Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Field Hockey Eyes Upsets at this Weekend's Patriot League Tournament
11/3/2011 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Nov. 3, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. - After nearly a week off, Bucknell field hockey will return to action on Friday as it tries for another upset against top-seeded American in the Patriot League Tournament. The quarterfinal matchup with the Eagles is set for 11 a.m. in Washington, D.C., with the winner advancing to play Lafayette or Lehigh for the title on Saturday. All three games will be broadcast live on Patriot League All-Access at PatriotLeague.org.
Leading Bucknell (7-11, 3-2 PL) into the postseason push will be its five All-Patriot League performers. Rachel Misko (Morristown, N.J./Madison), Mallory Smith (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) and Marci Richard (Oley, Pa./Oley Valley) were all First Team honorees, while Vickie Resh (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg Area) and Erica Perrine (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) were named to the Second Team. Only American, which had six selections, topped Bucknell in honorees, while the tournament's No. 2 seed Lafayette also had five and No. 3 Lehigh claimed four.
Bucknell's other awards in the past four days include a Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week nod for Smith, a Goalkeeper of the Week citation for Perrine and Academic All-Patriot League selections for Smith, Richard and Tayler Siegrist (Madison, N.J./Madison). Smith became the Bison's third Offensive Player of the Week this season after scoring the game-winning goal against Colgate last weekend. She joins Misko and Katie Durkin (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) in the honor. Perrine's recognition as the league's top goalkeeper was the second straight for the sophomore.
Perrine had one of the most solid stretches of her career to earn the title of Goalkeeper of the Week. Although Bucknell ultimately fell 3-1 to No. 8 Penn State, Perrine made 10 saves against the Nittany Lions. She then shut out Colgate in double overtime in the next outing, and followed that up with a 15-save performance at No. 5 Syracuse.
The Bison are hoping that steadfast defense continues this weekend as they try to extend their season. Bucknell has now qualified for the Patriot League Tournament in four consecutive years for the first time in program history. The last time the Orange and Blue advanced to a championship game was in 2008 when this year's seniors were still rookies. Bucknell fell 5-2 to American in that contest.
The Eagles (9-7, 4-1 PL) are again the Bison's foes this Friday. American defeated Lafayette 3-1 last weekend to secure the No. 1 seed. The eight-time defending league champions earned six all-league citations, including First Team honors for Tatum Dyer, Gina Hofmann and Jen Bradley. Dyer was also named the Defensive Player of the Year.
When Bucknell and American squared off in the regular season, the Bison came out on top 3-1 on Oct. 22. Kelly Stefanowicz (Lansdale, Pa./Mount St. Joseph's Academy) broke open the scoring with a goal off a penalty corner, and Durkin added two more goals to guarantee Bucknell's first win over American since 2001. Although Bucknell led in scoring, American had the edge just about everywhere else. The Eagles led in shots (24-11) and penalty corners (14-7).
Should Bucknell make it two straight upsets over American, it will face the winner of No. 2 Lafayette and No. 3 Lehigh. The Leopards (9-8, 4-1 PL) went undefeated in Patriot League action until meeting American in the last game of the regular season. The loss to the Eagles took away their hopes of hosting the tournament and dropped them to the second seed. Lafayette led the league in First Team selections this fall thanks to the efforts of Carolyn Cabrey, Deanna DiCroce, Emily Valeo and Brittany Blass. DiCroce was crowned the league's Offensive Player of the Year, and Blass was named Rookie of the Year.
There was not a lack of scoring when Bucknell and Lafayette met on Oct. 8. The Leopards earned the 5-3 win in the end, but the teams were tied at three apiece at halftime. Smith, Durkin and Siegrist each claimed goals for the Bison before chasing Mara Kish from the goal. The Lafayette keeper allowed three goals and did not make a save in the first half before relinquishing her duties to Jessica Deutsch. Deutsch made two saves and ultimately earned the win. DiCroce finished the game with six points on two goals and two assists.
Lehigh (6-12, 3-2 PL) also snuck past Bucknell 1-0 in the regular season. Abby Tilton scored on a penalty corner 10:34 into the game for the only dent in the scoreboard. The Bison did their best to generate some offense, however, and led the Mountain Hawks in both shots (25-7) and corners (14-6). Sierra Segear, who was named the Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year on Tuesday, made 15 saves.
Segear and Kimberly Eng were both named First Team All-Patriot League, while Steph Frantoni and Marie Mignogna were Second Team selections. Lehigh has been outscored 11-6 in Patriot League games, and 9-1 by conference tournament participants, this fall. The Mountain Hawks opened their league schedule with a 5-0 loss at American, then bounced back for a 2-1 win opposite Colgate and the 1-0 victory over Bucknell. The final two contests ended with a 4-0 loss at Lafayette and a 3-1 win at Holy Cross.
Saturday's championship game is set for 1 p.m. in Washington, D.C. The winner of that contest will advance to the NCAA Tournament Play-In game against the Mid-American Conference champion on Nov. 8.
