Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Holy Cross
Richter's Late Goal Sends Bison Women's Lax Past Holy Cross, 10-9
4/2/2016 4:34:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
Eve Lukowski (three goals, two assists) and Emily Becker (two goals, three assists) both had five-point afternoons, and Christina Manis added a goal and two assists for Bucknell, which has now won three straight and six of its last seven.
Bucknell's nine overall wins are its most in a season since 2009 and tied for third-most in program history. The Bison had won three Patriot League games in the previous six seasons combined, but now they are 3-1 in conference play and in a tie for second place with Boston University, pending the Terriers result later in the day against Lehigh.
Bucknell and Holy Cross played a game filled with plenty of momentum swings and end-to-end action. The Bison jumped out to a 4-0 lead after 10:40 of play, only to see the Crusaders rally with five straight goals. Bucknell then scored the final three of the first half, including a nice goal by Lukowski with 2.5 seconds left.
Bucknell made it four straight goals when Manis scored off a Becker feed early in the second half. But again Holy Cross rallied, scoring four of the next five goals to tie the game. Goalie Julia Maloney made a point-blank save on Ally Furbay when it was a 9-7 game, and that led to a Margie Smith goal with 5:12 to play. Kaitlin Concilio tied it with an unassisted goal with 2:39 left.
Richter then won her fourth straight draw control, giving Bucknell a key possession in a 9-9 game. The Bison worked the ball around for about 30 seconds, and then Becker fed a pass from the top of the box to Richter cutting inside the 8-meter arc. Richter then shoveled a shot past Maloney with 1:41 to play.
Things got a little dicey in the final 90 seconds, as Bucknell forced a pair of turnovers after Holy Cross claimed the draw control. But the Bison gave the ball back both times, and then with 18 seconds remaining Annie Gilbertson was hit with a yellow card while fighting for a loose ball in the Bucknell defensive zone. Holy Cross then threw the ball away on the re-start, and the shorthanded Bison were able to run out the clock.
It was all Bucknell in the opening minutes, as Richter scored twice and Lukowski had a goal and two assists in the 4-0 run to start the contest. But then the Bison went more than 13 minutes without a goal as the Crusaders parlayed some good draw play into a 5-0 run of their own.
Becker ended the drought with 5:55 left, tying the game at 5-5. Richter scored off a Becker feed with 1:02 to play, and then Lukowski made a nice move coming from behind the cage to make it a 7-5 game at the half.
It was a fairly even stat sheet, as both teams finished with 21 shots. Bucknell led 17-15 in ground balls, while Holy Cross led 11-10 in draw controls. Both teams had trouble holding onto the ball in windy conditions. The Crusaders had 19 turnovers and the Bison 18.
Jamie DeWitt finished with eight saves for the Bison, and Maloney had five for the Crusaders. Sam Rickels led Bucknell with five ground balls, and the Bison defense combined for 12 caused turnovers.
Anna Johnson had a big game for Holy Cross with six draw controls and three ground balls. Concilio finished with a goal and three assists, and Maddie Ward, Stephanie Ford and MacKay all had two goals.
Bucknell will now have a week off before hosting American next Saturday at Graham Field at 1 p.m.
