The Bison men’s soccer team took on Lafayette College on March 6, after their first game was cancelled due to COVID-19. However, the Bison opened their Patriot League season against Lafayette College in a new location; due to the conditions of the home field, the Bison’s current home field location is on the campus of Penns College in Williamsport, Pa.

The Bison ultimately lost to Lafayette 1-0. Even despite this defeat, however, the team put in their best efforts. The starting line-up was filled with players who were making their first collegiate debut: Colin Eifert ’22, Collin Murphy ’24, Jordan Miller ’24, and Bennett Schwartz ’23 contributed vitally to the team’s work on the field. Schwartz made his first collegiate debut as the goalie of the Bison with three huge saves.

“It was very exciting to get my first start for Bucknell, and although it didn’t go the way I wanted I know there’s plenty to improve on going forward. I think going forward our team has the potential to be contenders even in our tough conference. With our first conference game coming up we are pushing ourselves to start on a better foot than the Lafayette game,” Schwartz said. 

Even though the game did turn out as the Bison hoped for, this is not stopping the players from putting in the intensity and skill necessary to finish the season. 

“Unfortunately the game against Lafayette this past weekend did not turn out in our favor. Throughout the week leading up to the game, we worked on a lot of combination play to break down the opposing team’s defense using our skill, speed, and strengths up top but we struggled to actually incorporate it into our game,” Eifert said. “We definitely have some things to work on but I’m really hopeful that we can improve upon our mistakes and correct them in games to come. I think this team has a lot of potential to compete for a Patriot League Championship and that’s what we look to do going forward.”

The Bison will take on Loyola University, Maryland this upcoming weekend. The game will be played on March 13 at 1 p.m. Penn’s College, the current home field for the Bison, will be hosting the Bison versus Loyola (Md).