Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Colgate
Field Hockey Shuts Out Colgate 6-0
10/3/2015 1:25:00 PM | Field Hockey
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell field hockey team upped its Patriot League regular season winning streak to eight games with a 6-0 shutout over Colgate on Saturday at Graham Field. Seniors Abby Watson and Kiersten Sydnor scored two goals apiece to help the Bison improve to 4-6 overall and 2-0 in the league.
The Bison's eight-game winning streak against Patriot League teams is the longest active streak in the conference. Boston University has the next best with six straight wins in league play.
Bucknell was dominant in its win over Colgate on Saturday. The Raiders are just one season removed from qualifying for the Patriot League Tournament, but dropped to 0-10 overall and 0-2 in the conference with the loss. The Bison finished with advantages of 16-3 in shots, 15-2 in shots on goal and 6-3 in penalty corners.
“We were thrilled with our performance today,” said Bucknell head coach Jeremy Cook. “We had a great week of practice and really focused on that first five minutes of the game where we can dictate what we are going to do and the tempo. We did a great job of doing that today. We came out strong and put on a lot of pressure. That really set the tone.”
Both of Watson's goals came in the first half, helping Bucknell take a 3-0 lead into the break. Her first goal of the season came off an assist from Sydnor and put the Bison up 1-0 just 5:07 into the game. Her second goal came off an assist from freshman Claire Lesher and gave her team a three-goal lead with 2:10 to play in the half.
Watson's scores were sandwiched around a highlight-reel goal by Emma Fitzgerald. The junior ripped a backhand shot from near the top of the circle to beat the Colgate goalie and give Bucknell a 2-0 lead in the 27th minute.
The Bison came out firing in the second half, scoring three goals in less than two minutes. The first came from freshman Nicole Rupnik, who scored on a nice pass from junior Kelsy Kauffman at the 37:13 mark. Sydnor followed with two unassisted goals less than a minute apart. The senior leads the team with five on the season.
Senior Shannon Keen and sophomore Emily Finn both saw time in goal to split the shutout for Bucknell. Keen didn't face a shot in her 50:36 of playing time, while Finn played the final 19:24 and made two saves. It was the first shutout of the season for the Bison.
Bucknell will be back at Graham Field on Sunday when it hosts Saint Joseph's. The non-conference matchup is scheduled for 3 p.m. and has been designated as a Play 4 the Cure Game.
