Wednesday, October 23
Lewisburg, Pa.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
5-10-1, 3-3-1
0
vs
0
Loyola
6-6-3, 3-1-3
1
2
3
4
F
Loyola Maryland
0
0
0
0
0
Bucknell
0
0
0
0
0
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Bucknell Women’s Soccer Plays Scoreless Draw With Loyola as Patriot League Race Tightens
10/23/2019 10:40:00 PM | Women's Soccer
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Kaylee Donnelly backstopped a stellar Bucknell defensive effort, but the Bison could not find a goal at the other end and settled for a scoreless draw with Loyola on Wednesday night at Emmitt Field.
The Patriot League women's soccer playoff chase tightened considerably, with three scoreless draws among the five fixtures. Holy Cross made the biggest move, vaulting from a tie for seventh place into a three-way tie for fourth after posting a come-from-behind 2-1 win at Boston University.
Navy also picked up three points on Wednesday with a 1-0 win at American, and the Mids remain at the top of the table with 16 points. Loyola (12) and Army (11) keep their holds on second and third place, but now it's Bucknell, Holy Cross and Lehigh all tied for fourth on 10 points with two rounds of league play left to go.
Lafayette, which tied Army 0-0 at home, is just one point back with nine, but the Leopards dropped one place in the standings from sixth to seventh, putting them outside of playoff positioning. Boston University (7) and Colgate (6) are also still alive for postseason berths.
The Bucknell-Loyola match got off to a sluggish start, with most of the first half play coming in the center of the field. Neither team really worried the opposing goalkeeper, with a volley attempt sent wide by Emilene Parham in the 35th minute the best look for either side.
Play opened up in the second half, with Bucknell (5-10-1, 3-3-1) outshooting Loyola 10-6. Both freshman goalkeepers made terrific saves in that stretch. First it was Loyola's Paige Sim swatting Jenna Marek's corner kick header over the bar only three minutes into the period. Just past the hour mark it was Sim again coming to the rescue as she bolted off her line to turn aside a shot from Bri Kropinack, who was in behind the defense after some strong build-up play by the Bison the left side.
The Greyhounds (6-6-3, 3-1-3) tilted the field back in their direction later in the half. Gillian Borton curled a left-footed shot just over the bar into the top netting in the 74th minute. Loyola earned a corner kick moments later, and Donnelly made one of the best saves of the night on Patriot League scoring leader Hannah Hoefs in the resulting scrum. Hoefs, who has seven goals on the second, had the ball fall to her feet just outside the 6-yard box, but Donnelly was well-positioned for a great close-range save, and there was no rebound to be had.
A mere 90 seconds later the Bison were back on the attack, and after Abby Gearhart's initial shot was blocked, Petie Nassetta got plenty of boot into a 23-yard shot that required a diving save from Sim.
In the first overtime session, the Bison had to deal with an early corner kick and some resulting pressure from the Greyhounds. Donnelly added one more save on Taylor DiMarco's shot from outside the area, giving her five on the night.
Sim's sixth and final save came with three seconds remaining in the match on a desperation overhead attempt from Marek that was on target but bounced in front of Sim for an easy catch.
The Bison finished with a 17-12 shot advantage, while both teams amassed four corner kicks.
The draw ended Bucknell's six-game series winning streak against Loyola, but the Bison do have an eight-game series unbeaten streak (6-0-2) intact.
Bucknell next welcomes American for a Senior Day match on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Emmitt Field.
The Patriot League women's soccer playoff chase tightened considerably, with three scoreless draws among the five fixtures. Holy Cross made the biggest move, vaulting from a tie for seventh place into a three-way tie for fourth after posting a come-from-behind 2-1 win at Boston University.
Navy also picked up three points on Wednesday with a 1-0 win at American, and the Mids remain at the top of the table with 16 points. Loyola (12) and Army (11) keep their holds on second and third place, but now it's Bucknell, Holy Cross and Lehigh all tied for fourth on 10 points with two rounds of league play left to go.
Lafayette, which tied Army 0-0 at home, is just one point back with nine, but the Leopards dropped one place in the standings from sixth to seventh, putting them outside of playoff positioning. Boston University (7) and Colgate (6) are also still alive for postseason berths.
The Bucknell-Loyola match got off to a sluggish start, with most of the first half play coming in the center of the field. Neither team really worried the opposing goalkeeper, with a volley attempt sent wide by Emilene Parham in the 35th minute the best look for either side.
Play opened up in the second half, with Bucknell (5-10-1, 3-3-1) outshooting Loyola 10-6. Both freshman goalkeepers made terrific saves in that stretch. First it was Loyola's Paige Sim swatting Jenna Marek's corner kick header over the bar only three minutes into the period. Just past the hour mark it was Sim again coming to the rescue as she bolted off her line to turn aside a shot from Bri Kropinack, who was in behind the defense after some strong build-up play by the Bison the left side.
The Greyhounds (6-6-3, 3-1-3) tilted the field back in their direction later in the half. Gillian Borton curled a left-footed shot just over the bar into the top netting in the 74th minute. Loyola earned a corner kick moments later, and Donnelly made one of the best saves of the night on Patriot League scoring leader Hannah Hoefs in the resulting scrum. Hoefs, who has seven goals on the second, had the ball fall to her feet just outside the 6-yard box, but Donnelly was well-positioned for a great close-range save, and there was no rebound to be had.
A mere 90 seconds later the Bison were back on the attack, and after Abby Gearhart's initial shot was blocked, Petie Nassetta got plenty of boot into a 23-yard shot that required a diving save from Sim.
In the first overtime session, the Bison had to deal with an early corner kick and some resulting pressure from the Greyhounds. Donnelly added one more save on Taylor DiMarco's shot from outside the area, giving her five on the night.
Sim's sixth and final save came with three seconds remaining in the match on a desperation overhead attempt from Marek that was on target but bounced in front of Sim for an easy catch.
The Bison finished with a 17-12 shot advantage, while both teams amassed four corner kicks.
The draw ended Bucknell's six-game series winning streak against Loyola, but the Bison do have an eight-game series unbeaten streak (6-0-2) intact.
Bucknell next welcomes American for a Senior Day match on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Emmitt Field.
Team Stats
LOY
BUCK
Goals
0
0
Shots
12
17
Shots on Goal
5
6
Saves
6
5
Corners
4
4
Fouls
12
17
Game Leaders
Shots
4
SOG
3
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
GK
/ Women's SoccerM
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
F
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