Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
No. 8 Penn State
Bucknell Field Hockey Battles No. 8 Penn State but Falls 3-1 in Home Finale
10/25/2011 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 25, 2011
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LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell goalkeeper Erica Perrine (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) made 10 saves and Rachel Misko (Morristown, N.J./Madison) scored late, but Bison field hockey could not pull off a second consecutive upset, falling 3-1 to No. 8 Penn State at Graham Field on Tuesday night. Bucknell (6-10) held the Nittany Lions (12-5) to a single goal in the first half, but Penn State scored twice in the second before Misko broke up the shutout bid.
A strong Bucknell defense kept the team in the hunt for much of the game, fending off a speedy Penn State attack. Perrine, who added ECAC Defensive Player of the Week to her resume earlier today, made seven saves in the first half, allowing just one shot to get through as Whitney Reddig gave the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead at the 21:44 mark. Kelsey Amy, who entered the game with 20 goals on the season, earned the assist.
The Bison outdid the Nittany Lions in the first half when it came to corners. Bucknell had a 4-3 edge in the category, which was how it ended up with many of its own scoring opportunities. Mallory Smith (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) just missed a point-blank look as she received a return pass after inserting the ball on a corner. Trying to avoid a diving Ayla Halus, the Bison senior put it just wide of the left post and missed a chance of putting her team up by a goal early in the game.
After a strong defensive save from Tayler Siegrist (Madison, N.J./Madison) early in the second half to keep the score at 1-0, Penn State began eventually began to find its offensive stride. Hannah Allison scored on a scramble in front of the Bucknell net with 18:15 to go in the game, and Laura Gebhart made it 3-0 for the Nittany Lions when she dribbled around the defense and through the circle for her own unassisted goal.
Despite being down by three goals, Bucknell continued to push Penn State and try to create more scoring chances. Although much of the second half was spent at their own end of the field, the Bison again tried to take advantage of penalty corners. About midway through the second half, they got off a flurry of shots but was turned back each time with defensive saves from Brittany Grzywacz.
Not until Misko made her way through the circle and got around backup keeper Kylie Licata, who entered the game at the seven-minute mark, did Bucknell finally put a goal on the board at 5:47. The goal was Misko's fourth of the year.
At the end of the game, Bucknell and Penn State found themselves tied in penalty corners, 7-7. The Nittany Lions entered the game with nearly twice as many corners as its opponents this season.
Halus ended up with the win, collecting her 12th victory on the season. The junior made two saves and did not allow a goal. Perrine (6-7) allowed three goals to go along with her 10 saves. It was the second consecutive game in which Perrine had reached double digits in saves as she also turned away 11 in Bucknell's win over American last weekend.
The Bison have one of the biggest games of the season coming up when they make the trip to Colgate for an 11 a.m. match on Saturday. The winner of that meeting will secure the final spot in next month's Patriot League Tournament.
