ONEONTA, NY – Loyola took the opening game and Bucknell won the nightcap at the opening day of competition of the 34th Annual Division I Mayor's Cup at Elmore Field on Friday night. A goal 4:12 into the second overtime from Loyola's Jamie Darvill gave the Greyhounds a 1-0 win over Syracuse in the first match of the evening. Later, a volley from the top of the 18-yard box from Bucknell's Conor O'Brien was the difference for the Bison in a 1-0 victory over Hartwick.
The loss for Hartwick is its second in a row and drops the squad to 1-2-1. The Hawks, who have had trouble finding the goal this season, have not scored in over 358 minutes of action. With the victory, Bucknell improves to 3-1 on the year and has won two matches in a row.
The first 45 minutes of the Hartwick-Bucknell clash had very few quality scoring chances for either side. The Bison held a 7-1 advantage in shots but only forced 'Wick keeper Jeremy Vuolo (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown W.) to come up with two saves. Bucknell's best chance came with just under a minute left in the half when freshman forward Josh Plump lofted a shot from outside the box up and over Vuolo. The shot, however, caromed off the crossbar and the score stayed level at the break.
Just 34 seconds into the second half, the Bison had the lead as O'Brien rifled a one-timed shot to Vuolo's right and into the net. The ball had popped up and out to the top of the box where O'Brien volleyed the ball out of the air for what proved to be the game-winner. Plump and Luke Joyner were credited with the assists.
The Hawks turned up the pressure and had much of the ball possession for the rest of the half. 'Wick would outshoot the Bison 8-4 in the second session with senior Sam Wright (Newquay, England/Bryant & Stratton), junior Michael Cunningham (Dunedin, New Zealand/John McGlasham) and sophomore Jherrett Maroney (Cincinnatus, NY/Stony Brook Univ.) combining for six of the eight Hartwick shots. Unfortunately for the Hawks, only one of those shots was on target as Bucknell goalkeeper Tommy Caso made just one save in the half, which was also his lone stop of the contest. Vuolo would end the match with three stops in the Hartwick goal.
In the opener, Syracuse turned it on in the later stages of second half against Loyola but could not put the Hounds away. The Orange had several chances to get the go-ahead goal in regulation. With 17 minutes to play in regulation, Orange midfielder Hansen Woodruff slipped past a few defenders in the box but his shot went right to Loyola keeper Kyle Wittman. Just two minutes later, Woodruff sent Manny Sevillano in alone with Wittman but his shot sailed over the crossbar. With under a minute left to play, Tom Perevegyencev had the last good chance to end the match with a shot from 12 yards out but his effort was stopped by Wittman.
In overtime, Perevegyencev had another opportunity turned aside by Wittman before Loyola midfielder Danny Ankrah crossed the ball from the left side to Darvill who met it perfectly from 15 yards away putting the ball past Orange goalie Ryan Jones to his right.
Syracuse finished the match with a 21-14 edge in shots, including a 12-6 margin in the second half and the two overtimes. Wittman would make seven big saves in the match for the Greyhounds, who improve to 2-1-1. Jones stopped four for the 1-3 Orange.
Mayor's Cup XXXIV continues at Elmore Field on Sunday as Bucknell and Syracuse square off at 12 p.m. Hartwick then entertains Loyola at 2:30 p.m.
