LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell men's lacrosse team is set to face off against Richmond for the first time in Lewisburg on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.
Richmond (0-1, 0-0 SoCon) vs. Bucknell (1-1, 0-0 Patriot League)
When: Saturday , Feb. 16 – 2 p.m.
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium – Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_MLAX
Bucknell at a Glance
• The Bison are currently 1-1 (0-0 Patriot League) after topping Bryant, 9-6, in their home opener on Feb. 10.
• In 2018, Bucknell finished 11-4 overall and captured a share of the Patriot League regular-season title by going 7-1 in conference action.
• The Bison reached the double digits in victories for the sixth time in Frank Fedorjaka's tenure as head coach and most notably knocked off eventual national champion Yale (9-8 OT) and then No. 6 Loyola (12-11) on the road. They rose as high as 10th in both the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Coaches' Poll and Inside Lacrosse Maverik Media Listing, their best national ranking since the 2013 campaign.
• Bucknell's captains are seniors Ryan Durkin, Christian Klipstein, Reed Malas and Jarett Witzal. The four first-time captains will lead a team featuring 26 underclassmen.
• Malas represented the Bison on the 2019 Preseason All-Patriot League Team. A year ago, he finished second to Will Sands in assists (12) and fourth to the "Big Three" of Sands, Sean O'Brienand Connor O'Hara in points (34). The "Big Three" was lost to graduation.
• Klipstein is a three-year starter in the cage. An All-Patriot League Second Team goalie in 2017 and 2016, he needs 68 saves to become the seventh Bison with at least 500 in his career. He posted a goals against average south of 10 in 2016 (8.41) and 2018 (9.11), with his best single-season save percentage of .579 coming as a freshman.
• Witzal is the Bucknell record holder in career faceoff wins (476), single-season faceoff wins (171, 2016), single-game faceoff wins (22, 2016) and single-season faceoff percentage (.6173, 2016).
• The Bison will face a grueling non-conference schedule in 2019. They opened their 52nd campaign on Feb. 2 at Maryland, which reached the NCAA title game three years in a row from 2015 to 2017, winning the 2017 edition. They will also face off against Ohio State, the 2017 NCAA runner-up, and North Carolina, the 2016 NCAA champion.
Inside the Bryant Box Score
• Will Yorke netted a career-high five goals during the second half, and Christian Klipstein made 13 saves, to lift Bucknell to a 9-6 victory over Bryant in its home opener on Feb. 10.
• At halftime, the Bison and Bulldogs were locked in a 3-3 stalemate. In the third quarter, Yorke registered a natural hat trick to put his team up by a 6-3 margin. He then scored two of the fourth quarter's first three goals to give Bucknell an 8-4 advantage, which proved too much for Bryant to overcome.
• Entering the contest, Yorke had four career goals, three of which came in 2018 when he was a second-line midfielder. In his first season as a starting attacker, the junior now leads the team with six goals through the first two games.
• Klipstein's 13 saves pushed his career total to 432, giving him sole possession of eighth in the Bison annals. He entered the game needing 12 to enter a tie for eighth with Scott Johnson, who played for Bucknell from 1973 to 1976.
• Reed Malas and Matthew Barkauskas added two goals apiece, with Barkauskas's first coming just 25 seconds into the game. Ryan Durkin and Matt Fedorjaka each notched two assists, with Fedorjaka's total representing a new career high.
• Jarett Witzal had a strong day in the x, winning 13 of 19 faceoffs, including 10 of 11 in the second half. Witzal also led all players with eight ground balls. For his efforts, he was recognized as the Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Week for the fifth time in his career.
• The Bison held the Bulldogs off the board for the entirety of the third quarter, outshooting them by a 12-2 margin during that frame. Bryant finally broke its scoreless drought at the fourth quarter's 3:22 mark.
• Bucknell held advantages in shots (45-27), shots on goal (25-19) and ground balls (35-32). Bryant Boswell (5), Conor Shears (4) and Hunter Newman (4) racked up ground balls for the Bison, with Shears also leading all players with three caused turnovers.
Category Leaders
• Goals: Will Yorke (6)
• Assists: Ryan Durkin (3)
• Points: Will Yorke (6)
• Shots: Reed Malas (22)
• Ground Balls: Jarett Witzal (12)
• Caused Turnovers: Conor Shears (4)
• Face-Off Wins: Jarett Witzal (21)
• Face-Off Percentage: Jarett Witzal (.525)
• Save Percentage: Christian Klipstein (.575)
• Goals Against Average: Christian Klipstein (8.50)
• Saves: Christian Klipstein (23)
Career Milestones Met Against Bryant
• Christian Klipstein: Moved into eighth in school history in career saves; now has with 432
Career Milestone Watch
• Christian Klipstein: Needs 33 saves to move into seventh in school history with 465
• Christian Klipstein: Needs 68 saves to become the seventh Bison with 500 in his career
• Reed Malas: Needs six goals to reach the 50-goal plateau
• Jarett Witzal: Needs eight ground balls to become the third Bison with 200 in his career
Richmond at a Glance
• Richmond is currently 0-1 (0-0 SoCon) after being edged at No. 3 Maryland, 10-9, on Feb. 9. The Spiders scored five unanswered goals during the fourth quarter but ran out of time to complete their comeback. Ryan Lanchbury netted five goals in the contest, including the last four in Richmond's game-ending 5-0 run.
• The Spiders and Bison each opened their 2019 campaign against the Terrapins. On Feb. 2, Bucknell ceded a 11-6 decision at Maryland.
• A year ago, Richmond went 11-6 (6-1 SoCon). The Spiders won their first ever Southern Conference Tournament championship by topping Jacksonville, 11-10, on Teddy Hatfield's overtime goal.
• In the 2018 NCAA Championship, Richmond drew second-seeded UAlbany. The Spiders ultimately dropped an 18-9 decision.
• Richmond was selected as the favorite to win the SoCon in the league's preseason poll. Hatfield, Tate Gallagher, Jason Reynolds and Mitch Savoca were named to the preseason All-SoCon Team, giving the Spiders the conference-best total of honorees.
• The prolific Hatfield needed just three seasons to become the SoCon's all-time leading scorer with a staggering 152 career points on 85 goals and 67 assists entering his senior year. In 2018, he was selected to the All-SoCon First Team.
• A year ago, Bucknell and Richmond met for the first time on Feb. 17 at Robins Stadium. The hosts prevailed, 9-8, on a Mitch Goldberg strike with 31 seconds remaining in regulation.
• After the Bison used a 3-0 run to turn a 6-4 deficit into a 7-6 advantage in the third quarter, the Spiders responded with two unanswered goals to regain their edge. With 5:27 left to play, Sean O'Brien took a feed from Will Sands and found the back of the net, setting up a frenetic final five minutes of action that saw Blake Goodman deny O'Brien and Sands bids and Connor O'Hara ring a shot off the post.
• Both goalies reached the double digits in saves. Goodman ultimately outdueled Christian Klipstein, finishing with 17 saves to the Bison's 13.
• Richmond's Director of Athletics is John Hardt, who served in the same position at Bucknell for 18 years.
Richmond (0-1, 0-0 SoCon) vs. Bucknell (1-1, 0-0 Patriot League)
When: Saturday , Feb. 16 – 2 p.m.
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium – Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_MLAX
Bucknell at a Glance
• The Bison are currently 1-1 (0-0 Patriot League) after topping Bryant, 9-6, in their home opener on Feb. 10.
• In 2018, Bucknell finished 11-4 overall and captured a share of the Patriot League regular-season title by going 7-1 in conference action.
• The Bison reached the double digits in victories for the sixth time in Frank Fedorjaka's tenure as head coach and most notably knocked off eventual national champion Yale (9-8 OT) and then No. 6 Loyola (12-11) on the road. They rose as high as 10th in both the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Coaches' Poll and Inside Lacrosse Maverik Media Listing, their best national ranking since the 2013 campaign.
• Bucknell's captains are seniors Ryan Durkin, Christian Klipstein, Reed Malas and Jarett Witzal. The four first-time captains will lead a team featuring 26 underclassmen.
• Malas represented the Bison on the 2019 Preseason All-Patriot League Team. A year ago, he finished second to Will Sands in assists (12) and fourth to the "Big Three" of Sands, Sean O'Brienand Connor O'Hara in points (34). The "Big Three" was lost to graduation.
• Klipstein is a three-year starter in the cage. An All-Patriot League Second Team goalie in 2017 and 2016, he needs 68 saves to become the seventh Bison with at least 500 in his career. He posted a goals against average south of 10 in 2016 (8.41) and 2018 (9.11), with his best single-season save percentage of .579 coming as a freshman.
• Witzal is the Bucknell record holder in career faceoff wins (476), single-season faceoff wins (171, 2016), single-game faceoff wins (22, 2016) and single-season faceoff percentage (.6173, 2016).
• The Bison will face a grueling non-conference schedule in 2019. They opened their 52nd campaign on Feb. 2 at Maryland, which reached the NCAA title game three years in a row from 2015 to 2017, winning the 2017 edition. They will also face off against Ohio State, the 2017 NCAA runner-up, and North Carolina, the 2016 NCAA champion.
Inside the Bryant Box Score
• Will Yorke netted a career-high five goals during the second half, and Christian Klipstein made 13 saves, to lift Bucknell to a 9-6 victory over Bryant in its home opener on Feb. 10.
• At halftime, the Bison and Bulldogs were locked in a 3-3 stalemate. In the third quarter, Yorke registered a natural hat trick to put his team up by a 6-3 margin. He then scored two of the fourth quarter's first three goals to give Bucknell an 8-4 advantage, which proved too much for Bryant to overcome.
• Entering the contest, Yorke had four career goals, three of which came in 2018 when he was a second-line midfielder. In his first season as a starting attacker, the junior now leads the team with six goals through the first two games.
• Klipstein's 13 saves pushed his career total to 432, giving him sole possession of eighth in the Bison annals. He entered the game needing 12 to enter a tie for eighth with Scott Johnson, who played for Bucknell from 1973 to 1976.
• Reed Malas and Matthew Barkauskas added two goals apiece, with Barkauskas's first coming just 25 seconds into the game. Ryan Durkin and Matt Fedorjaka each notched two assists, with Fedorjaka's total representing a new career high.
• Jarett Witzal had a strong day in the x, winning 13 of 19 faceoffs, including 10 of 11 in the second half. Witzal also led all players with eight ground balls. For his efforts, he was recognized as the Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Week for the fifth time in his career.
• The Bison held the Bulldogs off the board for the entirety of the third quarter, outshooting them by a 12-2 margin during that frame. Bryant finally broke its scoreless drought at the fourth quarter's 3:22 mark.
• Bucknell held advantages in shots (45-27), shots on goal (25-19) and ground balls (35-32). Bryant Boswell (5), Conor Shears (4) and Hunter Newman (4) racked up ground balls for the Bison, with Shears also leading all players with three caused turnovers.
Category Leaders
• Goals: Will Yorke (6)
• Assists: Ryan Durkin (3)
• Points: Will Yorke (6)
• Shots: Reed Malas (22)
• Ground Balls: Jarett Witzal (12)
• Caused Turnovers: Conor Shears (4)
• Face-Off Wins: Jarett Witzal (21)
• Face-Off Percentage: Jarett Witzal (.525)
• Save Percentage: Christian Klipstein (.575)
• Goals Against Average: Christian Klipstein (8.50)
• Saves: Christian Klipstein (23)
Career Milestones Met Against Bryant
• Christian Klipstein: Moved into eighth in school history in career saves; now has with 432
Career Milestone Watch
• Christian Klipstein: Needs 33 saves to move into seventh in school history with 465
• Christian Klipstein: Needs 68 saves to become the seventh Bison with 500 in his career
• Reed Malas: Needs six goals to reach the 50-goal plateau
• Jarett Witzal: Needs eight ground balls to become the third Bison with 200 in his career
Richmond at a Glance
• Richmond is currently 0-1 (0-0 SoCon) after being edged at No. 3 Maryland, 10-9, on Feb. 9. The Spiders scored five unanswered goals during the fourth quarter but ran out of time to complete their comeback. Ryan Lanchbury netted five goals in the contest, including the last four in Richmond's game-ending 5-0 run.
• The Spiders and Bison each opened their 2019 campaign against the Terrapins. On Feb. 2, Bucknell ceded a 11-6 decision at Maryland.
• A year ago, Richmond went 11-6 (6-1 SoCon). The Spiders won their first ever Southern Conference Tournament championship by topping Jacksonville, 11-10, on Teddy Hatfield's overtime goal.
• In the 2018 NCAA Championship, Richmond drew second-seeded UAlbany. The Spiders ultimately dropped an 18-9 decision.
• Richmond was selected as the favorite to win the SoCon in the league's preseason poll. Hatfield, Tate Gallagher, Jason Reynolds and Mitch Savoca were named to the preseason All-SoCon Team, giving the Spiders the conference-best total of honorees.
• The prolific Hatfield needed just three seasons to become the SoCon's all-time leading scorer with a staggering 152 career points on 85 goals and 67 assists entering his senior year. In 2018, he was selected to the All-SoCon First Team.
• A year ago, Bucknell and Richmond met for the first time on Feb. 17 at Robins Stadium. The hosts prevailed, 9-8, on a Mitch Goldberg strike with 31 seconds remaining in regulation.
• After the Bison used a 3-0 run to turn a 6-4 deficit into a 7-6 advantage in the third quarter, the Spiders responded with two unanswered goals to regain their edge. With 5:27 left to play, Sean O'Brien took a feed from Will Sands and found the back of the net, setting up a frenetic final five minutes of action that saw Blake Goodman deny O'Brien and Sands bids and Connor O'Hara ring a shot off the post.
• Both goalies reached the double digits in saves. Goodman ultimately outdueled Christian Klipstein, finishing with 17 saves to the Bison's 13.
• Richmond's Director of Athletics is John Hardt, who served in the same position at Bucknell for 18 years.
