Nov. 19, 2009

Princeton, N.J.—After a weather delay in the 60th minute, lightning struck for the Bucknell men’s soccer team in the 70th minute. Brendan Burgdorf scored his second game-winning goal in as many games, lifting Bucknell to a 1-0 victory over Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament. The Bison (16-5-0) advance to the second round to take on second-seeded Virginia on Sunday. Princeton ends its season with a 9-6-3 mark.

Burgdorf slipped behind the Tigers’ defense and took a long feed from Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Conor O’Brien. The freshman then flicked a shot past Princeton goalkeeper Sean Lynch for the decisive goal. Burgdorf now has nine goals, which is the second-highest single-season total by a freshman in Bucknell history.

“I’m so proud of how our guys stuck in there,” said Bucknell head coach Brendan Nash. “We did what we had to do in the second half, and to see the looks on our guys’ faces after the game was pretty special.”

Bucknell claimed the victory despite being out-shot by a 23-10 margin. Burgdorf’s goal was one of just two shots-on-goal for the Bison, while Princeton tallied seven shots on goal.

Second-Team All-Patriot League goalkeeper Tommy Caso made seven saves, preserving Bucknell’s chances. He made three saves in the final 10 minutes to improve to 15-5-0 and record his League-leading 10th shutout of the season.

“I thought Tommy Caso was the difference tonight,” Nash said. “Princeton put a lot of pressure on us tonight. We thought the weather break might help us, but they came out of the break and continued to put pressure on us. He made a lot of acrobatic saves tonight, as well as a lot of saves that weren’t as acrobatic, but they were saves a lot of goalkeepers wouldn’t be able to make.”

The Bison have now broken the Patriot League record for single-season victories. Of Bucknell’s 17 wins, 10 have come by a 1-0 margin. The Bison have now scored in 27 straight contests.

Bucknell will head south for a 1 p.m. meeting with Virginia in Charlottesville on Sunday. The Bison will attempt to become just the third Patriot League team to reach the third round of the NCAA Tournament.