April 9, 2009
Live Webcast at gocolgateraiders.com 
Live Stats
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's lacrosse team plays one of its most important regular-season games in recent memory on Saturday when it travels to Hamilton, N.Y., to face Colgate in a battle of Patriot League unbeatens. The Bison and Raiders both come in with 4-0 conference records, and the winner will have a leg up on claiming the No. 1 seed at the Patriot League Tournament in two weeks.
Bucknell can clinch the regular-season title with a win over Colgate and a Navy (3-1 PL) loss to Lehigh on Saturday. The Raiders would claim the top spot with a win over the Bison, regardless of what happens in the Navy-Lehigh game. If Bucknell and Navy both win, then the Bison would need to defeat Navy next week to guarantee the No. 1 seed, otherwise there could be a three-way tie between Bucknell, Colgate and Navy that would be broken by goal differential.
Of course, beating Colgate on the road will be no easy task for the Bison. Now 11-3 on the season, the defending league champs have won four straight and nine of their last 10. Seven of those nine wins have come by six or more goals.
Scouting Colgate:
The preseason favorite in the Patriot League, Colgate is averaging 14.2 goals per game while outscoring foes 200-110 on the season.
The Raiders have five players with 29 or more points this season, led by Brie Moran with 45 goals and nine assists for 54 points. Moran is second in the league in goals behind Lauren Dykstra of Lehigh (51). Other top scorers for Colgate include Meghan Lawler (30-18-48), Colleen Bubnack (25-23-48), Courtney Miller (25-8-33) and Ashley Didio (24-5-29).
In goal, Sara Drexler has started 12 of the 14 games and has a .414 save percentage and a 9.51 goals-against average. Christina Roa has shared time with Drexler -- the two have played an almost equal number of minutes -- and has a 4-0 record with a stellar .598 save percentage and a 5.79 GAA. Both goalies played 30 minutes apiece in each of the last two games, while Roa played all 60 minutes in a big 10-4 win over Navy on March 28.
Colgate has outscored its four Patriot League opponents 67-22. The Raiders defeated Lafayette 20-3, Navy 10-4, Holy Cross 19-9 and American 18-6. By contrast, Bucknell's scoring margin in its four league wins is 44-37, with all four wins coming by three goals or less.
Series Notes:
Bucknell has won only 3 of 29 prior meetings with Colgate.
Bucknell's only series win since 1995 was a big one, a 13-9 decision in the 2003 Patriot League Tournament.
Last year's meeting at Graham Field was a close one, as Colgate rallied from a three-goal deficit in the second half to win 14-12. The Bison led 12-9 with 16 minutes to play, but the Raiders scored three goals in just 24 seconds to tie it. Bucknell almost regained the lead but Lauren Deitrich's shot hit the post. That led to a fast break for Colgate, and Lindsay Pittard finished it with the go-ahead goal with 12:22 remaining. Bucknell had four more possessions but turned it over each time without getting off a shot. Colgate held the ball for the final 3:30, and Molly Carroll scored into an empty net with four seconds left to make it 14-12. Bonnie Buechel had a magnificent game depsite the loss, totaling three goals, one assist, six draw controls, six ground balls and four caused turnovers. Julia Braun and Carol Donohue also had four-point games, while Brie Moran led Colgate with four goals.
Last Outing:
Bucknell's two-game winning streak came to an end on Sunday at Le Moyne, as the Dolphins rallied in both regulation and overtime to deal the Bison a 10-9 loss. Bucknell led 8-6 with 14 minutes to play, but Le Moyne scored twice in the final 10 minutes to force overtime. Carol Donohue scored first in overtime for the Bison, but Jackie Lundblad tied it with 1:52 remaining, and Nerissa Barzee won it on a free-position shot with 1:02 left. Bonnie Buechel and Julia Braun both finished with two goals and an assist, while Alyssa DeLorenz made 13 saves.
Bison Bits:
Bucknell is a win away from its third 10-win season in school history. The Bison won 13 games in 1997 and 10 in 1998.
The Bison have never won five confernece games in a season. Their best-ever league record before this season was 4-2 in the Patriot League in 2004
In addition to her three points, Bonnie Buechel had five draw controls, five ground balls and five caused turnovers against Le Moyne.
Buechel leads the team in each of those categories this season and ranks in the top four in program history in all three as well. Her 153 career draw controls rank No. 1 all-time. Her 73 caused turnovers is No. 2, trailing only Lauren Deitrich's 116. And Buechel's 126 ground balls are fourth-most in school history.
Carol Donohue continues to lead the team in scoring with 38 points on 25 goals and 13 assists. Buechel is close behind at 29-6-35, followed by Julia Braun at 23-4-27 and Chelsea Peters at 20-5-25.
Among the Patriot League offensive leaders, Buechel ranks fifth in goals, and Donohue ranks seventh in points, eighth in goals and eighth in assists. Buechel ranks second in the league in draw controls, with Braun right behind in third. Those two are also tied for fourth in ground balls, and Buechel is third in caused turnovers.
Alyssa DeLorenz leads the Patriot League in both save percentage (.500) and saves per game (10.46).
Donohue has moved up to fifth on Bucknell's career scoring list with 147 points. Her 64 career assists are second all-time, eight shy of Melissa Montefusco's school mark.
Donohue has 10 goals and five assists in her last three games.
Michelle Milot had a five-game points streak snapped against Le Moyne.
Next Up:
Bucknell hosts Marist in a non-league contest on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Graham Field. Then on Apr. 18 at Graham Field, the Bison host Navy at 1 p.m. in the final game before the Patriot League Tournament.
