Friday, November 1
Worcester, Mass.
5 p.m.
Bucknell University
at
Holy Cross
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Women's Soccer Visits Holy Cross Friday in Regular-Season Finale
10/31/2019 6:03:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Setting the Scene
Who: Bucknell (5-10-2, 3-3-2 PL) at Holy Cross (4-3-8, 2-1-5 PL)
When: Friday, Nov. 1, 5 p.m.
Where: Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium, Worcester, Mass.
Live Video: Patriot League Network
Live Stats: GoHolyCross.com
About the Bison
About Holy Cross/Series History
Who: Bucknell (5-10-2, 3-3-2 PL) at Holy Cross (4-3-8, 2-1-5 PL)
When: Friday, Nov. 1, 5 p.m.
Where: Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium, Worcester, Mass.
Live Video: Patriot League Network
Live Stats: GoHolyCross.com
About the Bison
- The final game of the regular season arrives on Friday evening in Worcester, and there is plenty riding on the outcome for both Bucknell and Holy Cross.
- The two teams come into the game tied for fourth place in the Patriot League standings with 11 points. A victory for either side would guarantee a top-four finish. The Bison would be either the third or fourth seed, which would enable them to host a Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal game, while Holy Cross could climb as high as the No. 2 seed and get a first-round bye.
- A tie or a loss would put the Bison in jeopardy of finishing outside the top six, depending on other results around the league. Only three points separate third-place Loyola (12) from eighth-place Colgate (9). Among the 10 teams in the league, only Navy and Army have clinched postseason berths, and only Boston University and American have been eliminated from playoff contention.
- The Bison had not tied a Patriot League game since 2015, but they did so twice last week against Loyola (0-0) and American (1-1). Abby Gearhart scored an equalizing goal against American, but the Bison could not find the go-ahead marker.
- Gerhart is now tied with Gabby Bair for the team lead in goals (3) and points (7). Bair assisted on Gerhart's goal against American with a terrific cross in from the right side.
- Bucknell's 13 goals this season have come from nine different players. In addition to Bair and Gerhart, Chloe Christakos is a multi-goal scorer with two. The team's 12 assists have come from 12 different players.
- Seven freshmen have started at least one game and five have registered at least one point for the Bison this season.
- Freshman goalkeeper Kaylee Donnelly has started every game this season and has 84 saves with 20 goals against. Donnelly's 5.25 saves per game is the second-highest figure in the Patriot League.
- Senior midfielder/defender Ali Russo has played all 1,602 minutes this season. Russo, in her second year as team captain, has played in 77 career games with 75 starts to lead all active Bison players.
- Head coach Kelly Cook is in her fifth season in Lewisburg. Cook has a 51-37-8 overall record and a 29-10-4 mark against Patriot League competition. Cook's .573 winning percentage is the highest in team history, and she needs one more win to catch Toby Lovecchio for third-most in program history.
- Bucknell has finished .500 or better in Patriot League play in each of the last six seasons. The Bison have also qualified for the Patriot League Tournament in each of those six seasons and 21 times overall. The 21 PL postseason appearances is tied with Navy for second-most in league history, trailing only Colgate with 26. Bucknell has advanced to the championship game six times and is 4-2 in those appearances, with the league titles coming in 2001, 2005, 2016 and 2017.
- Bucknell was picked tied for fifth (with Army West Point) in the Patriot League Preseason Poll. Boston University was selected as the preseason favorite, followed by Colgate, Navy and Lehigh.
About Holy Cross/Series History
- The Crusaders have been a team of ties this season. They have played eight overtime games and drawn them all, giving them a 4-3-8 overall record and a 2-1-5 mark in the Patriot League.
- The Crusaders will be on much shorter rest than Bucknell heading into Friday's match. While the Bison last played on Saturday, Holy Cross saw its Sunday match against Lafayette abandoned after 55 minutes due to heavy rains that rendered the pitch unplayable. The game was replayed from the start on Monday afternoon, and naturally it went the full 110 minutes and ended in a 1-1 draw.
- Holy Cross has lost only once (at Lehigh) since Aug. 25. After starting the season with losses to Cal Baptist and San Diego on the West Coast, the Crusaders are 4-1-8 since then. They are also the only team in the Patriot League and one of just two overall (with LSU) to defeat 15-2-1 Navy.
- The Crusaders rank third in the Patriot League in goals-against average (0.83), as they have conceded only 14 goals in 15 games, with half of those coming in the season-opening losses out west.
- At the other end, Holy Cross has 13 goals from nine different players, just like Bucknell. Kelly Crowley leads the team in goals (3), assists (3) and points (9). Crowley has tallies against Navy and Boston University in league play.
- Bucknell has had the better of the all-time series, leading 21-5-2 dating back to the Patriot League's inception in 1991. The Bison have won the last 14 in succession, including four straight via shutout. Holy Cross' last goal against Bucknell came in a 2-1 Bison win in Worcester in 2014. The Bison have posted 444:50 consecutive scoreless minutes since Aly Spencer's sixth-minute goal five years ago.
- Senior defender Ali Russo's first and only career goal came against Holy Cross during her freshman year in 2016. She capped the scoring in Bucknell's 3-0 away win.
- Russo is the only active Bison with a goal against Holy Cross. She also assisted on the lone tally in last year's 1-0 victory at Emmitt Field. The tally came in the 13th minute, although Bucknell might have had more if not for nine saves from Holy Cross keeper Sophia Lettieri.
- The Patriot League Tournament gets underway next Tuesday with a pair of quarterfinal matches. Bucknell's status will be determined this weeked, with three matches slated for Friday (Bucknell at Holy Cross; American at Lehigh; Loyola at Navy) and two on Saturday (Army at Colgate; Boston University at Lafayette).
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
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