Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Army (Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals)
Women's Soccer Advances in PL Tournament with 2-1 Win at Army
11/4/2014 9:10:00 PM | Women's Soccer
WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Fifth-seeded Bucknell received first-half goals from Cora Climo and Hannah Bonotto and then held off a second-half charge from 10-player Army en route to a 2-1 win over the fourth-seeded Black Knights in a Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday night at Clinton Field. The Bison now advance to the semifinals, where they will take on top-seeded Colgate on Friday at 5 p.m. in Hamilton, New York.
The Bison improved to 10-8-2 with the victory and atoned for a 2-1 loss at West Point during the regular season. That game was decided by an Army penalty kick in the 89th minute, and the tables were turned in this one as Bonotto's well-taken penalty in the 30th minute held up as the game-winning goal.
Bucknell had already gone ahead 1-0 just 9:31 into the match, when Climo curled a perfectly placed free kick into the top right corner of the net from deep on the left side. It was the second goal of the season for the Bison defensive central midfielder.
Jessie Ashworth kept it a 1-0 game with her best save of the night in the 22nd minute. Ashworth dove to her right to knock away a well-struck shot from First Team All-Patriot Leaguer Katie Holder. That would be Holder's only shot in the game, however.
About eight minutes later Bucknell earned one of its six first-half corner kicks, and it would change the game dramatically. Climo's corner kick floated to Bonotto on the back side, and she drove a running header into the ground headed for what seemed to be an open net. Army back Carly Katalinic reached out and handled the high bounce on the goal line, tipping the ball over the crossbar. The referee quickly awarded a penalty and showed Katalinic a red card for the intentional hand ball. Bonotto then buried the PK into the lower right corner for her second goal of the season.
Bucknell took the 2-0 lead into the locker room and just missed a couple of very good chances to go up by three early in the second period. Army (7-9-3) then halved its deficit in the 53rd minute. Clare Shea tapped a pass back to Sam Gottlieb, who scored with a high shot from just outside the penalty area.
After conceding, Bucknell was able to keep much of the possession the rest of the way, although Army had one last good look with 1:40 to play. A late tackle gave the Black Knights a free kick about 25 yards from goal, where Shea's attempt went over the bar.
"I am very proud of our team for coming on the road in a tough environment and winning a hard-fought postseason battle against a very good side," said head coach Ben Landis. "Credit to Army, they just fought and fought even though they were down to 10. They went to a 3-4-2 so they were matched up evenly in the midfield. Cora Climo, Madison Loos and Meghan Holtz in particular just worked their socks off for us. Cora's early strike gave everyone a lot of confidence, and I was proud of how we responded after their goal."
Bucknell finished with a 15-9 shot advantage and a 9-4 edge in corner kicks. Ashworth was credited with four saves, while Army keeper Jordan Cassalia had five.
In the other quarterfinal match on Tuesday night, third-seeded Navy drilled sixth-seeded Loyola 4-1 in Annapolis. That pairs Bucknell with No. 1 Colgate and Navy with No. 2 Boston University in Friday's semifinal round.
The Bison and Raiders met on Oct. 18 in Hamilton, and Colgate scored twice in the final 12 minutes to win 2-0 in what was otherwise a fairly evenly played match. Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Sarah Coy scored both goals for the Raiders, first on a breakaway in the 79th minute and then on a penalty kick in the 83rd.
These two teams also met in last year's Patriot League Tournament, with Colgate advancing on penalty kicks after a 110 scoreless minutes. That was a quarterfinal matchup in Hamilton, and now the Bison and Raiders will be battling for a berth in Sunday's championship match.
