Sacred Heart
1-1
Bucknell
3-0
Men's Lacrosse Can't Overcome Slow Start in 14-11 Loss at Bucknell
2/15/2020 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
LEWISBURG, Pa. – A slow start that saw the Sacred Heart men's lacrosse team trail 8-4 at the half, the Pioneers could only get to within two of the lead in the second half as Bucknell led wire-to-wire in a 14-11 road loss for the Pioneers on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, SHU drops to 1-1 while the Bison remain unbeaten at 3-0 on the season.
Drew Edwards pumped in a career-high while Logan Liljeberg matched his career-best with four goals apiece. Carson Spooner dished out three assists and Alex Weiss had a three-point game (one goal, two assists) to highlight the offensive output for the Pioneers.
Conor Sullivan recorded seven ground balls and two caused turnovers and Austin Pavone tallied three ground balls with two caused turnovers to lead the defensive unit while Liljeberg added three caused turnovers. Brooks Dutton made the start and recorded 10 saves with eight goals allowed in the first half while Colton King came on after halftime and tallied nine saves with six goals allowed. As a tandem, the SHU goalkeeper duo recorded 19 saves on 33 shots-on-goal.
1st Quarter (4-2 BUCK)
- Turnovers plagued the Pioneers in the early going as SHU committed six while Bucknell coughed the ball up just one in the opening 15 minutes
- That 6-1 turnover disparity played out on the scoreboard as the Bison jumped out to a 3-1 lead 7:40 into play and later added another as Tommy Sopko completed his hat trick with his third goal late in the quarter
- SHU kept themselves in the game early as Weiss scored on an EMO with Jack Walsh credited with the assist
- Dutton also did his best to minimize the damage as he notched five saves in the first quarter alone
2nd Quarter (8-4 BUCK)
- The two sides traded goals in the first five-plus minutes of the quarter as Liljeberg struck for the first two of his career-high four goals on the day
- Despite the early pressure, Bucknell responded with consecutive goals in a span of 1:22 that opened a four-goal advantage for the home side
- Both defenses shut the door in the remainder of the half as neither side scored for the final 7:24 of the quarter
- Bucknell benefitted greatly from a 5-2 advantage in faceoff wins in the second quarter while SHU committed seven more turnovers to give the Pioneers 13 in the first half
- Shots swayed heavily in favor of Bucknell as the Bison outshot the Pioneers 21-6 in the second quarter
3rd Quarter (12-9 BUCK)
- The Bison continued their domination coming out to start the third quarter as a 3-1 run to open the frame gave Bucknell their largest lead of the game at 11-5
- Just as the game seemed to be getting out of hand, SHU answered back with a 4-0 run that made it just a 11-9 game all of the sudden
- Goals came pouring in as Sullivan and Liljeberg started the scoring spree before Edwards struck for back-to-back goals, the second of which made it 11-9 with 2:14 left in the quarter
- Following that SHU run, however, Bucknell won the ensuing faceoff and answered back with a goal to deny the Pioneers on their comeback bid
- After being outshot 21-6 in the second quarter, SHU outshot Bucknell 17-8 in the frame but Bison goalkeeper Ben Clark made seven big saves as he posted 13 of his 17 saves in the second half alone
4th Quarter (14-11 BUCK)
- Carrying that momentum into the fourth, Bucknell scored two more to extend their run to 3-0 as the Bison led by five again with 13:41 remaining
- Edwards' third straight goal for SHU was quickly followed by Liljeberg's fourth of the day as the Pioneers cut the margin back down to three with just under 12 minutes left
- With 25 goals scored between the two sides and nearly 12 minutes left, the offensive shootout suddenly turned into a defensive deadlock as both goalkeepers dominated down the stretch
- King made five straight saves in the final 11:56 of play to keep SHU in it but Clark for Bucknell was too dominant as he made five saves of his own in the close 11:56 to win it for the Bison
NOTES
- Through two games, Edwards has a five-point and four-point performance as he leads the team in goals (seven) and points (nine)
- Liljeberg exploded for four goals, matching his career-high which he has accomplished twice before (both in his sophomore season)
- This is Liljeberg's fourth career hat trick
- Turnovers played a large role in the outcome as SHU committed 25 for the game and went 18-for-29 on clearing attempts
- Spooner put up three assists in this one, giving him five points through his first two collegiate games
- Weiss responded after going without a point in the season opener last weekend, finishing with three points which ties a career-high while his two assists marks his first career multi-assist game
- Through two games, both Dutton and King have played well in the cage as Dutton has 18 saves and a save percentage of 58.1 while King has 15 saves and a 55.6 save percentage as they've both played 60 total mintues
- SHU was disciplined in this one, committing just one 30-second penalty while Bucknell had just three of their own
- Neither side committed a penalty in the second half
NEXT GAME
The Pioneers continue their string of four straight games played away from home on Tuesday, Feb. 18 as SHU travels to face Brown.
