September 8, 2008

Center Valley, Pa.- Lehigh and Holy Cross received votes in the NSCAA/adidas National Rankings on Tuesday. Holy Cross received one vote, while Lehigh received four votes. Bucknell earned a share of the team championship (with No. 10 Ohio State) at the Penn State Classic over the weekend after coming up with a win and a tie against two Big Ten foes. Student-athletes from Lehigh and Bucknell won all won BRINE Player of the Week honors.

Patriot League Men's Soccer Release 9.8.08

BRINE  Offensive Player of the Week

Jim Taranto, Lehigh Sr., F, Ramapo, N.J.

Taranto scored two goals and had two assists this weekend, leading Lehigh to a 2-1 win over Princeton and a 2-2 tie against Fordham. Taranto leads the team with four assists and 10 points. He assisted on the game-winning and game-tying goals this weekend.

BRINE Defensive Player of the Week

Ross Liberati, Bucknell So., D, Warwick, Md.

Liberati earned Tournament MVP honors at the Penn State Classic after anchoring a Bucknell defense that allowed only one goal in 200:00 against two Big Ten opponents. Liberati played every minute at center back forBucknell, helping his team capture a share of the tournament title.

BRINE Goalkeeper/Rookie of the Week

Tommy Caso, Bucknell Fr., Phoenix, Md.

Caso allowed only one goal in 200:00of action at the Penn State Classic over the weekend. He made eight saves in a 1-1 tie with No. 10 Ohio State on Friday, preserving the point with a spectacular stop on a breakaway in the second overtime period. Caso had a .889 save percentage with eight saves in the tie. Caso also earned his first career shutout with a five-save performance against the host Nittany Lions in the Penn State Classic. He had five saves and a 1.000 save percentage in the win, bringing his weekend save percentage to .939. Caso had a 0.45 goals-against average for the weekend's games.

Patriot League Notebook

Two Patriot League Teams Receive Votes in National Poll

Lehigh and Holy Cross received votes in the NSCAA/adidas National Rankings on Tuesday. Holy Cross, who knocked off then-No. 13 UMass, received one vote in the rankings, while Lehigh received four votes. In the Middle-Atlantic Region, four Patriot League institutions are ranked in the top-ten; Holy Cross is ranked third, followed by Lehigh in the fourth position. Colgate and Lafayette claimed the seventh and eighth spots on the regional list.

Bucknell Earns Share of Penn State Classic Championship

Bucknell earned a share of the team championship (with No. 10 Ohio State) at the Penn State Classic over the weekend after coming up with a win and a tie against two Big Ten foes. On Friday, Anthony Ferraro's goal in the 74th minute lifted the Bison into a 1-1 tie with Ohio State, the defending Big Ten champs and an NCAA championship game participant in 2007. It was the first-ever meeting between Bucknell and Ohio State. The Buckeyes beat No. 18 Tulsa 2-0 in Sunday's first game, meaning the Bison had to beat Penn State by two goals to earn a share of the tourney title based on goal differential, and they did just that. Bucknell's 2-0 win over Penn State on Sunday was the first over the Nittany Lions since 1975, snapping a 25-game series losing streak.

2008 Patriot League Tournament

The 2008 Patriot League Tournament will take place Friday and Sunday, November 14 and 16 at the site of the highest seed. The top four teams as determined by the regular-season standings will participate in the Patriot League tourney.

Team Notebooks

American

The Eagles split their games down in Raleigh, N.C. this weekend at the Duke/Nike Classic, beating North Carolina State 3-0 and losing to Duke by an identical score. Goalkeeper Matt Makowski tallied his second shutout of the season in the win over N.C. State.

Army

Army dropped its third game in a row, losing to Marist this weekend by a score of 2-1. The Black Knights look to win their first game of the season as they return to West Point to face Manhattan on Wednesday.

Bucknell

The Bison got their first win in State College in 40 years when they beat Penn State 2-0 on Sunday. Ross Liberati was named Tournament MVP, and he was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Mark Schmiegel, Patrick Selwood and Sean King. Bucknell welcomes Cornell and Hartwick this weekend for the Days Inn Classic.

Colgate

With Sunday's 4-0 win over Rider, the Raiders extended their home winning streak to 12 games. During this stretch, the Raiders are 9-0-3. Colgate's last home loss came on October 21, 2006 to Lehigh, 1-0.

Holy Cross

Sophomore midfielder Tom Wilhelm scored his first collegiate goal against Providence in Saturday's 1-1 draw. The Crusaders travel to Sacred Heart on Tuesday and take on Northeastern at home on Saturday night.

Lafayette

The Leopards shut out the No. 16 Northwestern Wildcats for the first time this season in Sunday's scoreless tie. Lafayette has now held two ranked opponents without a goal this season, No. 15 West Virginia and No. 16 Northwestern.

Lehigh

Lehigh handed Princeton a 2-1 loss Friday night and tallied a 2-2 tie against Fordham in the Bronx. The Mountain Hawks travel to South Carolina this weekend for the adidas Gamecock Classic against South Carolina and Presbyterian.

Navy

The Mids won both of their games this weekend, defeating Adelphi, 2-1 and Lipscomb, 3-2. Forward Mike Porcelli scored his first career goal, a game-winner, in the 110th minute against Lipscomb.