Field Hockey Makes Trip to Massachusetts for Two Games this Weekend

at Holy Cross -- Watch Live | Live Stats
at UMass Lowell -- Watch Live | Live Stats

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell field hockey team looks to get back on track as it travels to Massachusetts for two games this weekend. The Bison will play at Holy Cross in a Patriot League matchup on Saturday at noon, and will make the trip to UMass Lowell for a non-conference tilt on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Both of Bucknell's games this weekend will be available for online viewing. The game with Holy Cross will stream on the Patriot League Network, while the UMass Lowell game can be accessed via AmericaEast.tv.

The Bison are coming off a strange weekend of results. They ended the week on a negative note with a shutout loss to Drexel, but the good news is that they won the game that mattered more, cruising to a 5-2 conference win over Boston U. on Saturday.

With the win over Boston U., Bucknell (6-3, 2-0 PL) is one of just two teams with unblemished records in the conference. Colgate is the other, sporting a record of 3-0 against conference opponents. But the Raiders have yet to play two of the higher-rated teams in the conference, American and Boston U., both teams the Bison have already beaten.

Based purely on recent results, Bucknell may have the right opponent to bounce back after a tough loss. Holy Cross holds a 19-11 advantage in the all-time series, but is just 1-5 since Jeremy Cook took over in Lewisburg, The Bison have won five straight against the Crusaders, out-scoring them 23-0 during that span. The only loss was a 3-2 overtime decision in Cook's first season at the helm.

In last year's meeting with the Crusaders, the Bison rolled to a 7-0 shutout win. Numerous current Bucknell players contributed to the win, most notably Abby Watson with a hat trick. Amy Mucelli and Liz Wills each scored a goal, while goalkeeper Shannon Keen played the entire second half and made the team's only save in the combined shutout.

Despite the loss to Drexel, Bucknell dropped just four spots to 22^nd in the most recent NCAA Division I RPI rankings. Boston U and American came in at 27^th and 28^th, respectively.

Sunday's game will be the program's first-ever meeting with UMass Lowell. The River Hawks are 4-7 and are coming off back-to-back shutout losses to Harvard and Albany.

Following this weekend's games Bucknell will have little rest before they make a shot trip to University Park to play No. 4 Penn State on Tuesday.