March 19, 2008

Final Stats

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Playing just a few miles from his hometown, Bucknell backup goalie Matt Antonelli (Arnold, Md./Archbishop Spalding) turned in a brilliant, 11-save relief effort, but Tim Paul finally snuck one past him with 1:20 remaining in sudden-death overtime, leading eighth-ranked Navy to a 4-3 victory over No. 12 Bucknell in a hard-hitting defensive struggle on Wednesday afternoon at rainy Navy-Marine Corps Stadium.

Austin Winter (Boonton Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes) scored two goals for the Bison, who saw their five-game winning streak come to an end. Bucknell is now 5-2 (1-1 Patriot League), with both losses coming to top-10 teams.

Navy improved to 7-1 overall, 4-0 in the Patriot League, after claiming a tense affair in which neither team led by more than one goal all day.

Antonelli was the story for the Bison. Inserted into the game four minutes into the second quarter after short-stick middie Geoff Leone beat starter Nick Sciubba (Sea Cliff, N.Y./Salisbury School) with a fastbreak shot just inside the box to make it 2-1 Navy, Antonelli made nine saves in the second and third quarters to keep Bucknell's deficit at just one goal.

The Bison finally tied it with 10:13 left in the fourth quarter when Winter scored off a feed from Ryan Klipstein (Califon, N.J./Rutgers Prep) on a two-man advantage.

Navy also had to turn to its backup keeper when Matt Coughlin was injured on the Winter goal. Moments later, Tim Brandau (Owings Mills, Md./McDonogh) had a good look in front but shot just over the crossbar behind Tommy Phelan.

Navy finally solved Antonelli for the first time when Shane Durkin scored an unassisted tally from the left side of the cage, giving the Midshipmen a 3-2 lead with just 5:04 to play.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Nick Marks (Barrington, Ill./Salisbury School) followed a successful clear with a hard lefty shot that skipped past the feet of Phelan with 2:27 left.

Bucknell was called for a loose-ball push on the ensuing faceoff, but the Mids went offside trying to clear. The Bison played for a final possession but Winter could not connect on a pass in front with 10 seconds left, and Navy broke out in transition looking for the game-winner.

Antonelli made a dazzling save on Paul with about four seconds left and a follow-up shot went wide as the buzzer sounded.

Navy won the overtime faceoff, but Antonelli's 11th save of the day appeared to give Bucknell a possession. But the Bison were hampered by turnovers against Navy's vaunted defense, and a long clearing pass that went awry gave the ball back to the Midshipmen.

Navy worked the ball around before Nick Mirabito, the Mids' leading scorer who had been shut down all day in a terrific performance by the Bucknell defense, skipped a right-to-left pass over to Paul, who fired a low-to-high sidewinder past Antonelli for the game-winner.

Bucknell's close defense trio of Billy Haire (Darien, Conn./Darien), Tom Izard (West Hartford, Conn./Hotchkiss) and Evan Burns (Baltimore, Md./Boys' Latin) combined for 14 ground balls, half of them coming from Haire.

Antonelli finished with a career-high 11 saves while allowing only two goals in 43:41. Coughlin was just as good at the other end before his injury. He stopped 10 shots while allowing two goals in 49:47. Phelan did not make a save in 12:53.

Navy outshot Bucknell 3-0 in overtime and 32-27 overall, and the Mids won the ground ball battle 33-22. Navy won 7 of 11 faceoffs, but Rick Carolan (Wellesley, Mass.St. Sebastians) was a solid 4-for-8 after taking over at the start of the second quarter.

Bucknell had 21 turnovers to Navy's 19, but 14 of those came after halftime. The Bison were 9-for-10 on clears in the first half, but just 3-for-7 in the third quarter. Navy's defense has now allowed only 36 goals in eight games.

Bucknell scored first on Winter's tally at the 6:19 mark of the first quarter, but that would be it for the Bison until the fourth quarter. Navy tied it on Joe Lennon's goal with 27 seconds left in the first period, then went ahead on Leone's tally that seemed to pass through Sciubba's stick early in the second.

The Bison will be back in the state of Maryland on Tuesday, when they travel to Towson for a 7 p.m. game.