Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lock Haven
Field Hockey Concludes Regular Season with 2-0 Shutout of Lock Haven
11/2/2014 5:10:00 PM | Field Hockey
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Junior Kiersten Sydnor scored both goals and the Bucknell field hockey team posted its seventh shutout of the season in a 2-0 win over visiting Lock Haven on Sunday afternoon at Graham Field. With the win, the Bison finished 12-5 overall for the program's best regular season since the 1977 team went 8-2-2.
“That was a fantastic win against a really strong team,” Bucknell head coach Jeremy Cook said. “That's huge to get a shutout against such an explosive team. Their top goal scorer, Nakira Downes, is a tremendous player. Our women did a great job of shutting her down. We had two or three players around the ball every time she touched it”
Bucknell's seven shutouts are the team's most since the 1991 season. Junior goalkeeper Shannon Keen has six solo shutouts, which is good enough for the third best single-season mark at Bucknell and also ranks her eighth on the career list.
Sydnor continued the best scoring stretch of her career on Sunday. She has four goals in the past five games and has tallied nine points in the past six games. She is now tied with senior Liz Wills for the team lead with seven goals.
The first goal by Sydnor broke a scoreless tie 12:44 into the game. Sophomore Emma Fitzgerald fired a shot from near the top of the arc that deflected off the goalie's left pad. Sydnor was positioned in front of the net, took the rebound and smacked it in to put the Bison up 1-0.
That was the majority of the action in the first half as Bucknell took the 1-0 lead into the locker room. The Bison controlled the game, but held a slight 2-1 edge in shots and a 1-0 advantage in penalty corners at the break.
The shot in the first half was the only one Bucknell would allow in the game as the Bison came out and dominated the second half. That wasn't evident on the scoreboard until Sydnor scored again to put the Bison up 2-0 with less than eight minutes to play in the game.
Senior Amie Pritchard set up Sydnor's second goal with a nice crossing pass in front of the cage. Sydnor showed her athletic ability, diving to redirect the ball past the goalie. The assist was the sixth of the season for Pritchard.
For the third time this season, Bucknell didn't allow a single shot on goal. The Bison out-shot the Bald Eagles 11-1 and posted a 6-2 differential in penalty corners. The Bald Eagles entered the game as the second-best scoring team in the Atlantic 10, averaging 3.13 goals per game.
Bucknell will host the Patriot League Tournament on Friday and Saturday at Graham Field. The top-seeded Bison will host fourth-seeded Colgate in the first semifinal matchup at 11 a.m. on Friday, while second-seeded Boston University will take on third-seeded American at 2 p.m. The championship game will be at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
