LEWISBURG, Pa. - Senior Chris Beekman staked Bucknell to a 1-0 lead, and sophomore Eric Brunton recorded a goal and an assist, as the Bison men's soccer team survived a late surge by visiting American to come away with a 2-1 victory on Sunday, October 26.
In a much anticipated contest against American, Bucknell seemed to control the tempo for much of the first half. The Bison had the Eagles on the defensive early and often, outshooting the visitors 7-1 in the opening frame. One of those shots finally slipped past American goalkeeper Thomas Myers when Beekman finished a pass from Brunton on the left side of the goal with 29:11 gone in the game. Sophomore Scott Visnic also had an assist on the play.
The remainder of the half went scoreless with the only real threat coming on a curving shot by senior Brian King that fell into the hands of Thomas.
The Eagles stepped up the intensity to open the second half, firing off four good shots in the first 10 minutes. Bison keeper Adam Edwards came up big, however, making two of his five saves during that time.
Bucknell added a critical insurance goal at the 68:38 mark with Brunton's third score of the year. Juniors Jonathan Hemmert and Ori Adrabi were credited with assists on the goal, moving Hemmert into a tie for fifth on the Bucknell all-time career assist list, and ninth on the Patriot League register, with 17 helpers.
That score proved vital as American quickly moved the ball down the field and drew a foul in the box, forcing a penalty kick less than two minutes later. Shawn Kuykendall stepped up for his fourth goal of the year, delivering the ball in the back left corner to get the Eagles to within one, 2-1.
The Orange and Blue kept the pressure on for the remainder of the contest, racking up five of their six corner kicks in the final 18 minutes. American did have three solid scoring opportunities in the game's waning moments, but Gordon Templeman's header was blocked by the defense, Edwards made a save on Kuykendall's shot, and Sean Albright's attempt sailed over the goal as the clock expired.
Myers kept American in the game with several impressive saves. The junior finished the game with 10 stops, including three on point-blank shots by Visnic.
American falls to 6-8-1 overall and 1-4-0 in the conference.
