Women's Soccer Hosts Navy in Regular-Season Finale

Friday, October 26

Lewisburg, Pa.

5 p.m.

Bucknell University

Navy

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Women's Soccer Hosts Navy in Regular-Season Finale

10/24/2018 10:48:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Bison can move up to No. 3 seed with a victory

Setting the Scene
Who: Navy (10-5-3, 6-2-0 PL) at Bucknell (7-9-1, 5-3-0 PL)
When: Friday, Oct. 26, 5 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field, Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Webstream: Patriot League Network
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

About the Bison/Patriot League Tournament Outlook

Bucknell closes out the 2018 regular season on Friday night against Navy in a rematch of last year's Patriot League championship game. Heading into the final round of Patriot League play, there is still plenty at stake in terms of Patriot League Tournament positioning.
From Bucknell's perspective, the Bison know they will be seeded either third or fourth in the six-team tournament, which means Bucknell will host a quarterfinal game at Emmitt Field on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. The Bison are currently in fourth place on 15 points, and they can catch third-place Navy (18 points) and earn the No. 3 seed with a victory over the Mids on Friday.
Meanwhile, Navy still harbors hopes of moving up to the No. 2 seed, which would mean a bye into the semifinals. The Mids would need a win over Bucknell and also have second-place Boston University (20 points) lose at first-place Colgate (22 points) on Saturday.
Colgate clinches the No. 1 seed and hosting rights for the semifinals and championship with a win or draw against Boston University, while the Terriers can claim the top spot with a victory in Hamilton. That game will be played on Saturday at noon.
Farther down the table, five teams are all mathematically alive for the final two tournament bids. Holy Cross currently sits in fifth place on nine points, followed by American (8), Army (8), Loyola (7) and Lehigh (6). Only Lafayette with three points has been eliminated from postseason contention. Holy Cross hosts Lehigh on Friday night; Loyola travels to Lafayette on Saturday at 1 p.m.; and American and Army wrap things up with a 6 p.m. match Saturday at West Point.
The Bison are 5-3 in league play, marking the team's fourth straight year with five or more league wins. This will also be Bucknell's sixth consecutive season and 12th in the last 14 with a .500 or better conference record.
Bucknell last week played twice on the road, beating Lehigh 1-0 before falling 2-0 at Boston University. The victory at Lehigh was a big one, as it clinched a Patriot League Tournament berth and a top-four seed.
Jenna Marek scored the goal in the win over the Mountain Hawks, her team-leading fourth of the season. That is tied for the seventh-highest total in the Patriot League.
Kate Henesey and Holly Burns both have two goals and two assists for six points for the Bison, who have 16 goals on the season.
Theresa Adu-Attobrah logged her fifth clean sheet of the year in the 1-0 win at Lehigh. Adu-Attobrah has started all but one of the team's games this season and has 92 saves with only 16 goals allowed in 16 appearances. She ranks third in the league in save percentage (.852), fourth in goals-against average (0.99) and No. 1 in saves per game (5.75).

About Navy/Series History

Navy comes to Emmitt Field with a 10-5-3 overall record and a 6-2 mark in the Patriot League. The Mids' two PL losses are both by 1-0 counts to Boston University and Colgate, the top two teams in the table. Navy saw its three-game winning streak snapped by the Raiders last Saturday in Annapolis.
Navy has one of the league's top scorers in Baseley McClaskey, who six goals and seven assists for 19 points on the season. McClaskey ranks second in the league in all three categories. She has a goal and five assists in PL play.
Alex Jackson and Eleanor Pratt have four goals apiece, while Cadie Higginson has two goals and two assists. Navy has outscored opponents 24-18 on the season.
Top netminder Sydney Fortson has a 0.90 goals-against average, a .765 save percentage, and seven shutouts on the season.
Bucknell is 11-16-2 all-time against Navy, including three wins in the last four meetings.
Last season, the Mids won 2-1 in Annapolis in the regular-season, which gave them the No. 1 seed for the Patriot League Tournament. But the Bison avenged the loss with a thrilling 3-2 win in the Patriot League championship game. Kendall Ham staked the Bison to the early lead with a hat trick in the opening 21 minutes, and then Bucknell held on from there to win its second straight league title.
Bucknell and Navy have met five times in the postseason, with the Bison winning three. In addition to last year's championship-game clash, Bucknell defeated Navy 2-1 to win its first league championship in 2001. The Bison also won 3-0 in the 2015 semifinals, while Navy prevailed 2-0 in the 1995 semis and 1-0 in the 2007 championship.

Up Next

The opponent will not be determined until the conclusion of Patriot League play this weekend, but the Bison will be preparing to host Tuesday night's PL Tournament quarterfinal contest at Emmitt Field. Admission will be free, and the game will stream live on the Patriot League Network at PatriotLeague.tv.