By William Bowman
LEWISBURG -- If you build it, they will come.
Whether "they" are some of the top recruits in the nation or the championships they bring, there is no doubt that since Bucknell's men's soccer program has moved into its soccer-only home at Emmitt Field, both recruits and titles have come to Lewisburg.
With back-to-back nationally-ranked recruiting classes to build off, Bison coach Brendan Nash's charges have take the program to a new level this season, re-writing the school record books on their way to the Patriot League title.
The school-record 16 wins the Bison carry into Thursday's NCAA tournament against Ivy League champion Princeton, is more than any other team in the nation except for No. 1 Akron (20) and Monmouth (18).
And it all is exactly what Nash, and higher-ups at Bucknell, expected.
"I have to give a lot of credit to the Bucknell administration for this, for raising our expectations," said Nash, who is in his 11th year. "They gave us the tools necessary to win and they expect to. I remember (athletic director John) Mr. Hardt saying after they built this facility that they expected championships. Fortunately, we've met those expectations."
The year after Emmitt Field first opened in 2005, the Bison won the Patriot League title, when this year's senior class were freshmen, before close calls in each of the past two years.
Things seemed to possibly be slipping away again when Bucknell, whose 10 shutouts this year is a school record, lost its final league game in overtime, a setback that seemingly denied the Bison home field in the Patriot League tournament. But the Bison still got the top seed thanks to an American loss on the final day of the season and took full advantage, winning a pair of 1-0 games to claim the league title and an automatic bid to NCAAs.
While the Bison might not be playing the best-looking soccer in the world, they are winning and that is the most important thing, especially at this time of year.
"We are grinding out results right now," Nash said. "It's not the prettiest soccer, but it's been keeping us in games until we find a way."
The trip to New Jersey to take on the Tigers, while bittersweet because BU was hoping for a home game, will be a homecoming for four Bison, including freshman Brandon Burgdorf, who scored the game-winning goal in Sunday's title game.
Nash said he, his coaching staff and players, know about as much as can be expected from an opponent they have not played this year and assistant coach Cam Ormsby saw the Tigers in person against Colgate a few weeks ago.
"Princeton has played three Patriot League teams and those coaches have been very helpful," said Nash. "But it is sort of mixed emotions. We built this facility hoping to get games like this here. Princeton has a great stadium, but we're just a little greedy."
