Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Soccer Tackles Army in Patriot League Semifinals Friday Night
11/6/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 6, 2008
Postseason soccer has arrived, and Bucknell carries a four-game conference winning streak and a No. 2 seed into Friday's semifinal matchup with No. 3 Army. The Bison are making their fourth straight Patriot League Tournament appearance and their 13th overall. This will be the second straight year these two teams have met in the semis and the third time in the last four years they have squared off in the postseason. Last year in Lewisburg, the Bison topped the Black Knights 2-1 in overtime on opening night of the PL Tournament, and in 2005, Bucknell defeated Army 3-1 in the championship match. The Black Knights enter the tourney with a 4-1-2 league record, but they struggled offensively down the stretch. In their final three regular-season games they played a pair of scoreless ties with Navy and American, and they suffered a 2-0 home loss to Lehigh in the finale last weekend. Army has been terrific defensively, however. Prior to the Lehigh loss, the Cadets had not allowed a single goal in league play and had posted seven straight shutouts.
With a Win over Army, Bucknell Would ...
About the Tournament
Navy earned the No. 1 seed and the right to host the Patriot League Tournament by posting a 5-0-2 record and 17 standings points during the regular season. The Mids will face No. 4 Colgate (4-3-0) in the first semifinal game on Friday at 4 p.m. Second-seeded Bucknell (5-2-0) will play No. 3 Army (4-1-2) at 7 p.m. The winners will meet in the championship match Sunday at 1 p.m. at Navy's Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
See and Hear the Games Online
A live video Webcast of Friday's two semifinal games and Sunday's championship game can be purchased through Patriot League All-Access. Navy commentators Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller will call all of the action. To access the Patriot League All-Access Package for a monthly rate of $9.95, visit www.PatriotLeague.com.
Round One vs. Army
On Oct. 12 at Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Bucknell and Army locked up in an evenly played contest, with the Black Knights finally prevailing in double-overtime on Dymon Washington's goal. Both teams played exceptional defense, but the Bison had one slip in the 105th minute and it cost them the game. Bucknell finished with an 18-12 shot advantage, including 7-1 in the second half. Alex Lostetter finished with seven saves for Army, while Kathryn Sutton stopped five shots for the Orange & Blue.
Bucknell vs. Army in the 2007 Postseason
On Nov. 9, 2007, Bucknell and Army also battled in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals, with the Bison prevailing 2-1 in overtime. That game was played on Bucknell's home field, as the Bison were seeded No. 1 and Army No. 4. Bucknell scored first on a Jennifer Dervarics breakaway goal in the 23rd minute. Army tied it in the 72nd minute on Jenna Roberts' goal, but 6:30 into overtime Molly Linhart's header at the back post on a free kick won it for Bucknell.
Dervarics Named Patriot League Offensive Player of Year
Bucknell senior Jennifer Dervarics captured her second consecutive Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Award at the tournament banquet on Thursday night. Dervarics became the fourth player in league history to win that award twice, following Army's Holly Pedley (1994, 1997), Navy's Stacy Finley (2001, 2002) and Lehigh's Gina Lewandowski (2004, 2005). The only other Bucknell player to win the honor was Lisa Gibbons in 1993.
Bison Place Four on All-Patriot League First Team
Bucknell equalled its year-old school record by placing four players on the All-Patriot League First Team. Seniors Nicole Marotta and Jennifer Dervarics made the all-league team for the third time in their careers, while sophomores Caitlin Holtz and Christa Matlack were honored for the first time. Marotta is just the second Bucknell player to make the first team three times, joining Bucknell Hall of Famer Lisa Gibbons. No other PL team had more than two players on the first team.
Bucknell One Win Shy of School Mark
At 11-6-2, Bucknell needs one more victory to tie the school record for wins in a season. The Bison also had 12-win seasons in 1994 (12-6-1), 2001 (12-7-0) and 2006 (12-5-1).
Success Under Ben Landis
Bucknell has now won 11 or more games and qualified for the Patriot League Tournament in each of Ben Landis' four seasons as head coach. The Bison won the Patriot League Tournament title in Landis' first season in 2005, then captured regular-season titles in both 2006 and 2007. All told, Landis has a 45-28-5 (.609) overall record and a 20-7-1 (.732) Patriot League mark at Bucknell.
Last Time Out
Facing the possibility of postseason elimination with a loss to American in the regular-season finale last Saturday, Bucknell turned in one of its most complete efforts of the season in a 2-1 win over the Eagles. The flow of the game was more one-sided than the final score, as the Bison had a 20-5 shot advantage (11-0 in the first half) and had numerous close calls. Kelliann Doherty and Christa Matlack scored in the 26th and 47th minutes to put the Bison up 2-0. Kelsey Brasher scored to make it 2-1 in the 68th minute, but the Bison regained control in the final 20 minutes and turned aside any serious scoring threats by the Eagles.
Senior Success
Bucknell's three-person senior class -- Kelly Boswell, Jennifer Dervarics, Nicole Marotta -- is the most successful in school history. The Class of 2009 has won a school-record 45 games, captured a Patriot League title, two regular-season titles and played in the NCAA Tournament.
Dervarics, Matlack Quite a 1-2 Punch
Bucknell features the highest-scoring forward tandem in the Patriot League, as senior Jennifer Dervarics and sophomore Christa Matlack rank 1-2 in the conference scoring race. Dervarics (12-6-30) is averaging a league-best 1.58 points per game, while Matlack (8-4-20) is averaging 1.25. The duo also ranks 1-2 in goals per game and 3-5 in assists per game. Dervarics and Matlack have combined for 20 goals, which is as many or more than four other Patriot League teams have totaled all year.
Dervarics Climbing Bucknell's All-Time Charts
Jennifer Dervarics ranks third on Bucknell's all-time lists for career goals (36), assists (19) and points (91). On the school single-season lists, she is fifth in goals (12) and points (30) and seventh in assists (6).
No Sophomore Slump for Matlack
Despite missing most of the preseason and the first three games of the regular season with a leg injury, sophomore Christa Matlack has enjoyed an excellent campaign. She has eight goals and four assists for 20 points, and with 16 career goals she already ranks 10th on Bucknell's all-time list. Matlack has four game-winning goals this season, the most dramatic of which came with 29 seconds remaining in a 1-0 win over Temple.
Holtz Leads League in Assists
Sophomore Caitlin Holtz is not just a key member of the Bison defensive unit, but she also leads the Patriot League with eight assists in 2008. Holtz is excellent in transition and also takes all of Bucknell's long free kicks and corner kicks. The eight assists is tied for second-most in a season by a Bucknell player.
Marotta Money in Midfield
After three years as one of the Patriot League's premier defenders — she was the 2006 Patriot League Co-Defensive Player of the Year — senior Nicole Marotta has been moved up to center midfield this fall. Marotta has excelled in her new position and has set career highs in goals (5) and points (11).
What's Up Doc?
Sophomore Kelliann Doherty (pronounced DOCK-er-tee) is enjoying a strong finish to her 2008 season. Doherty has four goals this year, all coming in the last seven games, and all of them against Patriot League opponents (Holy Cross, Lehigh, Lafayette, American). She has scored in three of the last four games, and her tally on Saturday gave the Bison an important 1-0 lead over American in a must-win game. Doherty had six goals in 2007, when she made the All-Patriot League First Team as a freshman.
Youth on D
The Bison have broken the school record with seven shutouts this season, even with a rather youthful back line. Bucknell starts three sophomores (Amanda Citron, Kelsey Johnson, Caitlin Holtz) and a junior (Lauren Stoller) on defense as well as a junior goalkeeper in Kathryn Sutton. Bucknell has given up 24 goals this season (1.26 per game), but 14 of those came in the first seven games of the year against a difficult non-conference slate that included No. 10 Penn State, Rutgers and Maryland. The Bison have allowed multiple goals only once in their last 10 games.
Sutton Stands Tall
Junior goalie Kathryn Sutton has had another excellent year in the crease for the Bison. In addition to breaking the single-season shutouts record (7), she is 11-5-2 with a .788 save percentage and 1.13 goals-against average. A First Team All-Patriot League selection in 2007, Sutton now ranks fourth on Bucknell's career wins list with 21, and her 11 career shutouts ranks third in program history.
No Fearing the Turtles
In one of its best non-conference wins in program history, the Bison upset Maryland 3-2 in College Park on Aug. 29. The Terrapins came into the game ranked second among "others receiving votes" in the NSCAA national poll. Trailing 1-0 at the half, Bucknell exploded for three straight goals in a span of 21 minutes in the second half. Jennifer Dervarics scored the first two of those, while Chelsea McGorry made it 3-1 in the 76th minute. Maryland scored again with only 1:11 left in the game, but the Bison held on. Kathryn Sutton made eight saves in the win, seven of them coming in the second half.
Playing Nice
Bucknell has been booked with only two yellow cards all season (both coming in the same game at Marist), and the Bison are averaging only 6.11 fouls per game, the fewest in the Patriot League.
Home, Sweet Home
Bucknell excelled this season in its new home park, Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium. The Bison went 6-1-1 at the three-year-old, soccer-only facility. The only blemish came at the hands of Army, who issed Bucknell a 1-0 overtime setback on Oct. 12.
Three Bison on Academic All-District Team
Bucknell student-athletes accounted for three of the 11 spots on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II First Team. Chelsea Brinkman and Lauren Stoller were both picked for the second year in a row, while Jennifer Dervarics was honored for the first time. All three advance on to the national ballot. Brinkman is a biology major with a 3.83 grade-point average; Stoller is a psychology major with a 3.75 GPA; and Dervarics is a mathematics major with a 3.31 GPA. Bucknell's men's soccer team also had three Academic All-District honorees.
