Sept. 26, 2009

Final Stats

LEWISBURG, PA -

Howie Kalter (Durham, N.H./Phillips Academy Andover) scored a game-high three goals and the Bucknell men's water polo team tallied seven of its eight goals in six-on-five situations as it defeated No. 20 Johns Hopkins 8-5 Friday night at Kinney Natatorium. The contest was delayed approximately 70 minutes due to the travel plans of the officials being delayed, but a near-capacity crowd still witnessed the Bison's home opener.

Bucknell earned 13 six-on-five situations and capitalized on more than half, including three in the first period alone when it jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind goals from four different players.

Johns Hopkins (6-7, 0-1 CWPA Southern Division), which was held scoreless for the first 13 minutes of the game by a solid Bison defense that recorded eight steals, tallied two goals in less than a minute to cut the Bucknell lead in half.

A six-on-five goal by Kalter with 1.2 seconds left extended the Bison halftime lead to 5-2. Kalter has now scored a goal in 25 straight games.

Bucknell (7-5, 1-0 CWPA) registered three more man-up goals in the second half. A late score by Nick Barnett (Houston, Texas/Clear Lake) sealed the victory, extending the Bison margin out to their final 8-5 score. It was an impressive goal by Barnett, who corralled a rebound off a Randy Ang (Hillsborough, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) shot and in one motion put it back in the net from point-blank range. It was the fifth goal of the season for Barnett.

While Bucknell's offense was solid in man-up situations, Nick Donahue (Brooklyn, N.Y./Lawrenceville) had his best performance of the year in the other half of the pool. The senior made a season-high 13 saves and limited the Blue Jays to five goals, equaling the second-fewest goals for a Bison opponent this year.

Friday's win over Johns Hopkins avenged an 11-10 loss to the Blue Jays last Saturday at the ECAC Championship. Additionally, it was Bucknell's first win over a ranked opponent in six tries this year. The Bison have also won a season-high three straight games.

Bucknell will continue its three-game weekend homestand Saturday with two more league contests. The Bison will host George Washington at 1:30 p.m. and No. 17 Princeton at 5 p.m.