Oct. 2, 2010
Final Stats
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell scored goals in the 26th minute of each half to hand Navy its first Patriot League loss of the season on Saturday night, 2-0. It marked the first time in eight games this year that Navy allowed more than one goal in a contest.
Navy falls to 6-2-0 overall and 1-1-0 in the Patriot League. Bucknell improves to 4-5-0 overall and 1-1-0 in the Patriot League.
It was also the first time this year that an opponent scored in the second half against the Navy defense. Navy is outscoring its foes, 18-5, on the season, including 14-1 in the second half.
"Bucknell is a good team, and they were on the ropes a bit after losing to American last weekend, so they were pretty sharp tonight and pretty focused," said Navy head coach Dave Brandt. "It clearly was not our best effort, but I think Bucknell had something to do with that. We were just off, and couldn't get into a good rhythm on the offensive end."
Bucknell carried the play for the majority of the first half, outshooting the Mids, 8-0, in the game's first 35 minutes, and 9-1 for the entire first half. The Bison got on the board in the 26th minute when Luke Joyner tallied his first goal of the season when he played a volley into the back of the net off a long cross by Travis Rand.
Navy started to even out play and threatened to tie the game in the second half, before Josh Plump tallied his third goal of the season in the 71st minute to give Bucknell some breathing room at 2-0. Plump shielded his defender on his back and turned and fired a shot in the back of the net for a Bucknell tally.
Navy had its chances to cut into the lead after the goal, but its final three shots sailed high over the net and the Midshipmen were dealt their first league loss of the 2010 season.
Navy was outshot, 14-7, on the evening. Freshman Aaron Dupere (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) stopped a career-high five shots in goal. Sam Lepley (Des Moines, Iowa) led Navy offensively with three shots.
The loss extended Navy's winless streak against Bucknell to nine games, the longest-such streak against any one opponent.
The Mids return to action on Tuesday night with a trip to the nation's Capital to face Howard at 7:00 pm. Navy will host Lehigh next Saturday night (7:00 pm) in its Patriot League home opener.
# GO NAVY #
