Upset Tuesday: Bucknell Downs No. 2 Cornell
from press release
ITHACA, N.Y. - In a season already full of
impressive wins, Bucknell men's lacrosse added one more highlight
to its resume with a 9-8 upset over second-ranked Cornell at
Schoellkopf Field on Tuesday evening. The Bison (7-1) overcame a
snow delay and rallied from a one-goal deficit at halftime to win
their sixth consecutive game. Sean Doyle led Bucknell with three
goals, although Chase Bailey had the game-winner, and keeper Kyle
Feeney tallied six saves.
Although the Big Red (6-1) scored the first five goals of the
game, they suffered their first loss of the season thanks to the
Bison. After Cornell's strong start, Bucknell netted five of the
contest's next six goals, setting the halftime score at 6-5 in
favor of the home team.
The second half saw more back-and-forth scoring before Bailey
scored the game-winning goal with one minute left on the clock.
Doyle had twice tied the game, first at 6-6 for the only goal of
the third period and again at 7-7early in the fourth. He now has 17
goals on the year, giving him the third-most among Bison.
Bucknell's season goal-scoring leader Thomas Flibotte gave the
Bison their first lead of the game. Flibotte put the ball in the
back of the net on an assist from Peter Burke to put Bucknell in
front 8-7 with 7:14 to play. It was the freshman's second goal of
the game after he also opened his team's scoring back in the second
period.
Flibotte had two goals in the game. Joining him and Doyle with
multiple goals was Bailey (2). Burke and Todd Heritage also had one
apiece. David Dickson was responsible for three assists on the
night, one of which led to Bailey's game-winner.
Six different players scored for Cornell. Leading the Big Red were
Rob Pannell and Matt Donovan with two each. Pannell also had two
assists.
After allowing six goals in the first half, Feeney (6-1) limited
Cornell to just two more for the rest of the game, both of which
came in the fourth quarter. The senior's strong finish held the Big
Red, which entered the game as the highest scoring team in the
country at 15.2 goals per game, to a season-low eight total
goals.
The rest of the Bucknell defense also put the pressure on Cornell
in the waning minutes as it forced the Big Red into 10 second-half
turnovers. That total was up from three in the first half. The
Bison turned the ball over 21 times in the game.
Cornell's AJ Fiore (6-1) made 10 saves and allowed all nine goals
in the loss. The Big Red faced most of the shots in the second half
when the Bison outshot them 23-12. Bucknell ended up with a 40-34
advantage in shots for the game.
Bucknell won 16 of 21 face-offs. Ryan Gutowski finished his night
at the X at 11-for-16, while Gavin Sullivan was 5-for-5.
Bucknell's win over Cornell is its thirds victory against a ranked
opponent this month. The Bison also defeated No. 9/13 UMass on
March 9 and No. 13 Drexel three days later. The success moved the
Orange & Blue up to No. 15 in the latest USILA Coaches' Poll
and 16th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
