Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Field Hockey Opens Five-Game Homestand This Weekend with Cornell, Towson
9/10/2010 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 10, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell field hockey will return to Graham Field at Holmes Stadium for the first of five straight home games, taking on Cornell and Towson this weekend. The Bison, which are looking for their first win of the young season, will play the Big Red on Saturday, followed by the Tigers on Sunday. Both games are set for 1 p.m. with live stats on GameTracker available at BucknellBison.com.
ABOUT THE BISON
- Bucknell went 0-2 last weekend, falling 3-2 to Albany it its home opener and 7-0 at then-No. 4 Princeton. Morgan Kauffman (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) and Marci Richard (Oley, Pa./Oley Valley) each scored against the Great Danes, while Tayler Siegrist (Madison, N.J./Madison) tallied an assist.
- The Bison have seven players with more than one point on the season. That list includes Christine Weiss (Bethlehem, Pa./Southern Lehigh) and Kauffman who lead with four points apiece, while Richard and Corinne Raczek (Ocean Township, N.J./Ocean Township) each have three.
- Bucknell ranks in the top three in the Patriot League in a number of categories, including shots (46) and shots per game (11.50), goals per game (1.75), assists (7) and saves (24). Individually, Raczek is tied for first in assists (3), while Kauffman is tied for third (2). Weiss is tied second in shots (13) and third in goals (2) through the first handful of games, and Sarah Zargarpour (North Vancouver, Canada/Handsworth Academy) is third in saves (21).
- Bruvik, Kauffman and Raczek are still on the Bucknell record watch. With 17 career goals, Bruvik needs one more score to join the top 15 in program history. Kauffman needs one point to crack the career top 10 list, having tallied 58 in just over three years of play. The senior also needs three goals for 15th on the career list and two assists to tie Raczek for second on the career assists list. Raczek is looking for a major career mark of her own, needing four more assists to tie the school record set by former teammate Amanda Faust.
- The Bison have made a conscious effort to put together a challenging schedule in 2010. Cornell will be the fourth Bucknell opponent in five games to either be ranked or receive votes in the Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. In the latest poll on Sept. 7, the Big Red fell just outside of the top 20. Temple and Albany were also among those receiving votes when they faced the Bison, and Princeton was ranked fourth nationally at the time of their meeting.
- It has not been very often that Bucknell has gotten off to such a slow start, going 0-4 to start the season. The last time the Bison opened with four straight losses came in 1990, falling to Michigan State (2-1), West Chester (3-0), Hofstra (1-0) and American (4-2). Bucknell has never had a 0-5 start.
- Bruvik was recently the subject of a feature story in The Princeton Packet. Read the story about the Bison senior here.
- Bucknell and Cornell have one of the longest-running series in program history, dating back to 1974. The Bison lead in the series 13-9-1. When the two teams met last season, Bucknell took a 1-0 overtime victory in Ithaca, N.Y., on a goal by Bruvik.
- The Bison have won each of the last four games with the Big Red, all by one goal. The last time either team won by more than a single score was in 1999 with a 2-0 decision going to Bucknell. In 23 meetings, only five games have been decided by more than two goals.
- Bucknell also leads in the all-time series with Towson, 17-10. The Bison won 2-1 when the teams played last year as Kauffman registered a goal and an assist in the contest.
- Bucknell and Towson have been alternating wins for the last several years. The last time either team put together a winning streak came in 1998-2000 when the Tigers were the victors in three straight games. Bucknell's last positive streak came with back-to-back wins in 1996-1997.
ABOUT THE BIG RED
- Cornell is 2-0 in the 2010 season having claimed one-goal victories at Lock Haven and Delaware. Catie DeStio scored in a 1-0 win against Lock Haven, while Olivia Boyd tallied the overtime winner in a 4-3 decision over Delaware.
- Each of the Big Red's five goals to date has been scored by a different player, and Katie Laventure has the team's lone assist on the year. Alex Botte is 2-0 in goal with a 1.43 goals against average and .833 save percentage.
- Cornell was 10-5 overall and 4-3 in the Ivy League last season. The Big Red were also 6-2 in non-league play with their only losses coming against Bucknell and Virginia. DeStio led the team in goals (10), assists (8) and points (28) during her junior campaign.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
- Towson enters the weekend with a 2-2 record and will play Radford on Saturday before heading to Lewisburg. The Tigers most recently claimed a 4-2 win over La Salle on Wednesday with help from a two-goal performance from Kristie Blumer.
- Blumer shares the team lead in goals with Kasie Nurko, having posted three through the early stages of 2010. Whitney Clugston has received a majority of the time in goal for the Tigers, going 2-2 with a 1.77 goals against average and a .696 save percentage.
- Towson finished the 2009 season with a 6-12 overall record and a 0-8 tally in the Colonial Athletic Conference. The Tigers lost their top two point getters but return Katie DeFilippo, who tied for the team lead with six goals last season. Jamie Dowling, who has played less than three minutes this year, finished the 2009 campaign with a 6-12 record in goal while posting a 2.65 goals against average and a save percentage of .659.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell's next contest is set for Thursday, Sept. 16 against Lock Haven at Graham Field. The 7 p.m. game will be shown live on Bison Vision with live stats also available on GameTracker at BucknellBison.com.
