Nov. 13, 2009

Lewisburg, Pa.—Top-seeded Bucknell advanced to the Patriot League Men’s Soccer Championship round for the third time in school history, claiming a 1-0 win overtime victory over fourth-seeded Lafayette. The Bison will meet third-seeded American, which advanced on penalty kicks against No. 2 Lehigh.

No. 1 Bucknell 1, No. 4 Lafayette 0 (OT)

Two-time Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Conor O’Brien provided the heroics for the Bison, scoring the lone of the contest in the 96th minute. O’Brien now has 11 goals and 30 points on the season, both of which lead the Patriot League.

O’Brien’s score was the lone shot that Lafayette goalkeeper Philip Nelson, the 2009 Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year, did not stop. Nelson made six saves against the Bison’s potent attack. Second-Team All-Patriot League selection Tommy Caso made two saves to pick up the victory for the Bison.

Bucknell kept the pressure on Lafayette throughout the contest. The Bison out-shot the Leopards by a 14-6 margin. Bucknell also doubled Lafayette’s corner kick output, 6-3. The Bison have won 10 of their last 12 games and enter the title game with a 15-5-0 overall mark. Lafayette concludes the season with a 10-7-2 record.

No. 3 American 0, No. 2 Lehigh 0 (American advances on PKs, 6-5)

As was the case in the teams’ regular season meeting, defense was the name of the game between American and Lehigh. After the two squads played to a scoreless tie in the regular season, they played another 110 minutes of scoreless action in the Patriot League Semifinals. After reaching a scoreless draw, American outlasted Lehigh on penalty kicks, 6-5.

The teams were even in nearly every statistical category with Lehigh totaling 15 shots and American unleashing 14.  Jesse Schram led the Mountain Hawks with four shot attempts and Cameron Petty registered three attempts for AU.  Each team had five corner kicks and the two squads combined for 30 fouls. 

Mountain Hawks keeper Jonathan Nydell stopped one shot in his 110 minutes of work, while Matt Makowski stopped five Lehigh shots in goal for American.

American snapped a three-game losing streak and moved to 9-6-3. Lehigh’s season comes to a close at 9-5-4.

Patriot League Championship, Sunday, 1 p.m.

Bucknell, which won its lone Patriot League title in 2006, will be pitted against No. 3 American in the championship tilt, which will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. American will be chasing its third Patriot League crown.