Bison Women's Lax Opens League Play Saturday at Navy

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell women's lacrosse team looks to bounce back from a frustrating loss at Davidson as its preps for its Patriot League opener Saturday morning at Navy. The 11:30 a.m. start from Navy-Marine Corps Stadium will be webcast live on the Patriot League Network.

The Bison fell to 2-5 on the season after Wednesday's 12-11 setback at Davidson. Bucknell put together its best half of the year in the opening 30 minutes of that game and led 9-3 at intermission, but the Wildcats stormed back to win it by outscoring the Bison 9-2 in the second half.

Emily Kookogey scored four goals in that game, and she continues to lead the squad in points with 19 on 12 goals and seven assists. Maddy Molinari is the team's top goal-scorer with 13 to go along with three assists. Christina Manis (5-8-13) and Eve Lukowski (4-6-10) have also reached double digits in points. Manis, Kookogey and Lukowski all rank in the top 10 in the Patriot League in assists.

Gretchen Richter has 35 draw controls in seven games, and her average of 5.0 per contest ranks second in the Patriot League to Navy's Loren Generi (8.62). Richter ranks 12th nationally in that category. Lucia Smircich leads the conference in ground balls per game at 2.86.

Navy comes into the contest with a 7-1 overall record and a 1-0 mark in the Patriot League after steamrolling Lafayette 20-5 last Saturday. The Mids have won five straight games since their only loss at No. 8 Duke (10-3) on Feb. 15.

Navy has outscored its opponents 116-53, as four of their seven wins have come by 11 goals or more. Generi is the national points leader with 41 on 25 goals and 16 assists. Katie Gallagher has 27 points from 18 goals and nine assists, and six other Mids have at least 10 points thus far.

Navy has also been stout defensively, ranking 10th nationally yielding only 6.2 goals per game. Goalie Annie Foky has a .464 save percentage and a 6.23 goals-against average. The Mids have won just under 70 percent of their draws this season, with Generi's 69 DCs the fourth-most in the nation.

Bucknell is 0-7 all-time against Navy. The Mids were ranked 11th nationally when the two teams met last season. Navy won 14-5 at Graham Field behind five goals from Aimee Gennaro and three goals and 12 draw controls from Generi. Kookogey scored twice for the Bison.

There is no letup in the schedule following the trip to Annapolis, as the Bison wrap up a four-game road swing next Wednesday at Loyola at 5 p.m.