Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Navy
Women's Lax Clipped by Navy, 11-10, but Bison Clinch Postseason Berth
4/23/2016 4:28:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell women's lacrosse team dropped a narrow 11-10 decision to Navy on Saturday at Graham Field, but the heartbreak soon turned to elation, as about 20 minutes after the final horn sounded, the Bison learned that they had clinched a Patriot League Tournament berth as Colgate finished off a helpful win over Lehigh.
Now 10-6 overall and 4-4 in the Patriot League with one more regular-season game still on the schedule, the Bison will be seeded either No. 5 or No. 6 in the Patriot League Tournament. This will be the team's first postseason appearance since 2009, and it adds one more notch in a remarkable turnaround season for a program that had only won three conference games in the previous six years.
Bucknell needed a victory of its own, a Colgate win over Lehigh, or an American win over Holy Cross in order to lock up the playoff berth. Just after the game at Graham Field finished, Holy Cross scored with 12 seconds remaining to complete a big comeback and beat American 14-13. But a few minutes later, Colgate knocked off third-place Lehigh 10-8.
This was also a big result for Navy (11-5, 6-2 PL), which maintained sole possession of second place in the Patriot League standings and clinched the No. 2 seed for the tournament. While the top six seeds earn tourney bids, the top two receive first-round byes.
Saturday's game was filled with momentum swings. Bucknell led 2-0 after goals from Emily Becker and Gretchen Richter, before Navy scored four straight goals to go up 4-2. Only 18 seconds after Andie O'Sullivan gave the Mids that two-goal advantage, the Bison caught a break when a close-range shot from Christina Manis appeared to ricochet off the crossbar but was ruled a good goal.
Maddy Molinari followed soon after with a pretty backhanded shot, and then just 14 seconds after that Ally Furbay fired home a shot off a feed from Manis on a draw break. Molinari scored again with 23 seconds left to give Bucknell a 6-4 lead at halftime.
Navy turned up the pressure early in the second half, with Julia Collins scoring twice in succession to ignite a 4-0 Mids run. Becker scored just eight seconds after the fourth of those tallies, when she collected a draw control and ran straight to the goal for her 37th tally of the season. But two straight from Morgan Young put Navy back in the driver's seat, up 10-7 with 17:05 to play.
Sam Rickels scored off a Becker feed with 11:24 left, before Jenna Collins answered just 11 seconds later for Navy. Rickels scored again at the 10:32 mark, and then 17 seconds later Molinari finished a free-position attempt to make it a one-goal game at 11-10 with 10:05 still to play.
Navy's Kelsey O'Brien took a yellow card with 9:37 left, but the Bison turned the ball over. Then Becker went off with a yellow card of her own, and Navy went into stall mode for the final nine minutes of the game.
The Bison did take the ball away with about 4:45 remaining, but turned it back over just after navigating a successful clear. The Mids then played keep-away the rest of the way.
Molinari finished with three goals, while Becker had two goals and three assists for the Bison. Rickels scored twice, Manis had two assists, and Richter logged one goal, one assist and five draw controls.
Jenna Collins was Navy's top scorer with two goals and three assists. Twin sister Julia Collins also had a big day with two goals, two assists and eight draw controls.
Both teams turned the ball over quite a bit, as Bucknell finished with 20 compared to Navy's 17. The Mids outshot the Bison 23-19, while Bucknell led in ground balls 17-15 and draw controls 12-11. Bison goalie Jamie DeWitt finished with seven saves, while Navy's Ingrid Boyum had five stops.
Bucknell now has four 50-point scorers in one season for the first time in program history. Eve Lukowski (57), Becker (55), Manis (54) and Molinari (52) have all reached that milestone, and Richter is not far behind with 45. Lukowski, Becker and Manis all currently rank in the top 10 on Bucknell's single-season chart.
Becker has a team-high 37 goals, placing her one shy of Bucknell's top 10. Rickels now has 90 career draw controls, ninth-most in school history.
The Bison wrap up the regular season next Friday at Lehigh at 5 p.m. They will then play on the road in a Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal game on Tuesday, May 3 against an opponent to be determined. Bucknell will be the No. 5 seed with a win over Lehigh, or the No.6 seed with a loss.
