Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Davidson
Bucknell Women's Lax Blanks Davidson in Second Half, Rallies for 9-8 Win
2/21/2009 7:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
Feb. 21, 2009
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Bonnie Buechel (South Orange, N.J./Columbia) scored the tying and go-ahead goals and Alyssa DeLorenz (Garland, Texas/Plano East) made 12 saves while shutting out Davidson in the second half to help Bucknell improve to 2-0 on the season with a 9-8 road win over the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.
Jenna Lotkowictz (Skaneateles, N.Y./Skaneateles) scored two goals and Carol Donohue (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) had a goal and an assist as the Bison recovered from an 8-5 halftime deficit.
The Bison were playing on short rest after their mid-week game against Wagner had to be pushed back from Wednesday to Thursday due to weather, and Davidson jumped on them quickly with three goals in the first 2:48 of the game. The Wildcats might have had a fourth not long after, but DeLorenz stopped Becky Horton on a free-position shot, and after a successful clear Ashley St. John (Wayne, Pa./Conestoga) got the Bison going with her first goal of the season.
Horton did score on an 8-meter shot with 4:47 left in the first half to give Davidson a 7-3 lead, and after Lotkowictz tallied two minutes later, Jen Crawford scored her third of the day with only 13 seconds left in the half to put the Wildcats up 8-4.
Donohue came up with the ensuing draw for the Bison, sprinted to the cage and fed Julia Braun (Tomkins Cove, N.Y./North Rockland) for a big momentum-swinging goal only two seconds before halftime.
Bucknell's defense was the story in the second half, as the close defense trio of Kendall Thibeault (Fallston, Md./St. Paul's), Catherine Barry (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool) and Katie Fox (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) teamed with DeLorenz to shut down a Davidson team that scored 16 goals in its season opener last week and won a school-record 11 games last season.
DeLorenz made five saves in the second half, and the Bison allowed only six shots after yielding 15 in the first half. Meanwhile, the Bison scored on four of their six second-half shot attempts, with three of the goals coming from Buechel.
Buechel and Lotkowictz both scored on free-position shots to bring Bucknell within 8-7. Buechel tied it with an unassisted tally with 15:36 to play, then she put her team on top for the first time all day just 50 seconds later.
Nursing the 9-8 lead, Bucknell only allowed Davidson three more possessions the rest of the way. DeLorenz stopped Horton on one of them, the defense blocked an 8-meter shot on another, and Braun forced a turnover and nabbed the ground ball with four minutes remaining. The Bison then ran the clock all the way inside 10 seconds before Davidson took it away, but there was not enough time remaining to attempt a last-second shot.
The Bison were excellent in transition, going 13-for-13 on clears. Davidson finished with a 21-14 shot advantage, but the Wildcats only managed three saves.
Bucknell next puts its 2-0 record on the line on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Penn State.
