Bucknell Drops George Washington & No. 17 Princeton in CWPA Southern Division Action

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell men’s water polo team extended its winning streak to five games by sweeping a pair of league games from George Washington and No. 17 Princeton Saturday at Kinney Natatorium. The Bison opened the day with a 14-7 victory over the Colonials. Two-and-one-half hours after the conclusion of that contest they defeated the 17th-ranked Tigers 10-9 in come-from-behind fashion in front of a standing-room-only crowd.

Bucknell (9-5, 3-0 CWPA Southern Division) stretched its winning streak to five games, equaling its longest of 2008, and picked up a win over a ranked opponent for the second consecutive day after defeating No. 20 Johns Hopkins Friday night at Kinney Natatorium.

Goalie Nick Donahue (Brooklyn, N.Y./Lawrenceville) had a strong day in goal, stopping 15 shots, including 12 against Princeton. Highlighting his stops against the Tigers was a save of a five-meter penalty shot.

A number of Bison contributed to the offensive output Saturday, but Richie Hyden (Melbourne, Australia/Greenwich (Conn.)) led the way with two goals and two assists against George Washington and then three more of each for a six-point outing against Princeton. He crossed both the 100-assist mark for his career and the 250-point plateau.

Bucknell had to overcome a large deficit against Princeton as it trailed 7-4 before reeling off five consecutive goals to take a 9-7 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Tigers tied the score with two straight goals, but Paul Reamey’s (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) first goal of the day with 1:09 left proved to be the game-winner for the Bison.

Bucknell, which totaled 11 six-on-five goals Saturday, recorded 22 assists on its 24 goals.

The Bison improved to 35-11 all-time against George Washington and have now defeated the Colonials by a combined 29-14 score in two meetings this year, both within the last week.

Bucknell moved to 29-34 all-time against Princeton and is now 6-3 against the Tigers since September 2007. The Bison had been 1-22 against the Tigers in their previous 23 meetings prior to 2007.

Release courtesy Bucknell Athletic Communications