March 13, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The 14th-ranked Bison look for consecutive victory No. 5 and a good start to Patriot League play on Saturday afternoon when Lafayette comes to Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium for a 1 p.m. start. While Bucknell is feeling good after a 9-8 win over No. 16 Fairfield on Tuesday, Lafayette is coming off an 8-5 home loss to Navy last Saturday.

Series Notes:
• Bucknell is 34-6 in 40 previous meetings with Lafayette. Since becoming a varsity sport in 1968, the Bison have played the Leopards every season.
• Bucknell has won the last 14 meetings with Lafayette. The Leopards' last win came on May 1, 1993, 14-13 in double overtime. The Bison made the national highlights that day when defenseman Sean Krieg scored from midfield at the final buzzer to send the game to OT, but Lafayette prevailed in overtime.
• Last season in Easton, Bucknell trailed 4-3 at the half but scored six times in the third quarter en route to a 12-5 victory. Joe Mele led the Bison with five goals, while Nick Marks had three.

Last Outing:
Bucknell raced to an 8-3 lead on No. 16 Fairfield but had to hold on for a 9-8 win on Wednesday. Tim Brandau, Joe Mele and Perry Menzies scored twice each, and John Togneri scored a big one to put the Bison up 9-7 with 4:30 to play. Riding and special teams were the difference. Bucknell was 2-for-3 with a man advantage and held Fairfield to 12 of 21 clearing, including two critical turnovers in the final 1:10. Bucknell was 19-for-20 on clears.

Bison Bits:
• Bucknell is now 4-0 at home this season after Tuesday's win over Fairfield. Three of those four wins have come by one goal and two came against ranked opponents.
• Freshman Mike Danylyshyn scored his first collegiate goal against the Stags.
• Austin Winter had a goal and two assists, and he now leads the Patriot League and ranks eighth nationally in assists per game (2.20).
• Freshman Ryan Klipstein handed out two assists, both coming with the EMO team. Klipstein now has a point in every game this season.
• Defenseman Billy Haire was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week. Haire took over the team ground ball lead with 14.
• The Bison held Fairfield to 20 total shots -- just five in the first half -- and one goal in the final 19:52.
• Bucknell is now 8-for-20 (.400) with a man advantage this season, the second-best mark in the Patriot League.
• Tim Brandau leads the team with three EMO tallies.

Scouting the Leopards:
• Lafayette is now 2-2 on the season and 0-1 in the Patriot League after falling 8-5 to Navy last Saturday in Easton. That was just a 6-5 game with 10 minutes to play before the Midshipmen tacked on two late goals.
• Freshman Tom Perini has 13 goals in four games, third-best in the nation. He had a hat trick against Navy, with Matt Mersky assisting on all three goals. Perini has won the last two Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors.
• Junior goalie Jeff Canfield had 10 saves against Navy. He has been very good in two previous meetings against Bucknell. He had 20 saves against the Bison as a freshman at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium and 16 last season.
• Lafayette's two victories have come against Wagner (16-4) and Presbyterian (17-2). The Leopards opened the season with a 9-6 loss to Villanova.

In the Polls:
• The Bison are ranked T-14th (with Drexel) in the USILA Coaches' Poll this week, its highest billing of the season.
• In the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll, Bucknell is No. 16. Lafayette is unranked in both polls.
• Bucknell was picked third in the Patriot League preseason poll, behind only Navy and Colgate. Bucknell received one first-place vote and 51 total points. Navy collected 12 of the 14 first-place tallies and 72 points, while Colgate also received a first-place vote and 60 points. Army was picked fourth with 45 points, followed by Lehigh (31), Holy Cross (20) and Lafayette (15).

Looking Ahead:
• Bucknell has a big test looming on Wednesday when it travels to Annapolis to take on defending Patriot League champion Navy. Game time is 4 p.m. at Navy Marine Corps Stadium.