Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Field Hockey to Battle American Saturday for No. 2 Seed in Patriot League Tournament
10/22/2012 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 22, 2012
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LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell field hockey has one of the toughest and most meaningful stretches of play coming up as the team visits No. 7 Penn State on Tuesday and American on Saturday. The meeting with the Nittany Lions at 6 p.m. in University Park, Pa., will be the fourth of the year for the Bison against a nationally ranked opponent, while the conference bout against the Eagles will determine who gets the No. 2 seed in next week's Patriot League Tournament. Bucknell (9-7, 3-1 PL) and American will square off at 12 p.m. in Washington, D.C., the same site of the Bison's postseason upset over the Eagles last November.
BISON NOTEBOOK
- After a 2-0 loss at No. 14 Lafayette on Oct. 13, Bucknell came roaring back with a 6-2 victory over Lehigh on Senior Day last Saturday. Amie Pritchard (Rumson, N.J./Kent School (Conn.)) recorded her first career hat trick and earned her first-ever Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week citation as a result. Pritchard has previously been named the league's Defensive Player of the Week, an award she received last year during her freshman campaign. Abby Watson (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Monday as well after tallying an assist against the Mountain Hawks. It is Watson's first career league recognition.
- Pritchard entered Saturday's game against Lehigh with two goals on the season. With her five goals, the sophomore has upped her point total to 17 (5G, 7A), tying her for second on the team with Rachel Misko (Morristown, N.J./Madison) (6G, 5A).
- Maggie Murphy (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) and Hope Obernesser (Akron, Ohio/Hathaway Brown) hit some milestones against the Mountain Hawks as well. Murphy finished the game with two assists, bringing her season total to 10. That ties her for fourth with Jen Zimmerman (1997), Alex Kyzmir (2005), Amanda Faust (2006, 2008) and Corinne Raczek (2009) on the program's single-season assists list. Obernesser tallied her first career goal with a deflection late in the game.
- Bucknell leads the Patriot League in assists per game as a team this fall, averaging 3.25. Atop the individual list is Murphy with 1.00 assists per game. She is tied for first with Lafayette's Emily Valeo and American's Gina Hofmann.
- Each of Bucknell's three Patriot League wins this year has come by at least four goals. The Bison defeated Colgate 7-0, Holy Cross 4-0 and Lehigh 6-2.
- Bucknell's 45 goals scored this season is the fourth-most in program history. The 2012 Bison trail only the 2008 squad, which had 51 goals in 19 games, and the 1977 and 1999 teams, which each scored 50 goals. The 1977 team reached its total in 12 games, while the 1999 team did so in 21.
- Bucknell has allowed 30 goals this fall, putting it +15 in goal differential. With at least three games remaining on the schedule, that differential ranks fifth in program history, trailing the Bison from 1976 (+30; 43-13), 1977 (+25; 50-25), 1975 (+18; 28-10) and 1999 (+17; 50-33).
- Bucknell hopes to improve on its scoring numbers on Saturday when it travels to American for its final regular-season game. Both teams enter the weekend with a 3-1 conference record, meaning that the winner will earn the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament and the loser will be No. 3. That also guarantees the Bison and the Eagles a semifinal rematch when the tournament begins Nov. 2 in Easton, Pa. Bucknell defeated American in the 2011 semifinals, 3-2, in Washington, D.C.
- Bucknell will face its fourth nationally ranked opponent on Tuesday when it visits Penn State. The Nittany Lions were ranked seventh in the Oct. 16 edition of the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. The Bison are 0-3 this year against the country's top 25 having fallen to No. 6 UConn (3-0), No. 17 Michigan (3-0) and No. 14 Lafayette (2-0).
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
- Penn State enters Tuesday's game with a 13-3 overall record. The Nittany Lions have won their last three games by a combined score of 14-3 having most recently defeated California (6-2), Iowa (5-1) and Ohio State (3-0). Iowa was 12th in the last national poll, while Ohio State was 21st.
- Each of Penn State's three losses this season has come by a single goal. UConn took the 2-1 decision, while Princeton won 3-2 in overtime and Northwestern won 5-4, also in overtime. All three of those opponents were ranked in the top eight of the last national poll.
- Bucknell and Penn State have had seven common opponents this fall. In addition to Ohio State and UConn, Penn State also has wins over Lafayette (302), Temple (5-1), Lock Haven (5-0), Lehigh (8-0) and Michigan (4-3). Bucknell is 2-5 against those same teams with its wins coming against Lock Haven (3-1) and Lehigh (6-2).
- Penn State is outshooting its opponents by an average of 22.6 to 9.8 this fall. Not surprisingly, goals are also in the Nittany Lions' favor, 4.38 to 1.56. Kelsey Amy has been responsible for much of the team's scoring as the two-time NFHCA All-American has 50 points on 21 goals and eight assists.
- Bucknell is 0-28 all-time against Penn State since the series began in 1973. The Nittany Lions have shut out the Bison 16 times and have outscored them 130-17 in those 28 meetings.
- When Bucknell and Penn State met in 2011, the then-No. 8-ranked Nittany Lions won 3-1 in Lewisburg. Misko broke up the shutout with a late goal. Erica Perrine (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) had 10 saves for the Bison.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
- American begins its week with an 8-8 overall record and a 3-1 mark in the Patriot League, but the Eagles will take on Maryland on Monday before hosting Bucknell. In league action this fall, American opened with a 4-1 loss to Lafayette but defeated Lehigh (9-2), Holy Cross (2-0) and Colgate (4-1) in the next three. American's loss to Lafayette was its first to the Leopards, and the first to a conference team other than Bucknell, since 2009. Only Lafayette, Bucknell and Holy Cross have defeated American in conference action since the Eagles joined the Patriot League in 2000. The Crusaders' wins all came in the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
- Much of American's offensive power this season comes from Shelly Montgomery, who has 29 points (13G, 3A). Montgomery is one of four returning All-Patriot League selections from last year. Montgomery was a second-team selection as was Alex McMackin, while Jenn Bradley and Gina Hofmann were named to the first team. Gone from the roster is first-team honoree and Defensive Player of the Year Tatum Dyer and second-team selection Melissa Casale.
- American went 9-8 overall and 4-1 in the Patriot League last year. The Eagles won the regular-season conference title before falling in the tournament semifinals.
- Bucknell trails American 5-17 in the all-time series. With a 3-1 win in the regular season and a 3-2 victory in the Patriot League Tournament last fall, the Bison snapped an 11-game series losing streak and registered back-to-back decisions over the Eagles for the first time in program history. The postseason victory was also Bucknell's first over American in Washington, D.C.
- In the teams' regular-season meeting, Bucknell claimed the 300th victory in program history by winning 3-1 on a goal from Kelly Stefanowicz (Landsdale, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph Academy) and two more from Katie Durkin. It was the first time Bucknell had defeated American by more than one goal despite the Bison being outshot 11-24. The Eagles also had a 14-7 advantage in penalty corners.
- The Patriot League Tournament semifinal bout also went the way of the Bison, 3-2. Leigh Hillman (Dallas, Pa./Lake-Lehman) opened the scoring and Tayler Siegrist (Madison, N.J./Madison) guaranteed the win with two goals of her own. American again had the advantage in shots (22-10) and corners (9-7).
LOOKING AHEAD
After this weekend, Bucknell will turn its attention to the Patriot League Tournament where it will face American for a second consecutive game. Lafayette has already clinched the No. 1 seed, guaranteeing it the right to host the postseason event in Easton, Pa. The No. 4 seed will be determined this Saturday with the winner of the Colgate-Holy Cross matchup continuing its season into November and the loser looking forward to next year.
This year will mark the fifth consecutive postseason tournament for the Bison, the longest in program history. Bucknell is 2-4 in the Patriot League Tournament since that streak began in 2008 with its only opponents being either American or Lafayette.
