Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Field Hockey Looks to Stay Undefeated in League Play, Hosts Lafayette Saturday
10/6/2011 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 6, 2011
Live Stats on GameTracker 
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Coming off a pair of wins last weekend, Bucknell field hockey will look to make it two straight Patriot League victories when it hosts Lafayette at 12 p.m. on Saturday at Graham Field. The Bison and the Leopards have developed quite the rivalry through recent conference tournament action, and both will be hoping to set the stage for the postseason as they head into the final half of the 2011 campaign. Live stats on GameTracker will be available at BucknellBison.com for the showdown.
Bucknell (4-6, 1-0 PL) and Lafayette (5-5, 1-0 PL) are both coming off some convincing victories from a week ago. The Bison defeated Holy Cross 7-0 and Villanova 2-1 as they found their offensive rhythm on their home turf. The Leopards had similar success, shutting out both Colgate and Quinnipiac to extend their winning streak to four games.
Lafayette has a solid lead in the all-time series with Bucknell, 31-11-2, but most of those victories are in the distant past. The Leopards won 17 straight between 1983 and1996. Since then, Bucknell trails just 11-8 in the series. The record tilts even farther in Bucknell's favor when looking at home games, as the Bison have won the last four meetings at Graham Field.
When these two teams squared off last year, however, Lafayette had the edge with a 4-2 win in the regular season and a 3-2 decision in the Patriot League Tournament semifinal. Tayler Siegrist (Madison, N.J./Madison) and Katie Durkin (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) both scored in the first meeting, but the Bison trailed throughout the contest in Easton. Play was much closer in the league tournament as the Bison took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Mallory Smith (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland). Kelly Bruvik later tied the game at 2-2 thanks to an assist from Rachel Misko (Morristown, N.J./Madison), but a Meghan Cicchi goal late in the second half sent Lafayette to the championship round.
Misko's postseason assist was not the first of her career and it certainly wasn't the last, either. The sophomore tallied two last weekend, helping her to her two-game total of six points. The performance, which included a game-winning penalty stroke against Villanova, earned Misko the title of Offensive Player of the Week from both the Patriot League and the ECAC.
Smith also tallied six points on two goals and two assists last weekend, but the unsung hero might be Marci Richard (Oley, Pa./Oley Valley). Richard brought her season assists total to four, doubling her career total. Her four assists lead Bucknell this fall.
Bucknell outshot Holy Cross and Villanova 30-7 and ended up with a 9-1 scoring advantage. The Bison also held an 18-3 edge in penalty corners. The strong defense in the field limited Bucknell's reliance on goalkeeper Erica Perrine (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) who recorded her first career shutout despite making just two saves in two games. Also earning career firsts were Maggie Murphy (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) and Gabby Palumbo (Williamstown, N.J./The Peddie School), who both scored against the Crusaders, and Cassie Goggin (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West) with an assist on Murphy's second goal of the game.
Lafayette has seen its share of success lately as well. The Leopards lost 8-0 to then-No. 1 North Carolina on Sept. 11, but have allowed just three goals in six games since then. Shutouts in three of its last four contests have done wonders for the Lafayette keepers' stats, including Mara Kish who is now 4-3 on the season with a 1.51 goals-against average and a .733 save percentage. Offensively, freshman Kelsey Mead has 14 points on six goals and two assists, while junior First Team All-Patriot League selection Deanna DiCroce is up to 11 points on five goals and one assist.
DiCroce was one of six Leopards to earn all-league accolades last season. Cicchi was the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year as well as a first-team selection along with Carolyn Cabrey. Kelsey Anderson, Emily Valeo and Cara Lyons were also named to the second team. Of that group, only Cabrey, DiCroce and Valeo return in 2011 to help the Leopards, which were selected second in the league's preseason poll.
Bucknell will hit the road for its next three games, opening the stretch at Cornell at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 11. After taking on Lehigh (Oct. 15) and Towson (Oct. 16), the Bison will return to Graham Field for reigning Patriot League champion American on Oct. 22.
