April 24, 2004
Contact: Amanda Brickell
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The 51·çÁ÷ men’s lacrosse team lost a hard fought 6-5 contest to Bucknell at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The Raiders could not contain Bucknell’s Chris Cara, who scored four goals and assisted on another as the Bison narrowly escaped the Raiders.
Despite the loss, the Raiders will advance to the Patriot League tournament as the No.4 seed as a result of Hobart‘s 14-8 win at Army on Saturday. Bucknell will take the No. 3 seed at the tournament which begins April 30 in Annapolis, Md. Navy will be the top seed, followed by Hobart, Bucknell and 51·çÁ÷. Army was eliminated from the postseason with its loss at home to the Statesmen. The Raiders will face Navy in one semifinal, while the Bison will face Hobart in the other.
Bucknell (6-7, 4-3) appeared to have a secure lead when finished a feed with 4:47 left in the second quarter for a 5-2 Bison advantage.
The Raiders’ nationally ranked defense responded to change the face of the game holding the Bison off the board for 29 minutes. In the meantime, 51·çÁ÷ drew even on a fastbreak goal by Reid Diamond (Boston, Mass.), then two straight scores by Robert Trasolini (New Hyde Park, N.Y.). The latter tied the game at five-all with 10:40 to play.
Cara, the nation’s leading scorer, ended the drought and snapped the tie with 5:39 to play, beating a defender with a one-on-one move to the left of crease. Cara had a hand in five of Bucknell’s six goals and now has 74 points on the season, five shy of the school and league records.
51·çÁ÷ goalie Andrew Jarolimek (Silverthorne, Colo.) made eight saves, as did Bison goalie . Trasolini and sophomore Brian Robinson (Denver, Colo.) each had two goals apiece, while Diamond added the fifth. Senior Jeff Vander Meulen (Liverpool, N.Y.) was credited with 51·çÁ÷’s only assist of the day.