Women's Lacrosse Hosts Loyola, Visits Colgate in Busy Week Ahead

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- There is no let-up this week in Bucknell's already treacherous early season schedule, as the Bison face two strong Patriot League opponents in No. 16 Loyola and Colgate. Bucknell hosts Patriot League newcomer and preseason league favorite Loyola on Wednesday at 7 p.m., before traveling to Colgate on Saturday at 1 p.m. Both games will be featured on the Patriot League Network.

Bucknell is coming off a 15-4 loss to No. 11/19 Navy on Saturday, and when Loyola steps on Graham Field on Wednesday, it will become the fifth team currently ranked in the IWLCA national poll to face the Bison this season. Bucknell will be looking for its first win of the season opposite a Loyola team that has earned NCAA Tournament berths in each of the last three seasons.

The Greyhounds are 4-4 overall, including a 22-12 rout of Lafayette in their very first Patriot League game last week. Loyola opened the season with convincing wins over No. 6 Virginia (16-12) and No. 17 Princeton (15-10), but then it lost four straight games, including three against ranked teams in Johns Hopkins, Florida and Penn State. The Greyhounds beat North Baltimore neighbor No. 17 Towson 7-6 before piling up 15 second-half goals in the win over Lafayette on Saturday.

Loyola features a pair of returning All-Americans in Marlee Paton and Taryn VanThof, and both are coming off huge games against the Leopards. Paton, the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year, recorded six goals and four assists, and VanThof set a league record with 15 draw controls. Paton (18-11-29), Hannah Schmidt (18-6-24) and Annie Thomas (13-9-22) have all surpassed the 20-point mark, and the balanced Greyhounds already have six players with 10 or more goals.

Wednesday's coaching matchup will feature a pair of former standout players from the University of Maryland. Bucknell's Randall Goldsborough is a member of the Class of 2007 and was a part of three national championship teams. Loyola's Jen Adams graduated in 2001 and was a three-time national player of the year and four time national champion with the Terrapins. Both also have extensive national team experience, Goldsborough with Team USA and Adams with her native Australia.

Bucknell and Loyola have met nine times previously, all between 1982-91. The Greyhounds won all nine of those meetings, including a 30-7 verdict in 1986 that remains the record for most goals scored against the Bison.

Colgate is 2-5 overall but 1-0 in the Patriot League after clipping Lehigh 12-11 in Hamilton on Saturday. The Raiders' other win came at home against Drexel by a 13-10 count on March 1.

The bulk of Colgate's scoring damage has been done by Megan Ark, who has 23 of the team's 71 goals so far, including six in the win over Drexel. Ark ranks second in the Patriot League in both goals and points (29). Goalie Jennie Berglin leads the league in ground balls with 23 and saves with 61.

These two teams also met in Hamilton last year, and Colgate won it 19-7 behind five goals from Alison Flood. The Raiders' lead was just 7-6 at the half, but then the outscored the Bison 12-1 in the second period.

Bucknell has won only 3 of 35 prior meetings with Colgate. Bucknell's only series win since 1995 was a big one, a 13-9 decision in the 2003 Patriot League Tournament semifinals.

Emily Kookogey scored twice in the game against Navy on Saturday, giving her a team-best 10 goals on the season. Kookogey also joins Katelyn Miller (6-4-10) and Christina Manis (6-4-10) for the team lead with 10 points. Emily Becker has joined the offensive rotation in the last week. She scored a goal against Marist last Wednesday and had a pretty assist to Manis in the Navy game.

Miller gives the Bison a strong presence on the defensive end of the field. She leads the Patriot League with 19 caused turnovers and leads the team with 18 ground balls. Sophie Kleinert continues to pace the squad in draw controls with 19, three more than Miller and Caroline Collins.