Bucknell University Athletics
Playoff Chase Continues for Bucknell Women's Soccer Saturday vs. Navy at Emmitt Field
10/28/2011 8:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 28, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. --For all intents and purposes, the Bucknell women's soccer team has been engaged in playoff games for more than a week now, and the Bison have another monumental home contest on Saturday against Navy at noon at Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium. The winner of the game will earn the final spot in the official Patriot League Tournament, which begins begins next week at the home of the highest seed.
Bucknell has an unusual Patriot League schedule this fall, with the first four games played on the road, followed by the final three at home. The Bison went 1-3 in the away matches, putting them on the brink of elimination from the four-team Patriot League Tournament. But Bucknell came through in a big way in two must-win situations last weekend, sweeping defending-champion Lehigh (1-0) and then-first-place Lafayette (2-1 in OT) to stay alive in the playoff chase.
Bucknell enters Saturday's Senior Day game against Navy with a 3-3-0 league record and nine points. The Mids sit in fourth place with a 3-2-1 mark and 10 points. Colgate (4-0-2, 14), Lafayette (4-2-0, 12) and Army (3-1-2, 11) have all clinched tournament berths.
Should the Bison win on Saturday, they would not only leapfrog Navy and jump into the tournament field, but Bucknell would become the No. 3 seed unless Sunday's Army-Lafayette game ends in a tie. In that case, the Bison would be seeded fourth. A loss or a tie against Navy gives the final postseason spot to the Mids.
Bucknell got it done at both ends of the field in last weekend's home sweep of the Lehigh Valley teams. Freshman Evelyn Nicincki's first career goal, assisted by Megan DeGennaro and Tara Cort, gave the Bison an early 1-0 lead against Lehigh, and goalkeeper Sandita McDermott and the defense made it hold up.
It was a different storyline on Sunday against Lafayette, as the Bison spotted the Leopards a first-half goal before staging a terrific rally. Kayla Yee scored off a cross from Courtney Nelson just 20 seconds into the second half, and then midway through the first overtime period Cort delivered a perfect pass to spring DeGennaro on a breakaway, and the senior buried the shot for her first career OT goal.
McDermott was named the Patriot League BRINE Goalkeeper of the Week on Monday. She made 17 saves in the two victories last week, conceding just the one goal in 185 minutes of action.
DeGennaro now leads the team in assists (4) and points (6), while her four assists rank fourth in the Patriot League. Bucknell's 10 goals this season have come from eight different players. Yee and Taryn Boucher have two apiece. McDermott upped her save percentage to .837 and lowered her goals-against average to 1.15. If the season ended today, her GAA would be third-best in program history and her save percentage would rank fifth.
While Bucknell is coming off a successful weekend, Navy is flying high after winning three straight contests and scoring 11 goals in the process. Highlighting the Mids' recent surge was a wild 3-2 win over arch-rival Army, in which Navy came back from a 2-0 halftime deficit and won it on Morgan Dankanich's goal in the 88th minute.
Navy followed that up with a dominating 3-0 win over Holy Cross on Sunday, upping its season mark to 11-5-3. Navy's 11 wins are tied with Colgate for the most in the league.
In 19 games this season, Navy has scored 31 goals and allowed 17. The Mids have gotten very balanced scoring, with eight players registering either three or four goals so far. Rachel Hunter leads the team in points with 10, coming on four goals and two assists, while Paloma Perez and Brittany Fruin have three goals and three assists for nine points apiece.
Alexes Lopez-Shaw has had a good sophomore season in goal. She has started 18 matches and is 11-5-2 with six shutouts, a .792 save percentage and 0.87 goals-against average.
Bucknell was able to stifle Navy's explosive offense in last season's matchup on a windy day in Annapolis. The Bison won 1-0 on Caitlin Holtz's goal just 1:14 into the game. McDermott made five saves to preserve the shutout, ending Navy's 10-game home unbeaten streak.
Navy holds an 11-8-1 lead in a series that dates back to 1994. Bucknell and Navy had played six straight one-goal affairs until the Bison won 3-1 in the most recent meeting in Lewisburg in 2009.
The two teams have met in the postseason three times. In the 1995 Patriot League Tournament semifinals, Navy knocked out the top-seeded Bison (who had been unbeaten in league play in the regular-season) by a 2-0 margin. Bucknell's first Patriot League title came with a 2-1 overtime victory over Navy in Annapolis in 2001. Lauren Schwarz's overtime penalty kick was the difference. Then in 2007 in Lewisburg, Navy edged the Bison 1-0 in the championship game on Carissa Youker's goal late in the first half.
Interestingly, the visiting team has had plenty of success in this series. The Bison are 5-4-1 in Annapolis, while the Mids are 7-3-0 in Lewisburg.
Prior to the game, Bucknell will honor its four seniors: Cort, DeGennaro, Sadie Canter and Casey Crowley.
