Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lafayette
Falc?n's Golden Goal Vaults Women's Soccer Past Lafayette, 2-1
10/22/2014 10:49:00 PM | Women's Soccer
LEWISBURG, Pa. – A cold, wet night at Emmitt Field turned into pure paradise for the Bucknell women's soccer team, as senior Brigit Falcón hit a 30-yard strike 1:25 into overtime to lift the Bison to a critical come-from-behind victory over Lafayette. The Leopards entered the game just one point behind Bucknell for the sixth and final Patriot League Tournament position, but Falcón's first career golden goal and a crucial defensive play from Lauren Dandie helped the Bison move into a tie for fifth place with Lehigh.
With its 11th consecutive series win over Lafayette, Bucknell improved to 8-7-2 overall and 3-3-1 in the Patriot League. The Leopards fell to 5-9-0, 2-5-0 with two rounds of league play remaining. The Bison will play at eighth-place Holy Cross on Saturday and host third-place Boston University on Nov. 1.
Bucknell found itself trailing 1-0 in the 17th minute after a foul was called just outside the 18. Alex Reisinger curled the free kick into the top left corner to give the Leopards their first goal against Bucknell since 2011.
With a steady rain picking up midway through the second half, Bucknell started to ramp up its pressure a bit but could not get a finishing touch. A punt into a stiff wind from Lafayette keeper Danielle Sedillo was later flicked onto forward Jaclyn Giordano, who found herself in alone behind the defense. Giordano, who was a menace all night for the Bison back line, slipped a shot underneath charging keeper Jessie Ashworth, but the ball struck the inside of the right post and caromed straight across the empty goal mouth. Dandie never gave up on the play, however, and she smothered Giordano's follow-up attempt at the left post.
Still in the game at 1-0, Bucknell found the equalizer about six minutes later, finally cashing in on one of its eight second-half corner kicks. Cora Climo sent the corner in from the right side, and a Lafayette defender trying to shield off Hannah Bonotto saw the ball ricochet off her shin pads into the right side of the goal.
The final 16 minutes of regulation were evenly played, but the 85 seconds of overtime were all Bison. With the wind at their backs, the Bison took all three shots in extra time. Courtney Nelson drove a shot from distance over the bar, Madison Loos tested Sedillo with a low skipper through the wet grass, and then finally at 91:25 Falcón scored the biggest goal of her career to date.
Falcón set the winning play in motion by checking back to midfield to claim a 50-50 ball. She then made a run down her left flank as center midfielder Meghan Holtz found her with a lead pass. Falcón cut back inside and launched a shot from 30 yards out that dipped under the crossbar and above the reach of Sedillo.
“Brigit knows she has free reign and free license to shoot from that distance,” said head coach Ben Landis. “I'm really proud of her, and it was one of those moments she will never forget.”
It was Bucknell's first overtime victory since Sept. 27 of last season, when Sarah Bresette scored to beat Lehigh. The last Bison to score a golden goal at home was Megan DeGennaro against Lafayette in the Leopards' most recent trip to Lewisburg in 2011.
Bucknell finished with a 16-10 shot advantage and a 10-2 edge in corner kicks. Ashworth made two saves in 69 minutes of action, while Jessica Ratner played 22 clean minutes in the second half. Ashworth was back on for the overtime period and earned her sixth win of the season. Sedillo stopped seven shots for the Leopards.
Both starting keepers made big saves early in the match. Just three minutes in, Sedillo stopped Kendall Ham at point-blank range after a well-placed cross from Cassie Denger. Four minutes later Ashworth dove to her right to rob Giordano on a breakaway after a ball took a big bounce over the head of a Bison back.
“There weren't a lot of tactics [discussed] at halftime, it was pretty blunt and direct, but we believe in this group,” said Landis. “We knew there was a lot of soccer left and we just needed to get the equalizer and then build our confidence back up from there. Lafayette is a very good side. They play their system very well, and they are going to be a tough out the rest of the way. For us, this was big to get three points in case we end up level.”
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Boston University topped Colgate 2-0, which allowed Navy to pull into a first-place tie with the Raiders after the Mids topped Lehigh 2-0. Army and Holy Cross drew 1-1, and Loyola and American were postponed until Thursday due to weather. Colgate and Navy now have 16 points each, followed by Boston University with 14, Army with 12, and Bucknell and Lehigh with 10 apiece.
Bucknell and Holy Cross will meet on Saturday at noon in Worcester, Massachusetts on the Patriot League Network.
