Saturday, October 12
Lewisburg, Pa.
12 p.m.
Bucknell University
8
vs
2
Lehigh
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Bucknell Field Hockey Rides Huge First Half to 8-2 Win over Lehigh
10/12/2019 3:37:00 PM | Field Hockey
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Senior Allie Christopher tallied her first career hat trick, and the Bucknell field hockey team rode a seven-goal first half to an 8-2 win over Lehigh in a Patriot League matchup on Saturday at Graham Field.
Brittany Willwerth and Mackenzie Kile logged two assists apiece, and Chloe Poltonavage, Megan Keeney, Kaelyn Long, Leah Fogelsanger and Maddie Rehak tacked on goals for the Bison, who improved to 6-5 overall and 2-1 in the Patriot League. Patriot League goal-scoring leader Drew Pecora tallied her ninth and 10th of the season to account for Lehigh's scoring.
Bucknell's eight goals were its most ever in a Patriot League game and its most overall since an 8-0 win over LIU in 2017. The seven-goal half was one shy of the 41-year-old school record. The Bison scored eight in the first half on the way to a 9-0 win over Mansfield on Sept. 20, 1978.
The Bison needed only 2:06 to get on the scoreboard in this one. The Mountain Hawks (5-6, 1-2 PL) had trouble clearing the ball out of their circle, and Long collected the loose ball at the top of the arc, turned and fired a low shot past goalie Maddie Kahn.
Just over six minutes later, Christopher got started on her hat trick when her drive off a penalty corner went straight through for a 2-0 Bison lead.
The game went bonkers for a bit in the second quarter, as the teams combined for seven goals in less than nine minutes. Poltonavage went to the reverse stick for her first goal of the season off a feed from Kile to make it 3-0, but Lehigh answered on Pecora's deflection just over two minutes later.
Bucknell came right back, with Poltonavage sending a long lead pass ahead to Keeney behind the Lehigh defense. Kahn came out to challenge Kenney's shot, but could only deflect it high in the air before the ball spun across the line to make it a 4-1 game.
Rehak made it 5-1 with a drive through the goalie's pads, with Kenney assisting this time, and then Christopher converted another penalty corner for a 6-1 lead.
Pecora scored off the rush just 55 seconds later, but then Fogelsanger capped off the frenzy with a beautiful goal just 40 seconds after that. Fogelsanger maneuvered around Kahn to the byline to the left of the cage, then finished from a sharp angle.
The contest settled down in the second half, with no scoring until the final few minutes, when Fogelsanger was tripped up by the Lehigh goalie to thwart a breakaway attempt. A penalty stroke was awarded, and Christopher converted to compete the first hat trick for a Bucknell player since Willwerth against Colgate last season.
Bucknell finished with a 19-10 lead in shots and a 6-3 edge in penalty corners. Kahn finished with seven saves for Lehigh, while Olivia Harris had four for the Bison.
At 2-1 in Patriot League play, the Bison are now one game behind 3-0 Lafayette and American at the top of the standings. Bucknell travels to Yale and Cornell for back-to-back games against Ivy League competition on Monday and Tuesday, and then Colgate visits Graham Field next Saturday at noon.
Brittany Willwerth and Mackenzie Kile logged two assists apiece, and Chloe Poltonavage, Megan Keeney, Kaelyn Long, Leah Fogelsanger and Maddie Rehak tacked on goals for the Bison, who improved to 6-5 overall and 2-1 in the Patriot League. Patriot League goal-scoring leader Drew Pecora tallied her ninth and 10th of the season to account for Lehigh's scoring.
Bucknell's eight goals were its most ever in a Patriot League game and its most overall since an 8-0 win over LIU in 2017. The seven-goal half was one shy of the 41-year-old school record. The Bison scored eight in the first half on the way to a 9-0 win over Mansfield on Sept. 20, 1978.
The Bison needed only 2:06 to get on the scoreboard in this one. The Mountain Hawks (5-6, 1-2 PL) had trouble clearing the ball out of their circle, and Long collected the loose ball at the top of the arc, turned and fired a low shot past goalie Maddie Kahn.
Just over six minutes later, Christopher got started on her hat trick when her drive off a penalty corner went straight through for a 2-0 Bison lead.
The game went bonkers for a bit in the second quarter, as the teams combined for seven goals in less than nine minutes. Poltonavage went to the reverse stick for her first goal of the season off a feed from Kile to make it 3-0, but Lehigh answered on Pecora's deflection just over two minutes later.
Bucknell came right back, with Poltonavage sending a long lead pass ahead to Keeney behind the Lehigh defense. Kahn came out to challenge Kenney's shot, but could only deflect it high in the air before the ball spun across the line to make it a 4-1 game.
Rehak made it 5-1 with a drive through the goalie's pads, with Kenney assisting this time, and then Christopher converted another penalty corner for a 6-1 lead.
Pecora scored off the rush just 55 seconds later, but then Fogelsanger capped off the frenzy with a beautiful goal just 40 seconds after that. Fogelsanger maneuvered around Kahn to the byline to the left of the cage, then finished from a sharp angle.
The contest settled down in the second half, with no scoring until the final few minutes, when Fogelsanger was tripped up by the Lehigh goalie to thwart a breakaway attempt. A penalty stroke was awarded, and Christopher converted to compete the first hat trick for a Bucknell player since Willwerth against Colgate last season.
Bucknell finished with a 19-10 lead in shots and a 6-3 edge in penalty corners. Kahn finished with seven saves for Lehigh, while Olivia Harris had four for the Bison.
At 2-1 in Patriot League play, the Bison are now one game behind 3-0 Lafayette and American at the top of the standings. Bucknell travels to Yale and Cornell for back-to-back games against Ivy League competition on Monday and Tuesday, and then Colgate visits Graham Field next Saturday at noon.
Players Mentioned
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