Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Field Hockey Closes Regular Season vs. Penn State, Colgate, Syracuse
10/24/2011 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 24, 2011
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LEWISBURG, Pa. - It's a week full of high-intensity and highly important games for Bucknell field hockey. The Bison will head down the final stretch of the regular season with a 6 p.m. meeting with No. 8 Penn State on Tuesday at Graham Field, which will stream live on Bison Vision. That will be followed on Saturday by an 11 a.m. game at Colgate that is a must-win if the Bison hope to advance to the Patriot League Tournament next month. Finally, Bucknell will head to Syracuse for a 2 p.m. meeting with the sixth-ranked team in the country. Live stats will be available for all three games.
Bucknell (6-9, 2-2 PL) has a tough road ahead of it, but the Bison's confidence could hardly be higher than it is right now after upsetting American on Saturday, 3-1. Thanks in large part to two goals from Katie Durkin (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan), the Bison stunned the Eagles, handing them just their second regular-season loss since 2003. The win, which was Bucknell's first over American since 2001, was also the 300th overall in program history.
Durkin put together the performance of her career. After entering 2011 with two career goals, the junior has upped her scoring total to four on the season. Saturday was the first multi-goal game of her career. Although her contributions were perhaps the most noticeable, Erica Perrine (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) recorded her second straight game with a career high in saves. After turning away nine shots against Towson on Oct. 16, Perrine made 11 saves against American. Rachel Misko (Morristown, N.J./Madison) also had two assists in the win over the Eagles.
Misko also tallied points against Colgate when the Bison and the Raiders squared off last season. The forward scored first in what turned out to be a 3-2 overtime victory for Bucknell. Durkin scored the game-tying goal to send it to an extra period, while Kelly Bruvik tallied the game winner. At the final horn, Bucknell had out-shot Colgate 38-8, including 9-1 in overtime.
With the last victory over Colgate (6-10, 1-3 PL), Bucknell has now won three straight, and nine of its last 10, against the Raiders. That brings the series record to 24-10-3 in favor of the Bison.
With any luck, Bucknell will extend that streak on Saturday as it must secure another victory in order to clinch a postseason berth. Lafayette, American and Lehigh have already qualified for the Patriot League Tournament, leaving the fourth and final spot up for grabs. Only Bucknell and Colgate have a shot at it. While the winner will be guaranteed the berth, the seeding will be determined by the outcomes of the other two league games on Saturday. Depending on the scenario, the Bison could be seeded as high as second or as low as fourth in the event that they qualify.
Before they can look to the Raiders, however, the Orange and Blue will take on Penn State (11-5), which was ranked eighth in the latest Kookaburra/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) National Poll. The Nittany Lions have a 0-27 lead in the all-time series with Bucknell, which is 0-3 against ranked opponents this season. The teams' 2010 meeting ended with a 4-1 score. Bruvik broke up the shutout bid late in the second half.
Penn State recently had a nine-game winning streak come to an end. After defeating Lafayette 6-0 on Oct. 11, the Nittany Lions lost 2-0 to both No. 10 Michigan and No. 18 Ohio State. Highlighting the offensive attack for Penn State is junior Kelsey Amy. Since being named First Team All-Big Ten a year ago, Amy has amassed 43 points on 20 goals and three assists this fall.
The challenges for Bucknell will continue on Sunday at Syracuse's J.S. Coyne Stadium. The Orange is 14-3 overall heading into the week having just taken a double-overtime loss 3-2 at No. 14 Connecticut. All three of Syracuse's losses this season have been to ranked squads, including North Carolina (3-2) and Old Dominion (2-1), which were both ranked second at the time of the games in September. Syracuse is 10-0 at home this year.
The Orange's success should not come as a surprise. Five of its six All-BIG EAST selections from last year return since the team lost in overtime to Ohio State in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Among those back for another turn is Heather Susek, who currently has 15 goals and five assists. Doing her one better this fall is Kelsey Millman, who leads the Orange with 16 goals and 13 assists for a total of 45 points. As a team, Syracuse has outscored its opponents this year, 72-18, and has three times as many shots (343-102) and penalty corners (156-53) as its opponents, while its goalkeepers have had to make significantly fewer saves (43-149).
The road game at Syracuse marks the end of the regular season for Bucknell. Should the Bison's campaign continue into the postseason, Bucknell will play in the Patriot League Tournament Nov. 4-5 at the site of the highest seed.
