Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Field Hockey to Host Lehigh in Graham Field Finale on Saturday
10/18/2012 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 18, 2012
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell field hockey is making the most of its final home game of the 2012 campaign. The Bison will host their annual Play 4 the Cure event in the fight against breast cancer as well as celebrate Senior Day when they welcome Lehigh to Graham Field for a 12 p.m. matchup on Saturday. Bucknell will recognize veterans Tayler Siegrist (Madison, N.J./Madison) and Kelly Stefanowicz (Lansdale, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph Academy) prior to seeking redemption for a one-goal loss to the Mountain Hawks last season. Live stats on GameTracker will be available at BucknellBison.com.
Bucknell (8-7, 2-1 PL) will honor Siegrist and Stefanowicz as part of Senior Day prior to the game. The duo accounts for 13 goals, one-third of the team's total, and six assists this fall. A two-time Academic All-Patriot League Team selection and the team's 2012 campaign, Siegrist has started all 73 of Bucknell's games and has worked her way up to eighth on the program's all-time assists list with 15 during her four-year career. Stefanowicz has played in 37 games since joining the Bison as a sophomore and has worked her way into the starting lineup in each contest this season. She has seven career goals, including five this year.
Siegrist has had more than one multi-point game in her career and one of those came against Lehigh in 2009. Then a freshman, Siegrist tallied a goal and an assist in Bucknell's 4-3 victory. She and Vickie Resh (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg Area), who had an assist in 2010, are the only Bison currently on the roster to tally a point in their careers against the Mountain Hawks.
When Bucknell and Lehigh met in 2011, the Mountain Hawks snuck out with a 1-0 win. Lehigh's Sierra Segear, who was ultimately named the Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year, made 15 saves to give her team its first shutout against the Bison since 2001. The win improved the Mountain Hawks' edge in the all-time series to 22-15-1 and gave them the tiebreaker in the 2011 Patriot League standings to bump Bucknell down to the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament.
Lehigh has been struggling this fall, bringing a 3-12 overall record and 0-3 Patriot League mark into Saturday's contest. The Mountain Hawks fell to Holy Cross 5-4 in overtime, American 9-2 and Colgate 3-1 in league play. The nine goals by the Eagles is the most allowed in a Patriot League game this fall.
Shutouts have become the norm for Bucknell in Patriot League play during the 2012 campaign. The Bison opened with a 7-0 win over Colgate and a 4-0 win at Holy Cross before falling 2-0 to then-No. 14 Lafayette last weekend.
Bucknell is now 0-3 against nationally ranked opponents this season. Prior to their loss at Lafayette last Saturday, the Bison also fell to No. 6 UConn (3-0) in their season opener and No. 17 Michigan (2-0). They aren't done with ranked foes, however, as they will take on Penn State, which was picked seventh in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll earlier this week.
The only contest against a ranked foe to take place at Graham Field was the meeting with Michigan. The Bison should be happy to return to their home field this Saturday where they have outscored opponents 27-15 and earned a 5-3 record this fall. Siegrist and Rachel Misko (Morristown, N.J./Madison) each have five goals at Graham Field - Siegrist has eight on the year and Misko has six - while Erica Perrine (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) is 5-3 with a 1.91 goals against average and a .706 save percentage.
As has become tradition, Bucknell will help in the fight against breast cancer on Saturday. This year the Bison will be holding a drawing for a gift basket with a portion of the proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Bucknell will have just two games left on its regular-season schedule after meeting with Lehigh on Saturday and both are on the road. Up first is Penn State at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at University Park, Pa., followed by American at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27 in Washington, D.C.
