Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Field Hockey to Tangle with Lafayette, Columbia on Bison Vision
10/8/2010 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 8, 2010
- Bucknell-Lafayette Live Video on Bison Vision
- Bucknell-Columbia Live Video on Bison Vision
- Bucknell-Columbia Live Stats on GameTracker
- Bucknell Volleyball, Field Hockey to Host Breast Cancer Awareness Days this Weekend
LEWISBURG, Pa. – With two games on Bison Vision and its annual Play for the Cure event on the docket, Bucknell field hockey will have plenty on its plate when it takes on Lafayette and Columbia this weekend. The Bison will look to maintain their undefeated Patriot League record when they travel to Easton, Pa., for their tournament game rematch at 12 p.m. on Saturday. They will then return to Graham Field at Holmes Stadium for a 1 p.m. Sunday matchup with Columbia as they support the fight against breast cancer.
Bucknell field hockey will be accepting donations for the Susan G. Komen Foundation at Sunday's game. Those who contribute to the Bison's efforts will receive a pink ribbon for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Fans are also encouraged to wear pink to the game.
ABOUT THE BISON
- Bucknell is in the midst of quite the streak. After opening the season 0-4, the Bison have won five of their last seven, including a pair of shutout victories last weekend. Bucknell blanked Holy Cross 2-0 for its first Patriot League win of the season on Saturday and followed that performance with a 3-0 win over Harvard the following day.
- Bucknell now has four shutouts on the season. No Bison squad has had more than four shutouts since the 1999 squad achieved the feat on six occasions.
- Sarah Zargarpour (North Vancouver, Canada/Handsworth Secondary) earned the win in goal in each of last weekend's contests, bringing her season record to 5-5. The junior needed to make just one save in two days, however, as the Bison defense limited its opponents to single shot on goal. Christine Weiss (Bethlehem, Pa./Southern Lehigh) had a major hand in the effort and earned Player of the Week Honorable Mention honors from womensfieldhockey.com as a result.
- Weiss also tallied a goal on a penalty corner against the Crusaders, and Corinne Raczek (Ocean Township, N.J./Ocean Township) and Katie Durkin (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) drew the assists. The score gave Bucknell the 1-0 advantage over Holy Cross, and Kelly Bruvik (Skillman, N.J./Stuart Country Day) added to that in the second half with a goal assisted by Hannah Jones (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area)
- Bruvik repeated with another late-game goal against Harvard on Sunday. The senior was the third to score against the Crimson as Morgan Kauffman (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) and Raczek also put the ball in the back of the net for the Bison.
- Bruvik's and Kauffman's offensive performances tied them with Rachel Misko (Morristown, N.J./Madison) for the team lead in goals (5). Bruvik is also tops in points with 14, followed by Kauffman's 12 and Misko's 11 points.
- A key part of Bucknell's recent run of success has been Bruvik's breakout offensively. Bruvik has at least one point in each of the Bison's last seven games, including a three-point performance against Towson last month.
- Head coach Jeremy Cook sees little reason to mess with success. The Bison have used just one starting lineup all year – Zargarpour, Mallory Smith (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland), Vicki Resh (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg Area), Marci Richard (Oley Valley, Pa./Oley Valley), Kauffman, Bruvik, Misko, Kate Bowen (Forty Fort, Pa./Wyoming Valley West), Weiss, Raczek and Tayler Siegrist (Madison, N.J./Madison).
- Bucknell has been steadily climbing the Patriot League rankings this season. After 11 games, the Bison are among the top three in the league in shutouts (first, 4), penalty corners per game (first, 8.45), scoring average (second, 2.71), scoring margin (second, -0.33) and shots per game (second, 13.45). They are also challenging the league leaders in goals per game (second, 2.27), assists per game (second, 2.00), goals against average (third, 3.04) and goals allowed per game (third, 2.55).
- A look at the stats shows that the Bison are enjoying their time at Graham Field. In six games at home, they have outscored opponents 15-10, outshot them 94-77 and drawn 17 more penalty corners. All five of Misko's goals have come on her home turf, and Zargarpour has recorded a neat 0.94 goals against average to go along with an .846 save percentage.
- Bucknell is 11-29-2 in the all-time series against Lafayette. The two teams have developed quite the rivalry in recent years after meeting in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals in each of the last two seasons. The Bison earned the 4-2 semifinal win in 2008 behind a three-point performance from Weiss, but the Leopards got their revenge with a 3-2 overtime victory last year. Lafayette is 5-1 against Bucknell in Patriot League Tournament meetings.
- Bucknell defeated Lafayette 1-0 when they met in the 2009 regular season. Raczek netted her first goal of the season to give the Bison their first league win of the year.
- The series between Bucknell and Columbia began in 1996, and the Bison have worked their way to a 6-2 advantage since then. The last three games between the Bison and Lions have gone to at least one overtime. After falling 4-3 in OT in 2001, Bucknell won 2-1 after two extra periods in 2002. The series was renewed last season and Bucknell came away with a 4-3 victory in strokes on Columbia's home field. Weiss finished with a career-best five points (2G, 1A) in that contest.
- Bucknell won each of its first three meetings with Columbia. The Bison outscored the Lions 12-1 from 1996-98.
ABOUT THE LEOPARDS
- When Bucknell and Lafayette meet on Saturday, both teams will be putting their undefeated Patriot League records on the line. The Leopards are 4-6 overall and 1-0 in the league, joining Bucknell and American at the top of the standings. Lafayette recently lost a 2-1 overtime decision at Rutgers last weekend, but the Leopards had won each of their two previous games, 3-0 vs. Penn and 5-0 against Colgate.
- Deanna DiCroce, one of Lafayette's four returning all-league performers, has squad-best marks in goals (5) and points (14) this season. She also shares the team lead in assists (4) with Emily Valeo. Keeper Kelsey Andersen has earned every decision for the Leopards and has a 2.44 goals against average. She also has posted a .620 save percentage to go along with a pair of shutouts.
- Lafayette has been outscored 19-15 this season. All but four of their opponents' goals have come in the second half.
- In 2009, Lafayette finished 14-6 overall and 3-2 in the Patriot League. After earning the third seed in the league tournament, the Leopards upset Bucknell in the semis, then lost 2-0 to American in the final round. Meghan Cicchi, who was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, was a first-team all-league selection, as was Andersen, the 2009 PL Goalkeeper of the Year, and DiCroce. Carolyn Cabrey and Kelly Hilovsky earned second-team accolades.
ABOUT THE LIONS
- Columbia makes its first trip to Lewisburg since 2002 after hosting Monmouth on Friday night. Heading into play this week, the Lions are 5-4 overall and 1-2 in the Ivy League. Their most recent win came last Sunday, 5-1 at Holy Cross. Prior to that, Columbia fell 6-1 to Princeton and 3-2 in double overtime to Cornell.
- Gabby Kozlowski and Julia Garrison have commanding leads over Columbia's offensive statistics this year. Kozlowski has 10 goals for 20 points, and Garrison is close behind with seven goals and three assists for 17 points. Next in line is Carson Christus with just seven points (2G, 3A). Christie O'Hara is 5-4 in goal for the Lions, posting a 3.48 goals against average and a. 639 save percentage.
- Columbia went 9-8 overall and 3-4 in the Ivy League last season. Garrison led the Lions in goals (6) and points (14), earning Second Team All-Ivy League honors. Letti Freaney and Katie DeSandis also earned honorable mention from the league.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell will stay at home for its next game. The Bison will face off against Lehigh at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16 at Graham Field at Holmes Stadium. Live stats on GameTracker will be available at BucknellBison.com.
