Bison Women's Soccer Through the Decades, Presented by Geisinger

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- All this week we are going to take a look back at the history of Bison Women's Soccer through the voices of many of the key figures who helped shape the course of the program. The series begins with a group of four women who helped the women's soccer club transition to varsity status in 1990, and then we will hear fun stories from the stars of their respective eras. Head coach Kelly Cook leads the discussions, along with a current member of the team. Special thanks to Geisinger for sponsoring the series.

2010s
The just-concluded decade of the 2010s started out with a Patriot League regular-season co-championship, and later the squad captured back-to-back Patriot League Tournament titles in 2016 and 2017. The 2016 season was the most successful in school history, as the Bison posted a 16-2-2 overall record, an 8-1-0 PL mark, and captured the league title with a thrilling overtime win over Boston University at Emmitt Field. Joining head coach Kelly Cook and junior defender Claire Mensi for the final installment of our series are four of the stars of that outstanding group: Cora Climo '17, Jessica Ratner '17, Kendall Ham '18 and Meghan Holtz '18. Climo will always be remembered for scoring perhaps the biggest goal in program history, the golden goal in overtime in the 2016 league title game against Boston U. She was one of the captains of that team and was later named Patriot League Tournament MVP. Ratner was a three-year starting goalkeeper who set Bucknell career records for wins (31), shutouts (22) and goals-against average (0.90). She also broke the school record for longest scoreless streak by one goalie at 655:03. She was a two-time all-league selection and the 2016 Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year. Previous episodes of this series chronicled the careers of some of the top goal-scorers in team history, and Ham is right there with all of them. Her 41 career goals are second-most in Bison annals, behind only Lisa Gibbons, and her 94 points rank third all-time. Ham was not only a three-time All-Patriot League selection, including the 2016 Offensive Player of the Year, but she was also a three-time All-Region choice and a Third Team All-American in 2016. In one of the greatest performances in Bucknell Athletics history, Ham scored three goals in the first 21 minutes of the 2017 Patriot League championship game, which led to a 3-2 win over Navy in Annapolis. Holtz played a major role on those championship squads as a defensive midfielder. She was a co-captain on both the 2016 and 2017 teams, and she was a three-time All-Patriot League selection.

2000s
While the Bucknell women's soccer teams of the 1990s established the program's foundation of success, it was during the 2000s when the team broke through and found championship success. The Bison achieved their first Patriot League Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001, and their second came in 2005. The team captured back-to-back regular-season titles in 2006 and 2007, and they posted double-digit win totals in six of the 10 years in the decade, including five in a row from 2005-09. It was also a landmark era for the program, as the team began playing on its new pitch at Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium. These Bison teams of the 2000s were known for their scoring prowess, and on today's chat, head coach Kelly Cook and rising senior midfielder Bri Kropinack are joined by four alumnae who combined to tally 130 goals and 319 points in their careers: Jennifer Margols '07, Krista Lee Gentile '08, Jennifer Dervarics '09, and Christa Matlack '10. Margolis was a three-time All-Patriot League selection who currently ranks eighth on Bucknell's career goals (28) and points (67) list. Gentile is one of only two four-time All-PL selections in team history, and she is fifth all-time at Bucknell with 34 goals and 83 points. She went into college coaching after graduation, including a stint as head coach at Hood College in Maryland, and she later became the director of coaching at Alliance Soccer Club in Baltimore. Dervarics, who recently became the second women's soccer player to be elected to the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame, was a three-time All-PL choice and won back to back league Offensive Player of the Year awards in 2007 and 2008. Dervarics, who is now the head coach at Northwestern Ohio, is Bucknell's fourth-leading scorer with 36 goals and 91 points. Matlack, who is now the head coach at Penn College in her native Williamsport, followed Dervarics by winning back-to-back Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2009 and 2010. She was also a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American, and she currently ranks sixth on Bucknell's career lists with 32 goals and 78 points.

1990s
On Tuesday we learned how the Bucknell women's soccer program rose from club to varsity status, and now we hear from four former players from the decade of the 1990s who helped the Bison quickly gain traction as one of the top teams in the Patriot League. The Bison went from one victory in their inaugural season in 1990 to seven wins the following year. In 1994 the team posted its first winning season (12-6-1), and in 1995 Bucknell was 10-6-1 overall and a perfect 6-0-0 in Patriot League play, leading to its first-ever regular season conference title. Joining head coach Kelly Cook and rising junior defender Alana Carlucci are four alumnae who starred on those early Bison squads: Hall-of-Famer Lisa Gibbons '95, Becky Snover '97, Liz Woodrow '98 and Katie McElligott '00. During her four years in Lewisburg, Gibbons established season and career scoring records that seem unbreakable. Her 66 goals, 35 assists and 167 points still top the Bucknell career charts by a wide margin, and the goal and point totals also remain Patriot League records. Gibbons scored 20 goals in 1993, then as a senior in 1994 she logged 19 goals and 19 assists for 57 points, the third-highest total in the nation that year. Gibbons, who recorded 11 career hat tricks, including three four-goal games, was a First Team All-Patriot League selection three times, was the league's Rookie of the Year in 1991 and the Offensive Player of the Year in 1993. As a senior, she was named to the NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region Team and was a Christy Mathewson Award winner as the top athlete in her senior class. The only other player in team history to reach 100 career points is Woodrow, who tallied 39 goals and 22 assist for an even 100 points. She was a three-time All-Patriot League selection, including First Team honors as a sophomore and senior. Snover was an All-Patriot League goalkeeper, and her name also remains atop several team records. Her 456 career saves and .849 save percentages are still tops in team history, and her single-game record of 23 saves against Fairfield in 1993 has yet to be surpassed. McElligott achieved distinction in the latter part of the decade, and her totals of 26 goals and 55 points still rank ninth on Bucknell's career charts. She was a rare four-time All-Patriot League selection, earning Second Team honors in each of her first three seasons before cracking the First Team as a senior.

Pre-Varsity to Varsity
The first episode of Bison Women's Soccer Through the Decades takes us back to the late 1980s and early 1990s, and we get to hear from four true pioneers of the varsity program: CA Pilling '88, Steffi Hartwell '90, Christina Baselga '91, and Kira Jacobs '91. Pilling and Hartwell were captains of the club team and had a big hand in lobbying the university to grant varsity status. Baselga, known to her teammates as simply "X" -- find out why in the video -- and Jacobs were seniors in 1990, which was the team's first year as a varsity sport. Baselga earned the very first Patriot League Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor that year and later received the Edward W. Pangburn Award at the Senior Awards Banquet. The Bison women's soccer program recently celebrated its 30-year anniversary as a varsity program, so join us to hear some neat stories of what life in the club days and how the group was able to get varsity recognition. Rising senior midfielder Sarah Hazard helps out with the Q&A.

Bucknell University Athletics

Bison Women's Soccer Through the Decades, Presented by Geisinger

Related News

Players Mentioned

Alana Carlucci

Sarah Hazard

Bri Kropinack

Claire Mensi

Related Videos