March 27, 2009
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Interview with junior midfielder Chelsea Peters
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's lacrosse team will try to remain unbeaten in Patriot League play and clich a Patriot League Tournament berth on Saturday when Holy Cross visits Graham Field. The 3 p.m. contest will be the second part of a Bison-Crusaders lacrosse doubleheader on campus, as the men will start things off at noon at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
The Bison women had their three-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday in a 13-8 road loss at Drexel. That dropped them to 7-3 overall, but at 3-0 in conference play, the Bison remain in sole possession of first place. Bucknell has not won four league games in a season since 2004, when it went 4-2 in the Patriot League. A win Saturday would lock up the team's first postseason berth since 2006. Holy Cross (2-7, 0-2 PL) is looking to shake a five-game losing streak that includes PL losses to Colgate (19-9) and Navy (10-9).
Scouting Holy Cross:
The Crusaders are coming off a heartbreaking 10-9 loss to Navy, which, like Bucknell, is unbeaten in league play. Navy's Dani Vivonetto scored on a free-position shot with 12 seconds left in the game to win it for the Mids. Holy Cross outshot Navy 27-17 in the loss.
Holy Cross features a four big scorers in Katie Gardner (15-15-30), Megan Fenton (20-3-23), Ali Baird (12-6-18) and Meg O'Leary (11-7-18). Gardner had three goals and three assists against Bucknell last season.
Defensively, Lisa Gagne leads the team in ground balls (23) and caused turnovers (8). Goalie Amy Martin has a .461 save percentage and a 12.76 goals-against average.
The Crusaders have been outscored 123-74 on the season.
Series Notes:
Bucknell holds a 12-8 lead in the all-time series with Holy Cross, but the Crusaders have won the last four meetings.
Holy Cross' last two wins over the Bison have been by identical 16-6 margins.
Bucknell's last series win was a 9-7 verdict at home in 2005. The Bison are 7-3 against Holy Cross in Lewisburg.
In last year's game in Worcester, Mass., the Bison took an early 2-1 lead, but the Crusaders dominated the rest of the way and won 16-6. Holy Cross outshot Bucknell 37-17. Bonnie Buechel led the Orange & Blue with three goals.
Last Outing:
Charlotte Wood scored five golas to lead Drexel past the Bison 13-8 on Wednesday in Philadelphia. The Dragons, now 7-1 on the year, scored nine of the game's first 10 goals and led 10-4 at halftime. The Bison closed within four twice in the second half but could get no closer. Julia Braun, Bonnie Buechel and Becca Devine all scored two goals for Bucknell, while Ryan Gribbon had a goal and two assists.
Bison Bits:
Sophomore goalie Alyssa DeLorenz earned her fourth Patriot League Goalie of the Week honor in the last five weeks on Monday. She made a career-high 17 saves in a win over Binghamton along with nine saves in a league win over Lafayette. DeLorenz leads the Patriot League in save percentage (.526) and total saves (110). Among the national leaders she ranks seventh in save percentage and eighth in saves per game.
After a slow start, sophomore Becca Devine got her 2009 season going in a big way last week. First, she scored the game-winning goal with five seconds remaining in an 8-7 win over Binghamton, then last Saturday she exploded for a career-high six goals in a 14-11 win over Lafayette. Devine scored twice more in Wednesday's loss at Drexel. Amazingly, in her last three games she has scored nine goals on exactly nine shots.
Bonnie Buechel and Carol Donohue both continue to climb the charts in Bucknell's career record book. Buechel has moved up to fifth in career points (140), seventh in career goals (104), tied for eighth in career assists (36) and fifth in career ground balls (118). She was already the Bucknell career leader in draw controls entering the season and now has 139 total. Donohue, only a junior, has already moved into second place on the career assists list with 59. She needs 13 more to catch Melissa Montefusco, who had 72 helpers from 1999-2002.
Freshman Ryan Gribbon totaled a career-high five points (2G, 3A) in last week's win over Lafayette
Sophomore Julia Braun had another strong game against Lafayette with two goals, five draw controls, two ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Freshman Jenna Lotkowictz has recently moved to a defensive position, and against Lafayette she led the team with three caused turnovers and four ground balls.
Junior Kendall Thibeault scored her first collegiate goal in the win over the Leopards.
Braun ranks second in the Patriot League in draw controls, while Braun and Buechel are tied for third in ground balls.
Bucknell now has seven different players with 10 or more points this season.
Next Up:
Bucknell will play twice more out of league before facing another Patriot League foe. On Wednesday the Bison host St. Bonaventure at Graham Field at 4 p.m., then they will travel to Le Moyne for a 1 p.m. start on Sunday. The next conference game will be Apr. 11 against defending league champion Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y.
