{"id":259103,"date":"2025-11-03T16:10:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T16:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/259103\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T16:10:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T16:10:10","slug":"mens-soccer-takes-on-loyola-in-regular-season-finale-as-the-bison-look-to-clinch-top-four-seed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/259103\/","title":{"rendered":"Men’s Soccer Takes on Loyola in Regular Season Finale as the Bison Look to Clinch Top-Four Seed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Loyola (3-10-2, 2-5-1 PL) at Bucknell (9-3-4, 4-2-2 PL)
\nWhen:\u00a0Tuesday, Nov. 4,\u00a06 p.m.
\nWhere:\u00a0Lewisburg, Pa. | Emmitt Field
\nStreaming:\u00a0ESPN+<\/a>
\nLive Stats:\u00a0BucknellBison.com<\/a><\/p>\n


\n\tThe Bucknell men’s soccer team hosts Loyola (Md.) in the regular season finale at Emmitt Field on Tuesday night for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
\n\tBucknell clinched a Patriot League playoff berth with its 1-0 win over Navy on Friday night. All six playoff berths have been taken, and it is now just a matter of seeding with all games kicking off at 6 p.m. on Tuesday night.
\n\tAmerican sits in first (19 points) followed by Lehigh (17), Bucknell (14), Army (13), Lafayette (12) and Boston U. (12). With a win, the Bison will clinch the three seed and host a quarterfinal match on Saturday.
\n\tBucknell is coming off of a 1-0 win over Navy and Loyola is coming off of a 2-0 loss to Army.
\n\tThe Bison have now kept three consecutive clean sheets, and they have only allowed one goal in their last six matches. <\/p>\n

Last Time Out for the Bison<\/p>\n


\n\tDrew Roskos<\/a> scored his Patriot League-leading seventh goal of the season off yet another assist from goalkeeper Freddie Lapworth<\/a>, and the Bucknell men’s soccer team clinched a postseason berth with a 1-0 win over Navy on Friday night at windswept Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
\n\tNow 9-3-4 overall and 4-2-2 in the Patriot League, the Bison moved up a spot into sole possession of third place in the table. Bucknell earned a big three points on the road but did not get the help it needed to clinch a top-four seed and a home game in the tournament quarterfinals. But the 14 points are plenty good enough to lock up one of the six postseason spots, and the Bison control their own destiny to secure the No. 3 seed with one regular-season fixture remaining.
\n\tThe wind was part of the storyline in Annapolis, as the gales that are sweeping across the Northeast were especially prominent on a Navy pitch that sits adjacent to the Severn River. Just over three minutes into the match, Lapworth made his first save of the night, brought the ball to the edge of the box and with the wind at his back drilled it off the deck about 80 yards on the fly. Roskos had plenty of work left to do, as he shielded off a defender, chested down the high bouncing ball, and slipped a shot past a diving Robert Eaton.
\n\tThe assist was Lapworth’s third of the season, with Roskos on the receiving end of all three.
\n\tJack Lucas<\/a> was robbed by Eaton with a diving save in the 17th minute, and then Navy’s best chance of the night came in the 38th. Andrew Schug’s glancing header off a corner kick seemed ticketed for the back of the net, but substitute Mason Lillis<\/a> volleyed the ball off the goal line.
\n\tThe Bison attacked into the stiff wind in the second half, and they used their possession game to keep the ball on the ground and out of harm’s way for the most part. Navy did have two dangerous moments in the last six minutes. Schug’s sharp-angled shot flashed across the face of goal and went wide, and Keane Brown lofted a ball toward goal that Lapworth had to go up high to slap away.
\n\tOnly a minute earlier, Roskos’ attempt for a brace just skipped wide after Cade Whitmire<\/a> picked the pocket of a Navy defender to start a 2v1. Nate Coughlin<\/a> fired a ball in from the right side that Eaton parried back through the legs of a charging Jack Lucas<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Bucknell at a Glance<\/p>\n


\n\tBucknell has had some impressive results at the beginning of the season, including a season-opening win at No. 23 Hofstra, a 2-2 draw at Maryland and a 3-2 win over St. Bonaventure.
\n\tBucknell has scored in the final 16 minutes in eight of its 16 matches and scored a goal in the final five minutes in five matches. The Bison are 4-3-1 in matches they have trailed in, losing to George Mason, Lehigh and Boston. \u00a0
\n\tAt Hofstra, the Bison erased a 1-0 deficit before Jack Lucas<\/a> scored the match-winner in the 75th minute. Against St. Bonaventure, the Bison trailed 2-1 early in the second half before Lucas equalized and junior Jakub Samelko<\/a> won the match in the 88th minute.
\n\tAt Maryland, the Bison erased a 2-0 deficit with goals from two of its senior center backs. Jackson Sullivan<\/a> converted a penalty kick and Ben Sheffield<\/a> leveled the match with an 86th-minute goal. The Bison erased another 2-0 deficit, equalizing the match against George Mason 2-2 before the Patriots scored its late goal to win the match.
\n\tBucknell then trailed 1-0 to Old Dominion and 2-0 to Saint Francis before scoring four unanswered goals in each of the two matches.
\n\tLucas was on the score sheet in the first five matches with four goals and one assist. Lucas has earned two (PL) Offensive Player of the Week awards thus far. He has two match-winning goals against Old Dominion and Hofstra. \u00a0
\n\tLucas was Bucknell’s top point-scorer and goal-scorer in 2024, tallying three goals and four assists in the campaign. This season, Lucas has five goals and three assists for 13 points.
\n\tBucknell has 28 goals thus far from 11 different goal-scorers to rank first in the PL in goals scored. Forward Drew Roskos<\/a> leads the squad with seven goals, followed by Lucas with five goals. Roskos leads the league with 15 points and Lucas has 13 points. \u00a0
\n\tForward Zane Domsohn<\/a> has nine points on four goals and an assist and forward Jakub Samelko<\/a> has three goals for six points. Center back Jackson Sullivan<\/a> has five points this season on two goals and one assist.
\n\tForward Winston Oziri<\/a>, midfielder Kasper Piela<\/a>, midfielder Jimmy Pombor<\/a>, center back Ben Sheffield<\/a>, center back Collin Sullivan<\/a> and center back Jacob Thomas<\/a> all have a goal this season.
\n\tCade Whitmire<\/a> has four assists on the season for four points and Kasper Piela<\/a>, Freddie Lapworth<\/a> and David Krumov<\/a> each have three assists. Nate Coughlin<\/a> and Cohen Weaver<\/a> Kiko Hidalgo<\/a>, Noah Handzel<\/a>, Zain Elder<\/a> and Collin Sullivan<\/a> all have one assist.
\n\tBucknell has been scored on 18 times this season. Lapworth has a .710 save percentage and six shutouts this season. He has made 44 saves in 15 games thus far. Junior Rex Alphen<\/a> made one start against Saint Joseph’s, making for saves for his first career 90-minute clean sheet. \u00a0
\n\tIn league matches, the Bison have allowed five goals in seven matches and six of their seven shutouts have come in league action.
\n\tLapworth is the Preseason Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year after being named the 2024 PL Goalkeeper of the Year. Lapworth was a First Team All-PL and a First Team All-Region honoree in 2024. Lapworth was named one of nine goalkeepers to the United Soccer Coaches Goalkeepers to Watch List and one of 29 players named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.
\n\tSenior midfielder Jimmy Pombor<\/a> was named to the Preseason All-PL squad. Pombor, a holding midfielder, had an excellent debut season in Orange and Blue after transferring from Lock Haven. Pombor has started in all but two matches since his arrival.\u00a0
\n\tBucknell has 23 returning players on the 2025 squad, including 17 upperclassmen. Bucknell’s freshman class includes center backs Jacob Thomas<\/a> and Gavin Newcombe<\/a>, wing back Nate Coughlin<\/a>, holding midfielder Zain Elder<\/a> and goalkeeper Thomas Yerbury<\/a>.
\n\tDave Brandt<\/a> is Bucknell’s 14th full-time head coach and just the third dating back to 1967. Brandt, who is now in his fourth season at Bucknell, brought with him a remarkable career record of 354-86-40 in stints at Messiah, Navy, and Hope. Brandt won six Division III national championships at Messiah and led Navy to the 2013 Patriot League title and an NCAA Tournament first-round win.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Rankings<\/p>\n


\n\tBucknell leads the Patriot League and ranks 45th in the nation with 28 goals scored. The Bison are averaging 1.75 goals per game to rank 47th in the nation.
\n\tBucknell ranks first in the PL with 12.88 shots per game and ranks first with 102 shots on goal and 6.38 shots on goal per game. The 6.38 shots on goal per game ranks 27th in the nation and Bucknell’s .495 shot accuracy ranks fifth. \u00a0
\n\tThe Bison rank third in the PL with 27 assists.
\n\tRoskos leads the league with seven goals and 15 points. Lucas ranks fourth with four goals scored and ranks third with 13 points. \u00a0
\n\tRoskos ranks third in the PL with 42 shots and ranks second with 20 shots on target. Lucas ranks sixth with 15 shots on target.
\n\tThe Bison rank 49th in the nation with 80 total points.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Bucknell in 2024<\/p>\n


\n\tBucknell completed an incredible turnaround in 2024, winning its first Patriot League Championship since 2014. The Bison went from last place with a 2-10-1 (1-6-1 PL) record in 2023 to a 7-7-6 (4-1-4 PL) record in 2024 with a PL regular-season co-championship with Boston University. Bucknell defeated American in penalties in the semifinal match before a 3-0 rout of Colgate in the championship match. The only other team to make a last-to-first finish in their conference last season was North Florida Atlantic Sun Conference.
\n\tBucknell was one of the top defensive sides in the PL last season, allowing just five goals in nine league matches. The Bison only allowed multiple goals in five of its matches on the season, including a 2-1 loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Providence.
\n\tThe Bison allowed 21 goals in 20 games, allowing 1.038 goals per game that ranked 39th in the nation. Bucknell’s eight clean sheets ranked ninth in nation and the Bison ranked 36th with a .400 shutout percentage. Freddie Lapworth<\/a> led the PL with a .774 save percentage that also ranked 29th in the nation.
\n\tOn the attack, Bucknell’s .950 goals per game average ranked last in the Patriot League despite ranking first in the Patriot League with 210 shots and ranking third with 82 shots on goal. Bucknell had 12 different goal scorers and 13 different players with an assist.
\n\tSophomore Drew Roskos<\/a> had a great debut season for the Bison, netting three goals with three assists to rank second on the team with nine points. Juniors Cade Whitmire<\/a> and David Krumov<\/a> each had a team-high four assists. <\/p>\n

Loyola at a Glance<\/p>\n


\n\tLoyola comes into the match with a 3-10-2 record with a 2-5-1 mark in the Patriot League.
\n\tThe Greyhounds’ two league wins this season have come over Holy Cross and Colgate.
\n\tLoyola has scored 11 goals from eight different goal-scorers. Jack Endacott leads the team with eight points on two goals and four assists. \u00a0
\n\tCharlie Herley leads the team with three goals. He also has an assist for seven points.
\n\tJordy Luchies is second on the team with three assists.
\n\tGoalkeepr Connor O’Keefe has played in 10 matches, allowing 16 goals with a .619 save percentage. Dylan Van de Walt has played in six matches, allowing 11 goals with .542 save percentage. <\/p>\n

History\/Facts<\/p>\n


\n\tBucknell leads Loyola in the all-time series 7-4-2 dating back to 2005. Bucknell won each of the first seven matches, but the Greyhounds have had the better of the Bison with 4-2-0 record over Bucknell since 2019.
\n\tLast season, Bucknell and Loyola played to a 0-0 draw in Baltimore. <\/p>\n

Next Up<\/p>\n


\n\tThe Patriot League quarterfinals will kick off on Saturday at 6 p.m. as the three and the four seed will host the first-round matchups. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Loyola (3-10-2, 2-5-1 PL) at Bucknell (9-3-4, 4-2-2 PL) When:\u00a0Tuesday, Nov. 4,\u00a06 p.m. Where:\u00a0Lewisburg, Pa. | Emmitt Field…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259104,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-259103","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-soccer","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}