Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Field Hockey Opens Home Schedule Friday with No. 7 Princeton
9/1/2011 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 1, 2011
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LEWISBURG, Pa. - The 2011 field hockey schedule is two games old, but Bucknell will take to Graham Field for just the first time on Friday, hosting No. 7 Princeton at 6 p.m. The bout with the Tigers kicks off a full weekend of events for Bucknell Athletics and will be the first game of the season to be broadcast live on Bison Vision. Live stats will also be available on GameTracker at BucknellBison.com.
The Bison (0-2) are looking to work their way into the win column after opening a very difficult 2011 schedule at the Conference Cup in Philadelphia last weekend. Bucknell took a 4-0 loss to Temple in their season opener last Friday before falling 5-0 to Boston University the next day. Both Bison goalkeepers, Sarah Zargarpour (North Vancouver, Canada/Handsworth Secondary) and Erica Perrine (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), saw time in goal over the weekend. Perrine finished the game against Boston with a career-best five saves in 35 minutes and did not allow a goal in either game.
Princeton will be the second nationally ranked squad Bucknell faces this season. Boston University was selected 19th in the Kookaburra/NFHCA National Coaches Preseason Poll. Other ranked teams on the Bison's schedule include Syracuse (No. 5), Penn State (No. 8), Michigan (No. 9) and American (No. 10). Cornell, Villanova, Lock Haven and Lafayette also received votes.
Bucknell and Princeton faced off a year ago. Then ranked fourth in the country, the Tigers came away with a 7-0 victory on their home turf. Of the goal scorers in that contest, only Molly Goodman, who netted the first and last goals in last year's game, returns this fall. Bucknell is 0-2 all-time against Princeton having also lost 1-0 in 1989. This will be the Tigers' first trip to Lewisburg.
Friday's game will be the first of the season for Princeton. The Tigers are the six-time defending Ivy League champions and have won all but one league title since 1994. They have also advanced to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals or better in four of the last five years and twice made it to the championship game before losing to North Carolina in 1996 and Old Dominion in 1998.
Princeton is without its top four scorers from a year ago when the team went 14-5 overall. Goodman, who had 12 points on six goals, is the leading returning scorer.
Following Friday's game, Bucknell will return to the road for its next three contests. The Bison will take on Central Michigan and Michigan Sept. 10-11 in Ann Arbor, Mich., next weekend, followed by the shorter trip to Lock Haven on Sept. 18.
