Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Soccer Heads to D.C. for Sunday Clash with American
10/14/2011 8:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 14, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Through three rounds of Patriot League play, the Bucknell women's soccer team is sitting just three points outside the fourth and final postseason spot, and the Bison will have a chance to move up in the table on Sunday when they travel to American for a noon start against the Eagles.
Bucknell comes in at 3-8-1 overall, but at 1-2 in Patriot League play the Bison are just one win behind fourth-place Lehigh. Upstart Lafayette is 3-0 in the league and sits alone atop the standings with nine points. Army and Colgate are both 2-0-1 and are tied for second with seven points. Then it is Lehigh in fourth with six, with Bucknell and Navy just behind with three each. Holy Cross and American are both 0-3 in league play.
Bucknell's three points came from a solid 2-0 blanking of Holy Cross last Friday. The Bison then played well at Army on Sunday but came up just short in a 1-0 loss to the Black Knights.
Taryn Boucher had the goal-scoring touch against the Crusaders. She tallied both goals -- the first two of her career -- in the second half to give the Bison the victory. Boucher became Bucknell's first multi-goal scorer this season, and she now leads the team with five points.
Goalkeeper Sandita McDermott continues to play well. She made all five of her saves in the second half against Holy Cross to preserve her third shutout of the season, and her save percentage has climbed over the 80-percent mark (.804) for the year.
American comes in with a 4-10-1 overall record. All three of the Eagles' Patriot League losses have come by one goal, and two of them were in overtime. American started league play with a 3-2 OT loss to Navy on Oct. 1, and last weekend the Eagles were swept in the Lehigh Valley, falling 1-0 at Lehigh and 2-1 in OT at Lafayette.
Half of American's 12 goals have come from Jasmine Mohandesi and Carleigh Morba, who have three apiece. Mohandesi also has three assists, giving her a team-high nine points on the season.
The Eagles have played two goalkeepers this season. Klare Lazor has made eight starts and has a 4-6-0 record with a .628 save percentage and 1.78 goals-against average. Arianna Efstathiou is 0-4-1 with a .750 save percentage and 1.55 GAA.
Last season at Emmitt Field, Bucknell started Patriot League play with a solid all-around performance in a 3-0 victory over American. McDermott collected five saves for her first career shutout, and then-seniors Caitlin Holtz, Kelsey Johnson and Kelliann Doherty scored the goals.
Bucknell first played American when the Eagles joined the Patriot League in 2001, and since then Bucknell owns a slim edge in the series, 6-5-1. American won three of the first four meetings -- Bucknell's win in that span came in the 2001 Patriot League Tournament semifinals -- then the Bison went 4-0-1 in the next five head-to-head matchups before the Eagles beat them twice in 2009.
Strangely, this will already be Bucknell's final road game of the regular season. Following the trip to D.C., the Bison close out the campaign with three straight home games, including a pivotal Friday-Sunday set against Lehigh and Lafayette on Homecoming Weekend.
