Emmitsburg, Md. (August 24, 2023)--In a game that saw a lightning delay with 3:38 remaining, and then a second delay when a snake got onto the pitch, Mount St. Mary's was edged by visiting Bucknell, 2-1, in the season opener on Thursday night at Waldron Family. Dominic Topolsky buried a free kick in the 65th minute for the Mount's goal in the game.
The Bison scored the lone goal in the opening half when Aidan Kieffer got his foot between a pair of Mount defenders on a nice feed from Kasper Piela to make it 1-0. Bucknell was able to take that advantage into the locker room.
In the second half, Bucknell's Charlie Holmes made it a two-goal game when he collected a pass in the box from Waldemar Kattrup, turned and fired a shot that beat Mount keeper
Ethan Russell.
The Mountaineers sliced the lead in half when
Dominik Topolsky buried a free kick from 25 yards out in the 65th minute.
Topolsky had a shot go wide in the 75th minute, and with 3:38 remaining, lightning caused a 30-minute delay.
As the teams finished their warmup and were ready to resume play, a snake found its way onto the field, causing another delay. The assistant referee was able to grab the snake by the tail, and escort it off the field, allowing play to resume.
The Mount had one final push in the closing seconds, but saw
Luc Holden's shot from 30 yards out blocked by the Bucknell defense, and the Bison was able to secure the win.
The Mountaineers held a 9-to-8 edge in shots in the game and a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks. Russell made a pair of saves for the Mount while Jake Nicoll recorded two saves in the win for Bucknell.
Mount St. Mary's returns to action on Tuesday, August 29, with a 7:00 p.m. matchup at Rider.
