgate is one of the better gun-run read teams I have seen. This is option offense without a pitch phase,” head coach Joe Susan said. “Their quarterback and running back do a great job of making the read late and are very hard to tackle as they are both big and physical players.”
The offense was able to keep the team in the game for most of the second half, as they engineered touchdowns on three of their first five possessions. The scores came on a 10-yard run by Young, a 38-yard reception by Josh Brake ’15 and a three-yard run by running back Tyler Smith ’13.
Despite the loss, the offense showed great improvement from previous weeks as they broke the 21-point mark for the first time all season and scored over 30 points for the first time since October of last year. Brake led all receivers with a career-high 87 yards receiving, while Victor Walker ’14 had five catches for 49 yards. Wesley finished the day 22-38 passing for 208 yards.
“Our offense was smart with the ball, as we did not have any turnovers. We did a great job in yardage after initial contact,” Susan said. “We were effective in creating big plays which we call fly by yardage.”
The Bison return to action tomorrow as they host Fordham. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
“We will work to use misdirection to exploit their aggressiveness. They play a lot of man to man coverage and we must be effective against that,” Susan said.
The women’s soccer team battled hard against Navy on Oct. 27, but was defeated 1-0 in Annapolis, Md. A win or draw would have clinched a Patriot League playoff spot for the Orange and Blue, but one-loss Navy broke the scoreless game and protected the lead from a Bison shooting surge in the second half. Lehigh’s win against Holy Cross eliminated the Bison from playoff contention.
With Navy being undefeated in the Patriot League, the Bison were determined to give the Midshipmen their first loss in conference play. Navy started out aggressively on offense with a 15-5 shot advantage in the first half. Goalie Sandita McDermott ’13 halted Navy’s barrage temporarily, saving seven shots. The game appeared to be 0-0 going into halftime, but Navy scored their first goal in the 43rd minute to take the lead.
“[Our] team kept the shape and formation the same to start the second half but switched to a more offensive minded shape halfway through in hopes to get a goal and tie the game up,” McDermott said.
The Bison were more successful defending Navy in the second half, limiting them to eight shots and zero corner kicks. Courtney Nelson ’15 and Liz Dwornik ’14 combined for nine of the Orange and Blue’s 14 shot attempts in the game. Even with the shot advantage in the second half, Navy’s defense controlled the tempo of the game, as the Bison were unable to find the net. McDermott had 11 saves in the game. Nelson had three shots on goal, while Chelsey Garkowski ’14, Cassie Denger ’15 and Dwornik each had one on target.
“We put three players in the back instead of four [in the second half] which did help us get an increased offensive attack but unfortunately not enough for this particular day,” McDermott said.
The Orange and Blue finished their season 10-9 overall with a 3-4 record in Patriot League play, improving from a 5-10-1 record last year. They also had six shutouts this season, including three straight against Buffalo, St. Bonaventure and UMBC.
Although disappointed from the loss, McDermott is proud of her team’s effort and the strong showing it put together this year. She ends her Bison career second in program history in both shutouts and goals-against average. She also finished third in save percentage, fourth in wins and fifth in saves. Joining McDermott on the graduating stage are Taryn Boucher ’13, Corinne Collins ’13, Meghan Fitzpatrick ’13, Emily Trosch ’13, Jenna Tryon ’13 and Kayla Yee ’13.
“Navy is the first place team, currently, and we played an amazing game against them. Having a 1-0 result is something to be proud of,” McDermott said. “I just couldn’t be happier to have been surrounded by such an amazing group of girls and coaching staff to allow us all do what we love and just play soccer. Having the chance to break school records and now be listed on several of the record lists is amazing and more than anything I ever imagined out of my college career.”
The field hockey team played a close game at Patriot League rival American on Oct. 27, but could not come out with the win, eventually falling 2-1. Forward Kiersten Sydnor ’16 scored the lone goal for the Bison, giving her a fourth Patriot League Rookie of the Week honor.
“This weekend we had a tough loss to American,” Sydnor said. “We didn’t come out on the field ready to win and weren’t able to capitalize on our opportunities inside our attacking 25. We had spurts of aggressiveness but it wasn’t enough to beat American.”
The Bison fell behind early as American scored 13 minutes into the game. The 1-0 deficit held for the rest of the half, but about 11 minutes after play resumed, Sydnor managed to find the back of the net with an assist from midfielder Kelly Stefanowicz ’13 to knot the score at 1-1. American responded quickly, scoring once again a couple minutes later to put themselves up 2-1. Despite outshooting American for the rest of the half, the Bison were unable to equalize the score.
“Although we lost to American, our team made vast improvements in certain areas when comparing our game this year to the games against them last season,” midfielder Vickie Resh ’14 said. “We need to improve on certain things for next weekend that we have identified and are excited to work on this week.”
The Bison and American offenses proved to be very evenly matched, with each side taking a total of nine shots and the Bison leading penalty corners by a four to three total. Though the Bison offense started out slow in the first half, they responded with a typically strong second half to keep the game close.
“This week we will focus on fixing our mistakes so that we can come out ready to win this weekend,” Sydnor said. “After losing on Saturday, I think we will be very determined and motivated to give it our all during the Patriot League Tournament.”
The loss brought an end to regular season, giving the Orange and the Blue a 9-9 record overall and a 3-2 record in the Patriot League. The Bison are now the No. 3 seed for the upcoming Patriot League Tournament, and will play American, the No. 2 seed after their victory, in a semifinals rematch today in Easton, Pa.
“This past week’s game has also shown us that even though we didn’t, we can win and having that loss will hopefully energize us for Friday’s rematch,” Resh said.
The women’s cross country team performed strongly at the Patriot League Championships last weekend, falling only to Navy to place second on the day. Individual Bison also shone, as three were named to All-Patriot League teams for their performances.
“We were proud of our performance this weekend. Navy ran a very strong race, and we respect them for that, though it is certainly disappointing not to come out on top,” Caroline Tolli ’13 said.
The Orange and Blue traveled to Colgate University on Oct. 27 to compete with the top teams in their league for the conference title. Though the team has been struggling with some injuries this season, the Bison started out aggressively in the race. The day ended with the women pulling in the runner-up title, once again falling to Navy as they did last year.
Many individuals held strong and placed amongst the top runners in the league. Leading the way for the Bison was Tolli, who has been a consistent presence at the top of the leaderboard for the team all season. With an impressive time of 22:56.0, she finished seventh in the field and earned a spot on the First Team All-Patriot League team.
Two other Bison were also honored with All-Patriot League team selections, as Deanna Godby ’16 and Katie Jessee ’15 were named to the Second Team for their strong performances. Both team members followed close behind Tolli in the race, with Godby earning 10th place with her time of 23:14.9 and Jessee bringing in 13th for the Orange and Blue with a time of 23:28.0.
“I was most impressed with the strong performance of the younger members of our team. Three of our scoring five finishers were freshmen and one was a sophomore,” Tolli said. “That’s exciting. This is a young team and they already know how to race tough in high-pressure situations.”
Alison Billas ’16 and Meghan Carroll ’16 rounded out the top five for the Bison, contributing to an overall team score of 68. Billas posted a time of 23:36.5 for 16th place on the six-kilometer course, while Carroll finished in 22nd place with a time of 23:49.4.
The Orange and Blue will now have a week off to prepare before gearing up for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. The team will travel to Penn State on Nov. 9 to compete against the top runners in the region.
The men’s cross country team went into the Patriot League Championships in Hamilton, N.Y. with high expectations after a good week of training prior to the event. Unfortunately, the team was unable to perform up to its expectations, finishing fifth out of eight teams for a second consecutive season.
The Bison were led at the meet by John Dugan ’15 who finished the eight-kilometer course with a time of 25:39.4, placing him in third overall and first of the non-seniors in the field. It also earned Dugan First Team All-Patriot League honors. He earned the same last year with a 13th place finish at the league meet, making him the first member of the Orange and the Blue since 2007 to earn All-League honors in back-to-back seasons.
“[Dugan’s] third place finish is the highest since 2006 when Matt Forys ’07 finished third and qualified for nationals two weeks later,” head coach Kevin Donner said.
Dugan was not the only Bison contributing to the team’s effort on Oct. 27. Robert Yamnicky ’13 also provided a strong performance, finishing the race in 21st place with a time of 26:18.3. Yamnicky improved tremendously from his performance last year at league championships where he finished in 73rd place.
“Yamnicky ran very well at the PLC and has had some great training, and I know he will have a strong race at regionals as well,” Dugan said.
Other runners who scored for the Bison include: Charles Seigneur ’13 (34th place), Michael McGowan ’15 (35th) and Andrew Garcia-Garrison ’15 (37th). Some of the disappointment for the Bison was the result of injuries to several key members of the team.
“We had three major injuries to three key people two weeks ago and this really affected our front pack,” Donner said.
The Orange and the Blue will now attempt to put this event behind them as they prepare for their final race of the season, the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships on Nov. 9.
“We are certainly disappointed with the result,” Dugan said. “However, it is something that we are moving on from and we are looking towards the NCAA Regional Championships at Penn State in two weeks.”
Morgan Mientus ’14 played a vital role in the volleyball team’s revival last weekend. Previously winless in Patriot League play, Mientus led the Orange and Blue to five set wins over Lehigh and Lafayette. She tallied 20 kills and 28 digs over the course of the two matches.
“I felt empowered and confident, which is all thanks to the girls around me on the court who constantly have my back,” Mientus said. “I have seen the girls on Lehigh and Lafayette for the past two years and once this year, so I definitely made some personal adjustments.”
Mientus’ 17 digs and 12 kills against Lafayette were particularly crucial, as they helped to lead the squad out of a two set deficit to get the win. Other Bison with double-doubles were Kristen Titley ’14, Kat Tauscher ’13 and Meghan Wentzel ’16.
“We came out fighting against Lehigh and that was a huge win for us because they are a strong presence in the Patriot League. The Lafayette win was a slow start, but once we lost the first two sets we went in our locker room and really refocused,” Mientus said.
The crucial league wins mark the first back-to-back victories for the Bison since Sept. 15.
“Overall, our team has just spent countless hours in the gym and finally it is all paying off and we are peaking at exactly the right moment to take over the Patriot League,” Mientus said.
For 17 years, Ray Lewis has been the face of NFL toughness and the face of his team, the Baltimore Ravens.
For now, that face won’t be taking the field.
In the Ravens’ week six game against the Dallas Cowboys, Lewis suffered a brutal triceps injury and was subsequently declared out for the season. While Lewis did confide in teammates that he would assuredly return for a potential postseason run, the Ravens must assume that the road to a Super Bowl will have to be traveled without their leader.
Seeing Lewis go down made me sad. This is a man who has defied reality by playing at the very highest level, at one of the most physical positions (linebacker), for an unheard-of period of time. This is a man who faced torturous adversity (when he was accused of a murder he did not commit in 2000) and handled it with utmost class. This is a man whose enthusiasm, energy and will to win have inspired millions for almost two decades.
Yet with one awkward landing, it could all be over.
Lewis already thought about retiring after last season. Now, after showing some signs of age and enduring a horrendous injury, the Ravens players, organization and fans are all facing the sad possibility that number 52 has played his last snap.
Unfortunately for the Ravens, the show must go on. Lewis can no longer be with them on the field and other leaders will need to step up. The 43-13 drubbing the team took from the Houston Texans last weekend certainly did not get the post-Lewis season off to a good start.
We all watched the New York Yankees crumble just a couple weeks ago when Derek Jeter went down with a broken ankle. Understandably, it’s very difficult to move on from a loss of that magnitude and focus on winning games immediately. Unlike the Yankees (who were in the middle of a playoff run when Jeter got injured), the Ravens have a solid record (5-2) to use as a “cushion.”
If anyone could return from a torn triceps injury in less than three months, it’s Lewis. Realistically speaking, it is an injury that requires a minimum of four months recovery.Despite Lewis’ claim that he will return for the postseason in January, chances are he won’t.
The underachieving Ravens defense must find a way to carry on and up their game behind great players like Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs and Haloti Ngata. More importantly, someone on the defense needs to step up and assert himself as the “replacement” leader.
Championship teams respond head-on and positively to adversity. Losing the most valuable player on the team has created the biggest problem the Ravens have ever had. Their roster is deep, though, and the next nine games represent a chance for the Ravens to show just how good and resilient they are.
There comes a point where the great rise and the weak fall. The Ravens may not be far from that point. They might be missing their greatest asset, but their ultimate goal remains unchanged.
If they are truly capable of winning a Super Bowl, their greatness will reveal itself soon enough.
