Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Field Hockey Welcomes Towson, Ohio State in Weekend Homestand
9/14/2012 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 14, 2012
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell field hockey's marathon homestand continues this weekend with another pair of back-to-back contests against Towson and Ohio State at Graham Field. The Bison and the Tigers square off at 12 p.m. on Saturday with Bucknell eyeing a third consecutive win in the series. Bucknell and Ohio State then do battle at 10 a.m. on Sunday in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. The Sunday brunch matchup will be broadcast live on Bison Vision with live stats on GameTracker available for both contests.
BISON NOTEBOOK
- Bucknell improved to 4-2 on the year after capping off its three-game schedule last week with an overtime win against Saint Francis (Pa.). Maggie Murphy (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) had the game winner four minutes into the overtime period, but it was Rachel Misko (Morristown, N.J./Madison) that claimed honors on Monday for her performance during the week. Misko was selected as the Bison Athlete of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal against Cornell and the game-tying goal against Saint Francis. The junior also had the assist on Murphy's golden goal against the Red Flash.
- Murphy now has two game-winning goals in her career. The sophomore also tallied what was technically the deciding score against Holy Cross last October, but the goal was the first of the game in a 7-0 decision over the Crusaders.
- Bucknell's 11 goals this season have been scored by eight different players. Only Misko and Kiersten Sydnor (Shippensburg, Pa./Mercersburg Academy) have more than one. Misko leads the team with three goals, while Sydnor has two. The Bison have put together a similar trend in assists. Seven different players have tallied the team's nine assists this fall. Misko and Tayler Siegrist (Madison, N.J./Madison) each have two.
- With her eight points on three goals and two assists this year, Misko is up to 35 points (13G, 9A). Siegrist is the only Bison approaching Misko's totals. The senior enters the weekend with 34 points (11G, 12A). No other Bison has more than three career goals.
- Siegrist is one assist shy of breaking into the Bucknell record books for career assists. One more assist will tie her for ninth all-time with Meiko Boynton, Anne Lutz, Megan Krebs and Marci Richard.
- Bucknell's overtime success continued to roll in the 4-3 victory against Saint Francis last Sunday. The Bison are undefeated in their last seven overtime games going back to Sept. 26, 2010.
- Since getting out-shot 23-1 by then-No. 6 UConn and 15-7 by Fairfield in the first weekend of the season, Bucknell has turned the tables in its scoring opportunities. In the four contests since that opening trip to Connecticut, the Bison are averaging nine more shots per game than their opponents.
- Bucknell will continue to be without Vickie Resh (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg Area) who is currently in Guadalajara, Mexico with the Team USA at the Junior Pan American Games. The Americans have shown their strength in each of the first two games of pool play, defeating Venezuela 9-0 and Paraguay 8-0. Up next is Trinidad and Tobago slated for 11:45 a.m. today. Resh will be blogging during her first international experience. Entries can be found at BucknellBison.com.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
- Towson has yet to hit its stride in 2012, coming to Lewisburg with a 0-5 record. Losses include a 14-0 decision at then-No. 8 Virginia and most recently a 6-3 blow at Lehigh. All five of Towson's games so far have been on the road. The Tigers have been outscored 30-8 and out-shot 110-42 this season. Courtney Branco leads the team with four goals.
- Towson finished its 2011 campaign with a 10-10 mark overall and a 4-4 record in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Tigers graduated their top player from that squad, Katie DeFilippo. DeFilippo was a First Team All-CAA selection and led the team with six goals and five assists.
- Bucknell has a 19-10 lead in the all-time series with Towson. The Bison opened the series with nine straight wins, leading to a much more evenly divided series later on. The meetings between the Bison and the Tigers have been split 10-10 since 1992. Bucknell is 5-1 in overtime games against Towson and 11-4 when playing in Lewisburg. Each of the last six games in the series has been decided by one goal. Bucknell is 4-2 in those games.
- Bucknell set a program single-game record when the two teams met in 1993. The Bison fired off 55 shots in that contest, eventually winning 4-1. The Tigers finished with 14 shots of their own and Towson's two goalkeepers combined for 20 saves.
- When Bucknell and Towson met last year, the Bison pulled out a 3-2 overtime win. Mallory Smith scored the first and the last goal of the game. Erica Perrine (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) had what was then a career high in saves with nine.
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
- Ohio State entered the 2012 campaign ranked 15th in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) preseason poll. With a 3-3 record, the Buckeyes have now dropped out of the top 25. Included on their schedule is a 2-0 win over American and most recently a 1-0 strokeoff win against Ohio on Wednesday. All three of Ohio State's victories have been shutouts.
- Danica Deckard, one of Ohio State's three returning All-Big Ten selections, leads the team with four of its six goals. The Buckeyes have yet to record an assist this season.
- Ohio State was 12-9 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten last year when it qualified for its seventh NCAA Tournament berth in program history. While Second Team All-Conference players Berta Queralt, Deckard and Paula Pastor-Pitarque are back for another turn, the Buckeyes did lose Jen Sciulli to graduation. Sciulli was a First Team NFHCA All-American and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last fall.
- Sunday's meeting will be the first in the series between Bucknell and Ohio State. The Bison are relatively familiar with the Big Ten, although success has been fleeting against that conference. Bucknell is 1-34 all-time against the Big Ten. The lone win came against Indiana in 2000 and 28 of those losses are against Penn State. The Bison's meeting with the Buckeyes is the first of three against the Big Ten this year. They will take on Michigan on Sept. 22 and Penn State on Oct. 23.
LOOKING FORWARD
Bucknell will next face No. 16 Michigan at noon on Sept. 22 at Graham Field for its second straight meeting with a Big Ten opponent. The Bison will then host Temple the next day at 2 p.m. Live stats on GameTracker will be available at BucknellBison.com for both games.
