Bucknell Opens with Rout of Canisius
from press release
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell men’s
lacrosse team was dominant in all phases of the game in a 17-2 rout
of Canisius in the 2011 season opener Saturday at frigid Christy
Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Nick Gantsoudes (Redding, Conn./Avon
Old Farms) scored a career-high five goals to lead the offense,
Jake Clarke (Cos Cob, Conn./Greenwich) was strong as usual on
faceoffs, and goalie Kyle Feeney (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich)
stopped nine of 10 shots on goal to backstop a terrific performance
by the defense.
With near-gale force winds sending the wind chill temperature into
the teens, the Bison warmed things up with an eight-goal second
period to blow open a 2-1 game. They led 10-1 at the half and 14-1
after three quarters before emptying the bench.
Gantsoudes, a junior midfielder, had never scored more than one
goal in a game in his career. But on Saturday he had his hat trick
by the 10-minute mark of the second quarter, and he scored once
more in the third and fourth periods for a five-goal day. Charlie
Streep (New Canaan, Conn./Loomis-Chaffee) scored the first goal of
the season 4:56 into the game, and he finished with three goals and
two assists.
Freshman Todd Heritage (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) started at attack
and scored three times in his collegiate debut. Other multi-point
scorers were Ryan Klipstein (Califon, N.J./Rutgers Prep) with a
goal and two assists, Billy Eisenreich (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) with
a goal and an assist, and Jordan Nies (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge)
also with a goal and an assist.
Nies led a productive offensive day for the short-stick defensive
middies. His assist went to Streep on an electrifying fastbreak
goal, and then Nies scored himself late in the third quarter when
he bullied his way through a defender and scored with a diving shot
while drawing a slashing penalty. Another d-middie entering the
scoring column was junior Andrew VanValkenburg (Garden City,
N.Y./Lawrenceville), who scored his first career goal late in the
second quarter on a transition play that was set up by a huge hit
by Clarke at midfield.
Also earning his first career point was sophomore attackman Ronjohn
Dadd (Ijamsville, Md./Urbana), who assisted on a pretty wraparound
goal by Heritage in the fourth quarter.
Clarke went 9-for-14 at the faceoff X with seven ground balls,
while Ryan Gutowski (Owings Mills, Md./Calvert Hall) went 5-for-9.
Clarke also helped shut down Canisius’ All-America midfielder
Adam Jones. The MAAC Preseason Player of the Year was only able to
attempt two shots and finished with just an assist on the Golden
Griffins’ fourth-quarter goal. He did extend his points
streak to 30 straight games, the fourth-longest streak in the
nation.
Feeney played the first three quarters in goal and was very sharp.
He made nine saves while allowing only one goal, a shot by Mike
Rautenstrauch that redirected in off the back of a Biosn defenseman
to make it a 2-1 game with 6:43 left in the first quarter. The
Golden Griffins did not score again until Jimmy Haney’s goal
with 9:51 left in the fourth.
Josh Briskman (Weston, Conn./Weston) replaced Feeney in the fourth
quarter and made two point-blank saves while allowing just the one
goal.
Bucknell’s starting close defense trio of John Collett
(Randolph, N.J./Delbarton), Alex Lyons (Owings Mills,
Md./Boys’ Latin) and Jason Neithamer (Alexandria, Va./St.
Stephen’s & St. Agnes) kept the ball out of harm’s
way all day, and the trio combined for seven ground balls and five
caused turnovers.
Bucknell outshot Canisius 42-16 and won the ground ball battle
36-22. Canisius had 24 turnovers to 20 for the Bison.
The 15-goal margin of victory was Bucknell’s largest since a
21-5 win over Lafayette in 1996. The 17 goals scored and the two
goals allowed are both program records for a season opener.
The Bison return home next Saturday to face Villanova at noon.
