Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Field Hockey to Play Host to Cornell, Saint Francis in Three-Game Week
9/4/2012 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 4, 2012
LEWISBURG, Pa. – After just one game last weekend Bucknell field hockey picks up the pace with a trio of contests this week, starting with a home matchup against Cornell at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Action continues Saturday at Columbia before returning to Graham Field for a 2 p.m. meeting with Saint Francis (Pa.). Live stats will be available for all three games, and Wednesday's contest will be preceded by a ceremony officially dedicating the field's new scoreboard as the Margaret “Peg” Bryan Memorial Scoreboard.
BISON NOTEBOOK
- Kiersten Sydnor (Shippensburg, Pa./Mercersburg) made a bit of history thanks in part to an insurance goal in Bucknell's 3-1 win over Lock Haven last weekend. The Bison freshman was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on Tuesday, making her the first Bucknell player to earn the award in consecutive weeks. Sydnor has now scored in each of the Bison's last two games, the first coming as the game-winning goal in Bucknell's overtime win at Fairfield.
- When Bucknell defeated Lock Haven 3-1 on Sunday, it was the first time in series history that the Bison had won by more than one goal.
- While the Bison are preparing for their longest homestand of the season, Vickie Resh (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg Area) has some big games of her own coming up. The junior was recently named to the Junior National Squad and will help represent the United States at the Junior Pan American Games next week. Pool play in Guadalajara, Mexico is set to run Sept. 10-17. Team USA will compete in Pool B along with Chile, Jamaica, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
- Bucknell currently has two players on “Record Watch.” Goalkeeper Erica Perrine (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) has been moving up the record lists since the first game of the season and is now 13th all-time at Bucknell in career saves with 123. With her victory in goal against Lock Haven, the junior is also tied with former teammate Sarah Zargarpour for 11th in career wins with 10. Offensively, Tayler Siegrist (Madison, N.J./Madison) is trying to break onto the record lists in career assists. The senior captain has 11 in her career and needs just two more to tie for ninth in program history.
- Prior to Wednesday's game against Cornell, Bucknell will officially dedicate Graham Field's new scoreboard as the Margaret “Peg” Bryan Memorial Scoreboard. The first director of women's intercollegiate athletics at Bucknell, Peg Bryan played a leading role in the establishment of Bucknell's women's intercollegiate varsity athletics program in 1974. She was inducted into the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991.
SERIES HISTORY
- Bucknell has an all-time winning record against all three of its opponents this week. The Bison are 14-10-1 in the series against Cornell, 6-3 against Columbia and 8-0 opposite Saint Francis.
- When Cornell defeated Bucknell 3-1 in Ithaca, N.Y., last fall, it ended a five-game series winning streak for the Bison. That was the longest winning streak by either team since they started facing off in 1974. The Big Red has won back-to-back games three times in the series, but only once has those victories come in consecutive years. Cornell won in 1978 and 1988, 1993-94, and 2000 and 2005.
- When Bucknell and Cornell played in 2011, Kelly Stefanowicz (Lansdale, Pa./Mount St. Joseph's Academy) scored her first career goal. The score came on a penalty corner in the second half, but Bucknell already trailed 2-0 at that point.
- The series with Columbia has been a streaky one. Bucknell won each of the first four games, while Columbia has three of the last five wins. In the five games played from 1996 to 2000, the Bison outscored the Lions 17-7. In the four games after between 2001 and 2010, the score is tied 11-11.
- Each of the last four games between Bucknell and Columbia has been decided by one goal, and three of those contests went past regulation. The 2001 contest went to the Lions 4-3 in overtime, the 2002 game went to Bucknell 2-1 in double overtime and the 2009 outing was also a Bison win, 4-3 in a strokeoff.
- Jen Zimmerman tied the school record for single-game goals when Bucknell defeated Columbia 4-3 in 1999. Zimmerman scored all four Bison goals in that contest.
- Columbia won 3-2 when the teams last met in 2010. Much of the action came in the second half as four of the five goals came in the final 35 minutes. Bucknell's scores came from former Bison Morgan Kauffman and Kelly Bruvik. The only point-getter still on the Bison roster is Siegrist, who tallied an assist.
- The series between Bucknell and Saint Francis is perhaps one of the most lopsided on the Bison schedule. Not only does Bucknell have an undefeated 8-0 mark against the Red Flash, but it also has outscored them 48-7 in those eight games. The Bison have never scored fewer than four goals and have drawn four shutouts against Saint Francis.
- The 2006 meeting between Bucknell and Saint Francis ended in a 10-2 Bison victory. Those 10 goals are the second-most in a single game by the Orange and Blue. The program record for most goals in a game is 11, set in 1977 when Bucknell defeated Mansfield 11-2 as Bucknell Athletics Hall of Famer Karin Wegener and Kathy Kline set the school records for goals (4) and points (9) in a single contest.
- Bucknell and Saint Francis last met in 2008 and the Bison walked away with a 6-0 victory. Six different Bison scored goals in that contest, and Bucknell won the battle of shots (17-2) and corners (11-1).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
- Of Bucknell's three opponents this week, both Cornell and Columbia are 0-2 on the year. The Big Red fell 2-1 in overtime at Lock Haven in their season opener, then dropped a 6-1 decision to then-No. 2 North Carolina. Junior forwards Brittany Thompson and Hanna Balleza each has three points (1G, 1A) on the year. The duo was among Cornell's top five scorers a year ago when the team went 7-10 overall and 1-6 in the Ivy League. All five of those leading scorers are back this fall.
- Columbia's decisions this fall include a 4-3 overtime loss at Richmond despite having led the Spiders 3-1 at one point. The Lions also fell 2-1 to Virginia Commonwealth. No Columbia player has scored more than one goal this season, but Gabby Kozlowski is among the 2012 leaders with three points (1G, 1A). Kozlowski led the team with 22 points last year and her 10 goals more than doubled the next closes Lion as the team went 9-8 overall and 5-2 in the Ivy League.
- Like the Bison, Saint Francis has a winning record this year, coming into the week at 3-1. The Red Flash, who will play Villanova on Friday, defeated Lock Haven (3-1), Longwood (3-1) and Lehigh (4-2) already. Their lone loss came 0-1 to La Salle. Saint Francis has been leading its opponents in both shots (54-39) and penalty corners (30-18), and Carissa Makea and Autumn Pellman have been reaping the benefits. Makea has eight points (3G, 2A), while Pellman has seven (3G, 1A). Pellman led the Red Flash last season with 25 points, including 12 goals, when the team went 5-15 overall and 3-4 in the Northeast Conference. Also back from that squad is Katelyn Vitali. The goalkeeper already has three wins this fall, equaling her total from 2011 when she went 3-5 with a .769 save percentage and a 1.51 goals against average.
LOOKING FORWARD
Bucknell's meeting with Saint Francis on Sunday will be the first in a homestand of six consecutive games. Following the Red Flash, the Bison will first play host to Towson and Ohio State Sept. 15-16. The meeting with the nationally ranked Buckeyes will be broadcast live on Bison Vision at BucknellBison.com.
