Jesse Klug ’16 scored the lone goal during the Orange and Blue’s match against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sept. 11, ending the game in a 3-1 deficit for the Bison. The team bounced back when Seb Blickman ’17 posted two goals for the Orange and Blue in the first half hour of the game against Seton Hall on Sept. 13. Klug and Chris Thorsheim ’16 also tallied a goal for the Bison to contribute to the 4-0 shutout.

“At this point, the team just needs to work hard in training to develop our identity. Every year is different, but the constants of our program have been to work hard and defend as a team. Defending as a team takes a lot of work and trust in your teammates. We still have quite a bit of work to do before conference play begins in two weeks. Right now we are working on finding the right combinations to be successful,” head coach Brendan Nash said. 

Despite efforts from Justin Galiani ’17 and Blickman, the Bison were unable to score against Saint Francis for most of the game. The Orange and Blue fell 3-0 before Klug was able to score a goal in the 82nd  minute. Despite out-shooting Saint Francis 15-14, the Bison were defeated 3-1. Goalkeeper Clarke Fox ’16 finished the game with four saves.

“There are many things to improve on, but I think we need focus on our organization and finishing. At the end of the day, if we can stop them from scoring, and score goals ourselves, we’re going to have a successful season,” Blickman said.

Blickman scored the first goal against Seton Hall within the first three minutes of play, with help from Thorsheim and Dan Bank ’18. In the 14th minute, Bank and Klug assisted Thorsheim in his goal to improve the Bison to a 2-0 lead. Just 11 minutes later, Klug stole the ball and carried it about 25 yards to fire a shot to the top right corner, increasing the lead for the Bison. In the 30th minute, a nice throw-in from Tyler Peterson ’19 to Thorsheim assisted Blickman’s second goal. Goalkeeper Mike Lansing ’16 saved all eight shots to protect the Bison. Despite efforts from Jack Zollicoffer ’18 to further the gap in score, the game ended at 4-0.

“Our team needs to work on consistency. We need to manage our highs and our lows and try to be a team where you know what you will get out of us every single game,” Peterson said. 

The Bison will travel to Cincinnati on Sept. 19 to face Xavier.