WHERE: @ Loyola
WHEN: Thursday April 17 @ 7:00
Can you believe that lacrosse season is almost over? Both the Loyola Greyhounds and Bucknell Bison will be facing off in the season finale for both teams before they compete in the Patriot League Tournament. Loyola comes in as the overwhelming favorites and have held the top spot in the polls thanks to a 11-game winning streak that started after dropping the season opener to Virginia in overtime.
Meanwhile, Bucknell is barely above .500 and is 3-4 in conference play. With an upset win over Loyola, the Bison could improve their seeding in the conference tournament. Loyola is simply looking to avoid an upset and finish the season unblemished in conference play.
Do the Bison have what it takes to upset the No. 1 team in the nation?
Bucknell Offense vs. Loyola Defense
Edge: Loyola
Ever since looking mediocre against Virginia and Penn State, Loyola’s defense has been stifling. They have not allowed more than nine goals to an opponent since those two games and have the nation’s No. 4 ranked defense.
Meanwhile, Bucknell’s offense, despite having a talented, youthful group, has struggled to the tune of scoring only 9.1 goals a game which ranks No. 50 in the nation. The Bison offense has really struggled against the best competition on its schedule having scored four goals against UNC, six against Fairfield and three to Lehigh. On the season, they have only scored more than 10 or more goals against an opponent four times. Who were their opponents in those games? Mount Saint Mary’s, Lafayette, Brown and Holy Cross. Yikes.
Loyola should have no trouble stifling the Bison attack and their top two scoring options in David Dickson and Sean Doyle. If Bucknell is to have a chance at pulling off the upset, Dickson (39 points) and Doyle (37 points) will have to have historic days.
Bucknell Defense vs. Loyola Offense
Edge: Loyola
On paper, Bucknell’s defense is really tough as they only allow 8.2 goals a game which ranks No. 11 in the nation. Meanwhile, Loyola’s offense ranks No. 5 in the nation as they score 13.3 goals a game.
The most interesting match up will occur between Bucknell defenseman Jackson Place as he tries to stymie Loyola attackman Justin Ward. Place has been a turnover machine having forced 34 of them so far this season. Ward is the tone setter for this Greyhound offense and ranks second in the nation in assists with 42.
Loyola’s offense has too many options outside of Ward and Bucknell will have trouble covering up the likes of Nikko Pontrello and Brian Schultz. Freshman goalie Sam Grinberg will have his hands full and should have a rough day at the office.
Faceoffs
Edge: Loyola
To put it simply, Loyola has their faceoff man in Graham Savio while Bucknell has tossed the kitchen sink at trying to solve their problems at the faceoff X. Three different players have taken 83, 82 and 53 faceoffs for the Bison and none of them are doing well at all. How bad is it? On the season, the Bison are winning a horrendous 35.8 percent of their draws.
Savio should have a field day for the Greyhounds and give Loyola plenty of possession. This will allow Loyola to keep their foot on the pedal and wear down Bucknell’s defense.
Prediction
Bucknell is outmatched in every aspect of this game especially at the faceoff X. Their best hope is to make sure that they can make the draw a 50-50 battle and try to make it a ground ball battle in the middle of the field. Expect the game to be close for the first quarter and Bucknell’s defense to keep the Bison in it.
However, Loyola will continue to wear down the defense with plenty of possession and cash it into points on the scoreboard. Therefore, this game should evolve into a blowout by the third quarter. Look for Loyola to finish the season 12-1 and have great momentum heading into the Patriot League Tournament.
Bucknell 6, Loyola 14
