Nov. 20, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.--Bucknell's senior class is familiar with its current situation. As freshmen, the Bison's current seniors advanced to the NCAA Second Round to face Virginia in 2006. Bucknell will again meet the Cavaliers in the NCAA Second Round on Sunday, aiming to knock off the No. 2 team in the tournament.

Patriot League Men's Soccer Release 11.20.09

Bucknell Heads To Virginia For NCAA Second Round

Bucknell at No. 2 Virginia
Sunday, November 22, 1:00 p.m.
Klöckner Stadium
Charlottesville, Va. 

The Bucknell men's soccer team will travel south to meet second-seeded Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Bucknell reached the second round after claiming a 1-0 win at Princeton on Thursday night. As one of the top 16 seeds in the tournament, Virginia received a first-round bye. Bucknell enters Charlottesville with a Patriot League-record 17 wins. The Bison reached the tournament after winning their second Patriot League Championship in four years.

Bucknell is in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time and the second time as a Patriot League member. The Bison are 2-4 all-time in NCAA play, having defeated Penn State 1-0 in 1974 and George Mason in 2006. Bucknell has never advanced past the second round in the NCAA Tournament. Bucknell and Virginia met in the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, with Virginia recording a 4-0 victory over the Bison. Overall, Patriot League teams are 7-14-3 in the NCAA Tournament. Virginia is the only team that has played against the Patriot League in the NCAA Tournament more than once. The Cavaliers are 3-0 against Patriot League squads.

The Bucknell-Virginia winner will play the winner of Sunday’s match between North Carolina State and Portland.

NCAA Men’s Soccer First Round
Thursday, November 19
Princeton, N.J.
Bucknell 1, Princeton 0
    
After a 30-minute weather delay, lightning struck off the foot of Bucknell forward Brendan Burgdorf. The freshman slipped past the defense and snuck a shot into the goal, providing the difference in the Bison’s 1-0 win over Princeton. It was Burgdorf’s second game-winning goal in as many contests.

The win gave Bucknell a Patriot League-record 17 wins, 10 of which have come by 1-0 margins. It was also the Bison’s 12th shutout of the year. Sophomore goalkeeper Tommy Caso made six saves to pick up his 15th win of the year.

Patriot League Notebook

Patriot League In The NCAA Tournament
Patriot League teams are 7-14-3 in NCAA Tournament games. With its win over Princeton, Bucknell became the first Patriot League team since 2006 to win a first round game. The Bison defeated George Mason three years ago to reach the second round. Bucknell will look to join Lehigh and American as the only Patriot League teams to reach the third round. Lehigh, which received a first-round bye in 2006, advanced past Rhode Island to the third round on penalty kicks. In 2001, American defeated Ohio State and Wake Forest before falling in overtime against North Carolina.

2009 Patriot League Tournament
Defense was the name of the game as Bucknell claimed its second Patriot League Championship on its home field in Lewisburg. The top-seeded Bison recorded a 1-0 overtime victory over Lafayette in the opening round. Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Conor O’Brien scored the game-winning goal to move the Bison into the championship round, where they defeated American. The Eagles reached the title game after outdueling Lehigh in penalty kicks. In the championship tilt, Bucknell outlasted the Eagles by a 1-0 score. Bucknell exacted revenge for a 3-1 loss to the Eagles earlier in the season.

2008 NCAA Tournament Recap
The Colgate Raiders were downed by Boston College, 2-0, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The first period featured spirited, back and forth action by both teams. In the 10th minute, Colgate sophomore Jeff Leach streaked down the left side of the field and crossed a ball to junior Steven Miller, whose shot went just wide of the right post. But the Eagles quickly got back on offense, and at 18:32, Boston College midfielder Alejandro Bedoya crossed to teammate Shawn Chin inside the Colgate box, where Chin touched the ball in to the far corner of the net, giving the Eagles a quick 1-0 lead. At 40:57, the Eagles found the back of the net again, as Edvin Worley's header off of a corner kick by Chin arched in for a goal, putting Boston College up, 2-0, as the Eagles outshot the Raiders, 7-2. Cappuccio sustained a first-period injury and was replaced by Chris Miller in the Colgate goal for the second half.

Shooting For Shutouts
Half of the Patriot League’s eight teams have allowed fewer than 20 goals this season. Patriot League squads have combined to produce 44 shutouts, including a League-leading 12 apiece by Bucknell.

We’ve Met Before
Bucknell’s second-round match against Virginia will be the 25th NCAA Tournament game for Patriot League teams. In those 25 contests, the Patriot League has only met one team on multiple occasions, Virginia. Patriot League teams have met the Cavaliers on three separate occasions, falling all three times. Virginia has beaten Lehigh (2000), American (2004) and Bucknell (2006).

Talented Trio
A trio of freshmen has contributed to 38 of Bucknell’s 106 points this season. Leading the way is Brendan Burgdorf, who has tallied 20 points himself. Burgdorf was named to the Patriot League All-Tournament Team after scoring the game-winning goal in the Patriot League Champioinship against American. He also scored the game-winning goal against Princeton in the NCAA Tournament first round. He has nine goals and two assists. CK Kumah has added four goals and three assists, while Josh Plump has two goals and three assists. All three were named Patriot League Rookie of the Week once this season.

Keep Track Of The Patriot League Through Social Media
In addition to visiting www.patriotleague.org, League fans and followers have plenty of new ways to stay updated and involved during the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The Patriot League has accounts on Facebook and Twitter, and has now started a blog to give more information on the action on the field. All three accounts are accessible through the multimedia link at the right-hand sidebar on the front page of www.patriotleague.org.