Sept. 3, 2006

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Despite out-shooting Bucknell 12-6 on Sunday afternoon, the St. Bonaventure men's soccer team could not recover from an early deficit in its 3-1 loss to the Bison at Varsity Soccer Field.

Nathan LaGrave gave Bucknell a 1-0 lead in the 4th minute of the game and scored his second goal of the contest 18 minutes later on a header to put the Bonnies behind 2-0.

Junior forward Josh Henderson pulled St. Bonaventure back in the game in the 25th minute, when he fired a shot past Bison goalkeeper Joey Kuterbach from 10 yards out while laying down in a crowd of Bucknell defenders.

Despite several scoring chances in the second half, the Bonnies could not close the gap as Kuterbach shut down the Bona attack for the rest of the game, recording five saves overall. Freshman goalkeeper Massimo Collu-Marchese had one save for St. Bonaventure in his first career appearance.

Bucknell tallied its third and final goal of the game in the 86th minute to pull away from the Bonnies.

In addition to Collu-Marchese, three freshmen started for St. Bonaventure on Sunday including midfielders Samuel Maheu and Magnus Leung, and defenseman Matt Culo.

St. Bonaventure head coach Mel Mahler was happy with the progress his team made over the weekend - even without recording a win.

"In an effort to acclimate our first-year players we're still experiencing some growing pains," said Mahler. "However I'm encouraged with the direction we're headed. Having given up six goals on the weekend it may seem an odd statement to make, but I truly believe we're going to be okay.

"We're anxious to get back to work on Tuesday," he added.

The loss drops St. Bonaventure to 0-3-0 on the season, while the Bison improve to 1-1-1 with the win.

The Bonnies continue their six-game road trip on Friday, Sept. 8 when they visit Holy Cross for the first game of the weekends UMass Tournament. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.